Nineteen

“DANTE? ”

“I’ve been calling you every day for the past five days.”

“I have the flu.”

“Bad joke. Screw you, Ari.”

“Why are you so mad? ”

“Why are you so mad? ”

“I’m not mad anymore.”

“So maybe it’s my turn to be mad.”

“Okay, that’s fair. How’s Daniel? ”

“You’re a piece of crap, Ari.”

“No. Daniel’s a piece of crap.”

“He doesn’t like you.”

“I don’t like him either. So, is he like your new best friend? ”

“Not even close.”

“You guys been kissing? ”

“What’s it to you? ”

“Just asking.”

“I don’t want to kiss him. He’s nothing.”

“So what happened? ”

“He’s a self-involved, conceited, piece of shit. And he’s not even smart. And my mother doesn’t like him.”

“What does Sam think of him? ”

“Dad doesn’t count. He likes everybody.”

That really made me laugh.

“Don’t laugh. Why were you mad? ”

“We can talk about it, ” I said.

“Yeah, like you’re so good at that.”

“Give me a break, Dante.”

“Okay.”

“Okay. So what are you doing tonight? ”

“Our parents are going bowling.”

“They are? ”

“They talk a lot.”

“They do? ”

“Don’t you know anything? ”

“I guess I’m a little aloof sometimes.”

“A little? ”

“I’m trying here, Dante.”

“Say you’re sorry. I don’t like people who don’t know how to say they’re sorry.”

“Okay. I’m sorry.”

“Okay.” I could tell he was smiling. “They want us to go along.”

“Bowling? ”

Twenty

DANTE WAS SITTING ON THE FRONT PORCH, WAITING. He bounced down the steps and hopped in the truck. “Bowling sounds really boring.”

“Have you ever gone? ”

“Of course I have. I’m not good at it.”

“Do you have to be good at everything? ”

“Yes.”

“Get over it. Maybe we’ll have fun.”

“Since when do you want to hang out with your parents? ”

“They’re okay, ” I said. “They’re good. Something you said.”

“What? ”

“You said you’d never run away from home because you were crazy about your parents. I thought it was a really weird thing to say. I mean, not normal. I mean, I thought parents were aliens, I guess.”

“They’re not. They’re just people.”

“Yeah. You know, I think I’ve changed my mind about my mom and dad.”

“You mean you’re crazy about them.”

“Yeah. I guess so.” I started the truck. “I’m a pretty shitty bowler too. Just so you know.”

“I bet we’re better than our mothers.”

“We sure as hell better be.”

We laughed. And laughed. And laughed.

When we got to the bowling alley, Dante looked at me and said, “I told my mom and dad that I never, ever wanted to kiss another guy for the rest of my life.”

“You told them that? ”

“Yeah.”

“What did they say? ”

“My dad rolled his eyes.”

“What did your mom say? ”

“Not much. She said she knew a really good therapist. ‘He’ll help you come to terms, ’ she said. And then she said, ‘Unless you want to talk to me instead.’” He looked at me. We busted out laughing.

“Your mom, ” I said. “I like her.”

“She’s tough as hell, ” he said. “But soft, too.”

“Yeah, ” I said. “I noticed that.”

“Our parents are really weird, ” he said.

“Because they love us? That’s not so weird.”

“It’s how they love us that’s weird.”

“Beautiful, ” I said.

Dante looked at me. “You’re different.”

“How? ”

“I don’t know. You’re acting different.”

“Weird? ”

“Yeah, weird. But in a good way.”

“Good, ” I said, “I’ve always wanted to be weird in a good way.”

I think our parents were really surprised to see that we’d actually showed up. Our fathers were drinking beer. Our mothers were drinking 7UP. Their scores were lousy. Sam smiled at us. “I didn’t think you guys would actually show up.”

“We were bored, ” I said.

“I liked you better when you weren’t such a smart aleck.”

“Sorry, ” I said.

It was fun. We had fun. It turned out I was the best bowler. I bowled over 120. And my third game I bowled 135. Terrible, really, when you think about it. But the rest of the crew really sucked. Especially my mom and Mrs. Quintana. They talked a lot. And laughed a lot. Dante and I kept looking at each other and laughing.