I’m their man.” He hesitated. “But I know I’m not.”
“Mmm,” I said, thinking of how I sometimes felt I was living my mother’s derailed dreams. “What do you want to do?”
Chris opened the wicker basket and pulled out two Cokes. “Well, I had this incredibly cool job last summer. I worked for Habitat for Humanity building houses for low-income families,” he said thoughtfully. “I’m signed up to doit again this summer, but considering I don’t get paid anything, I guess it’s not a practical choice for a career.” He shrugged and handed me a Coke. “If we stay up here talking long enough, maybe you’ll help me figure it out.”
“I’ll try,” I said, reaching into the basket. “But first I’ll need a little help from these brownies.”
Chris’s mom had stacked the brownies four across and three deep, and wrapped them first in plastic, then in aluminum foil. Chris tore the package open, making no effort to be neat about it. I thanked him for the brownie he offered, then took a big bite.
“This is delicious,” I said. “Tell your mom she’s a terrific baker.”
“Oh, my mom didn’t bake these,” he said. “She’s too busy to bake. She bought them at Sutton’s.”
I was silent, thinking of my mom baking an apple pie after working two jobs. “Well, they’re still really good,” I said.
“Mmm,” Chris said, his mouth full of brownie. “So what do you think about when you’re sitting up here?” he asked.
“Oh, a bunch of things,” I answered, trying to talk without chewing. “What college will be like, all the books I haven’t read … lots of things. Sometimes I even count up all the trash cans in the neighborhood and try to imagine where all of it goes.”
I didn’t tell him that I also thought about what lovemeans and whether marriage can last, and why my father had abandoned us so long ago. You couldn’t tell a guy something that personal on your first date.
“Garbage! Now there’s something that’ll blow your mind,” Chris said. “At our house we recycle everything, but it doesn’t make a dent in what’s thrown away. I really worry about what’s happening to our environment and how we can solve the problems we’re creating with all our waste.”
“I do too,” I said. “But somehow, up here, all problems seem solvable. Maybe it’s because I’m looking down on them.”
“Yeah,” Chris said. “I know exactly what you mean.”
Blythe and I were always finishing each other’s sentences or punctuating them with “Exactly!” but I had never expected that to happen with a guy.
We sat talking, eating, and watching the moon until finally we noticed that one side of it was changing shape. Twenty minutes later it was totally in eclipse.
Even though I had read all about eclipses, I was still surprised that the moon hadn’t disappeared in blackness. Instead, it was a dull coppery color. It was eerie but also comforting, like the gentle glow of a child’s night-light. “Amazing!” I said. “I expected it to look much darker.”
“It is amazing,” Chris said. “Some of the sunlight that shines on Earth is scattered by our atmosphere, and enough of that light reaches the moon.” He laughed. “I don’t thinkTayerle would be too pleased with my nontechnical explanation.”
“Who cares?” I said softly. “It’s magical.”
“Well, enjoy the magic,” Chris said. “The moon will only be in total eclipse for seven minutes.”
I stood up then like a surfer, half crouched, legs bent at the knees.
“Where are you going?” Chris asked.
“I just want to check something.” I waddled like that to the roof’s peak, and after securing my footing, made my way cautiously down the slight slope on the other side. The back end of our apartment overlooked the courtyard all the Palms tenants shared: a half circle of Bermuda grass and a medium-sized lima-bean-shaped pool.
“Chris, come over here,” I whispered. When I called him, he stood
“Mmm,” I said, thinking of how I sometimes felt I was living my mother’s derailed dreams. “What do you want to do?”
Chris opened the wicker basket and pulled out two Cokes. “Well, I had this incredibly cool job last summer. I worked for Habitat for Humanity building houses for low-income families,” he said thoughtfully. “I’m signed up to doit again this summer, but considering I don’t get paid anything, I guess it’s not a practical choice for a career.” He shrugged and handed me a Coke. “If we stay up here talking long enough, maybe you’ll help me figure it out.”
“I’ll try,” I said, reaching into the basket. “But first I’ll need a little help from these brownies.”
Chris’s mom had stacked the brownies four across and three deep, and wrapped them first in plastic, then in aluminum foil. Chris tore the package open, making no effort to be neat about it. I thanked him for the brownie he offered, then took a big bite.
“This is delicious,” I said. “Tell your mom she’s a terrific baker.”
“Oh, my mom didn’t bake these,” he said. “She’s too busy to bake. She bought them at Sutton’s.”
I was silent, thinking of my mom baking an apple pie after working two jobs. “Well, they’re still really good,” I said.
“Mmm,” Chris said, his mouth full of brownie. “So what do you think about when you’re sitting up here?” he asked.
“Oh, a bunch of things,” I answered, trying to talk without chewing. “What college will be like, all the books I haven’t read … lots of things. Sometimes I even count up all the trash cans in the neighborhood and try to imagine where all of it goes.”
I didn’t tell him that I also thought about what lovemeans and whether marriage can last, and why my father had abandoned us so long ago. You couldn’t tell a guy something that personal on your first date.
“Garbage! Now there’s something that’ll blow your mind,” Chris said. “At our house we recycle everything, but it doesn’t make a dent in what’s thrown away. I really worry about what’s happening to our environment and how we can solve the problems we’re creating with all our waste.”
“I do too,” I said. “But somehow, up here, all problems seem solvable. Maybe it’s because I’m looking down on them.”
“Yeah,” Chris said. “I know exactly what you mean.”
Blythe and I were always finishing each other’s sentences or punctuating them with “Exactly!” but I had never expected that to happen with a guy.
We sat talking, eating, and watching the moon until finally we noticed that one side of it was changing shape. Twenty minutes later it was totally in eclipse.
Even though I had read all about eclipses, I was still surprised that the moon hadn’t disappeared in blackness. Instead, it was a dull coppery color. It was eerie but also comforting, like the gentle glow of a child’s night-light. “Amazing!” I said. “I expected it to look much darker.”
“It is amazing,” Chris said. “Some of the sunlight that shines on Earth is scattered by our atmosphere, and enough of that light reaches the moon.” He laughed. “I don’t thinkTayerle would be too pleased with my nontechnical explanation.”
“Who cares?” I said softly. “It’s magical.”
“Well, enjoy the magic,” Chris said. “The moon will only be in total eclipse for seven minutes.”
I stood up then like a surfer, half crouched, legs bent at the knees.
“Where are you going?” Chris asked.
“I just want to check something.” I waddled like that to the roof’s peak, and after securing my footing, made my way cautiously down the slight slope on the other side. The back end of our apartment overlooked the courtyard all the Palms tenants shared: a half circle of Bermuda grass and a medium-sized lima-bean-shaped pool.
“Chris, come over here,” I whispered. When I called him, he stood
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