“All right, you know the drill,” Auntie Jackie says. She ties the tight blue elastic around my arm while Dad and Pops get comfortable. “College ain’t so bad, baby. I wish I had gone earlier.”

“I’ve heard that a few times.” I stare down at my arm as she sticks the needle in. She has a bunch of little vials that she switches out seamlessly. “But that doesn’t mean I’m excited about it. It doesn’t mean my parents should be so eager to get rid of me.”

“Just because you said that, we’re going to throw a party the day you leave,” Dad says, fiddling with his glasses. His other hand rests in Pops’s. God, they’re so corny. “Then we’ll change the locks.”

“I don’t know how you watch her do that,” Pops says. My eyes, which were focused on the needle and the vial, snap over to him. He’s staring down at his shoes.

“What?” I ask. “The blood? Are you afraid I’m going to drink it or something?”

Auntie Jackie snickers. “Don’t disrespect your father.”

“It’s not something we need to watch,” Pops says, rubbing a hand over his face. “Blood is just…”

“You have blood, too,” Dad says, nudging his shoulder. “Do you scare yourself?”

“Man, I can’t trust none of y’all,” Pops snaps. “You’re not too old to be spanked, Simone.”

I roll my eyes. He’s been saying that since I was five, but he’s never actually done it. I think it’s just something he heard growing up.

“She’ll be an adult soon enough,” Auntie Jackie says. She gently pulls the needle out of my arm, taping some gauze down. “How’s your new school? I don’t have to show up and kick someone’s behind, do I?”

“You asked last time,” I remind her, rolling down my sleeves. “It hasn’t changed much. Um, there are lots of rich kids. I don’t know. It’s school, Auntie Jackie.”

“I think she’s enjoying it,” Dad says, giving me one of his knowing smiles. “She’s the director of the school play, and her teachers rave about her.”

“I don’t expect anything less,” Auntie Jackie says with a wide smile. “I’ll see you on opening night, all right? I’d better hear about those tickets.”

I give her a small smile. I want to tell her about Miles—about how he watched Sweeney Todd just because I talked about it so much, about how he looks at me, how he makes me feel like I’m floating after he kisses me.

Maybe Auntie Jackie would understand what it’s like to want to have it both ways: to disclose, but also to forget about HIV when I’m with him.