I knew I was supposed to be flattered by this, but I just felt uncomfortable. “Really?” I said, trying to pretend like I was interested.

“Oh yeah. If I see him again, I’ll take a picture.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Oh, I know,” Tasha said, laughing. “Take it as a favor from me. Listen, I have to go, but I’m so glad we finally talked. Let’s keep it up, okay?”

“Okay. Have fun in France.”

“I’ll text you. You better answer.”

Chapter 12

On the Fourth of July, there was a parade in Woodacre. Joan and I brought camping chairs down to Railroad Avenue, where her friend Tony Merritt had wheeled a big cooler full of water and Popsicles. Because the parade ended at a horse-boarding ranch, kids riding horses made up a big portion of the spectacle. There were also tractors bearing American flags, a giant papier-mâché unicorn pulled on a trailer, and a truck hung with Pride flags. In the truck bed, a bunch of people dressed in rainbow gear were waving and tossing candy out to the kids. They wore sashes that declared LOVE IS LOVE and JUST GAY MARRIED!

After the parade, there was a flea market with vendors and food stands at the ranch, and Joan and I wandered through the stalls looking at carved wooden mobiles of flying pigs, or Tibetan singing bowls on bright silk cushions, or collections of Grateful Dead memorabilia. Tasha had been texting me photos from the Edgartown Fourth of July parade—which, like every New England event, had people dressed up in colonial costumes carrying fake muskets—so I sent her photos of a flying pig mobile and a selfie in front of the papier-mâché unicorn.

Tasha texted: What is that doing in a 4th of July parade?!

I replied: It’s Marin

That night we went to a barbecue at Tony Merritt’s place. It was about a fifteen-minute walk from Joan’s house. Tony was a carpenter and had a workshop on his property, and Joan told me he had done the built-ins in Grandpa’s office as well as her art studio. We brought Analemma with us because she was friends with Tony’s dog, Goldie, a pit bull–yellow lab mix with the sweetest eyes and extremely bad breath, and I realized Tony was the person who sometimes walked Ana. There were many people at the barbecue I didn’t know, but some of them knew who I was because Joan had told them about me. There was a lot of “Congratulations on MIT!” and “Sounds like you’re following in your grandpa’s footsteps!”