out of me. I was surprised how much they were talking about my dad.
“The truth is, I think I’m happier now,” the Mims said.
That made it seem like she was the one who left. I was never sure. I didn’t know when my dad had started up with Holland.But it was hard to believe my mom left. My dad admired her; she seemed to him rare and valuable, but he didn’t need her. She needed him, not for the complicated things but for the easy ones. She forgot to lock the door and she ruined enough kettles for him to buy one that shrieked so she wouldn’t burn down the house. But then he moved out. I guess he didn’t worry about the house burning with just us in it. I thought my dad had loved my mom more than she’d loved him. Eli loved her more, too. I felt a twinge; she hadn’t even visited the guy in the hospital. I felt guilty remembering that; I hadn’t wanted her to go.
“You’re happier without him and with Eli,” the doctor said.
“Eli’s coming with me to the Kovalevsky thing. No, I’m happy with him. Everything’s just … even bobby-pinning Emma’s bun. Doing ordinary things, I feel more …”
“Is he going along with you?” Bells rang in the doctor’s voice. She was merry. There were girls in my class like that. Hector called them the goofy good-time girls.
“Do you think he’ll always be getting mad at me?”
“We’ll have to find a way to make him feel secure.”
“I’d never leave him,” my mother said.
The doctor laughed again. She seemed like a party girl, just a very, very old one.
It wasn’t until we were driving west to the smelly upstairs studio that I realized they hadn’t mentioned me once.
23 • Business
I opened bags of the new chips for people to sample. Mexi-Crisps were catching on. Three girls bought the prepopped caramel corn. Salsitas were a hard sell, even though they were way cheaper than the brands we knew. And nobody touched the yellow soda. I was surprised to learn that Cottonwoods kids were so prejudiced.
But even with resistance to the new merchandise, business grew. Kids asked me in the halls if I sold soup. We had a regular line now in the chemistry room. Hector and I both stashed thermoses in our lockers to keep things from getting overly conspicuous. We had bat-shit crazy lunch periods. I stayed by my open locker while Hector went to buy us burritos from the cart. We were sick of soup. I was waiting to introduce the Mexican Coke. I still had to figure out pricing.
“What are we going to do with all the Inca Kola?” Hector asked.
“Starting next week, I’ll cut it to half price. If that doesn’t work, I don’t know. We may have to actually start drinking it.”
Hector loved the spicy pig chips. But then, he’d eaten bugs when he was little. *
----
* I always did have the more refined palate. That became clear later, with the older version of Coke and bath salts .
24 • Einstein Was a Great Romantic
We were standing in front of Cottonwoods waiting for carpool when Eli showed up on foot. No one walked to carpool. He said hi to my friends—he knew the Rabid Rabbits’ names, even Simon’s, and he’d only met him once, and they nodded, not the least surprised to be remembered—and asked me if I wanted to take a walk. I said sure, and we headed to a supermarket parking lot, where he put his hand on top of a rusted Volvo. The car wasn’t as neat as I expected from what my dad had since dubbed the Closet Caper. A dirty toy slanted on the backseat. “My friend Mark lets me borrow his mother-in-law’s car,” he said. “She doesn’t use it. I pay for the long-term parking.” He drove south to a tract of land with a miles-long duck pond and a dusty road. There were old half-neglected parks like this all over LA. We started to roam.
“Your mom told me about the math teacher,” he said. “She sounds frustrating.”
The Mims never thought I had the right to be frustrated. No matter how horrible a teacher, my parents wanted me to make
“The truth is, I think I’m happier now,” the Mims said.
That made it seem like she was the one who left. I was never sure. I didn’t know when my dad had started up with Holland.But it was hard to believe my mom left. My dad admired her; she seemed to him rare and valuable, but he didn’t need her. She needed him, not for the complicated things but for the easy ones. She forgot to lock the door and she ruined enough kettles for him to buy one that shrieked so she wouldn’t burn down the house. But then he moved out. I guess he didn’t worry about the house burning with just us in it. I thought my dad had loved my mom more than she’d loved him. Eli loved her more, too. I felt a twinge; she hadn’t even visited the guy in the hospital. I felt guilty remembering that; I hadn’t wanted her to go.
“You’re happier without him and with Eli,” the doctor said.
“Eli’s coming with me to the Kovalevsky thing. No, I’m happy with him. Everything’s just … even bobby-pinning Emma’s bun. Doing ordinary things, I feel more …”
“Is he going along with you?” Bells rang in the doctor’s voice. She was merry. There were girls in my class like that. Hector called them the goofy good-time girls.
“Do you think he’ll always be getting mad at me?”
“We’ll have to find a way to make him feel secure.”
“I’d never leave him,” my mother said.
The doctor laughed again. She seemed like a party girl, just a very, very old one.
It wasn’t until we were driving west to the smelly upstairs studio that I realized they hadn’t mentioned me once.
23 • Business
I opened bags of the new chips for people to sample. Mexi-Crisps were catching on. Three girls bought the prepopped caramel corn. Salsitas were a hard sell, even though they were way cheaper than the brands we knew. And nobody touched the yellow soda. I was surprised to learn that Cottonwoods kids were so prejudiced.
But even with resistance to the new merchandise, business grew. Kids asked me in the halls if I sold soup. We had a regular line now in the chemistry room. Hector and I both stashed thermoses in our lockers to keep things from getting overly conspicuous. We had bat-shit crazy lunch periods. I stayed by my open locker while Hector went to buy us burritos from the cart. We were sick of soup. I was waiting to introduce the Mexican Coke. I still had to figure out pricing.
“What are we going to do with all the Inca Kola?” Hector asked.
“Starting next week, I’ll cut it to half price. If that doesn’t work, I don’t know. We may have to actually start drinking it.”
Hector loved the spicy pig chips. But then, he’d eaten bugs when he was little. *
----
* I always did have the more refined palate. That became clear later, with the older version of Coke and bath salts .
24 • Einstein Was a Great Romantic
We were standing in front of Cottonwoods waiting for carpool when Eli showed up on foot. No one walked to carpool. He said hi to my friends—he knew the Rabid Rabbits’ names, even Simon’s, and he’d only met him once, and they nodded, not the least surprised to be remembered—and asked me if I wanted to take a walk. I said sure, and we headed to a supermarket parking lot, where he put his hand on top of a rusted Volvo. The car wasn’t as neat as I expected from what my dad had since dubbed the Closet Caper. A dirty toy slanted on the backseat. “My friend Mark lets me borrow his mother-in-law’s car,” he said. “She doesn’t use it. I pay for the long-term parking.” He drove south to a tract of land with a miles-long duck pond and a dusty road. There were old half-neglected parks like this all over LA. We started to roam.
“Your mom told me about the math teacher,” he said. “She sounds frustrating.”
The Mims never thought I had the right to be frustrated. No matter how horrible a teacher, my parents wanted me to make
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