A half hour later, the doorbell rang. As she hurried to answer it, her mom emerged from the kitchen.

“Who is it?”

“Raj. I told you. We’re practicing our presentation.”

The sight of Raj’s sweet, curious, smiling face filled her with a leavening joy. He was so tall now he had developed a bit of a stoop. Holding his hands clasped behind his back, he entered her house like an ambassador.

“Aloha, Mrs. Kroger,” Raj said, as they passed through the dining room.

Wincing out a smile, her mom quickly withdrew into the kitchen. Nora took him to her room. She had propped two large pillows against the side of her bed. As Raj sat against one of these, she asked if he minded listening to music while they worked, and put on “Love Me Tender.”

As she sat, Raj said, “I thought that what I could do is give the historical background, while you—”

“You have amazing eyelashes,” she said.

He fluttered his eyes. “Of course.” Now his face became crazily intense, with one eye squinted. “Just look at this soil.” He pinched his own cheek. “Prime bottomland. Put a dead stick in there, next day it’ll be sprouting.” He was imitating Mr. Cleever, who was notorious for selling the most frequently flooded land to city folks for their summer cottages.

“You don’t like being serious, do you?”

“Interrupts my breathing.” He pointed to his throat.

His leg was shaking with nervous energy and he was glancing around her room. On the back of his neck she noticed the swelling of a mosquito bite and touched her finger to it.

“You’ve been bitten?”

“Savaged. Got so much of my blood we’re now officially related.”

She laughed.

The door opened and her dad entered. She snatched her hand away.

“What’s going on?”

“We’re doing a presentation on Samuel Adams tomorrow.”

“Well, there’s a table out in the dining room.”

“We’re fine here,” she said.

“Is this homework music?”

“Dad.”

“What have you got on your face? We’re spending a fortune on treatment for your zits and you’re covering your face with that junk?”

“Dad, get out of my room.”

He squatted down in front of them. Keeping his eyes on her, he put out his clenched hand.

“All I ask of you is two things.” He uncurled his forefinger. “That you’re not related to the bastard.” Now his second finger. “And that his mother isn’t a damn monkey.”

“We can go into the other room,” Raj said, pulling himself up.

“Well, that’s real big of you.” Her dad stood also. “You know what, sonny, I have a special room for you.”

He put his arm around Raj and almost lifted him off the floor as he frog-marched him through the house and out the front door. Nora followed, screaming at her dad to stop.

“There you go.” Her dad shoved Raj toward the porch steps. “Enjoy.” Preventing Nora from following, he stepped back into the house and held the door closed behind him.