And so that was the anticlimactic end to my search. It was hard to be totally unsatisfied, since she later did take the pencil, look it over, and bring it to her room. Maybe it means something to her that I don’t need to know, and that’s okay, I can live with that. It was good to be home, to enjoy a meal with them. The Russian soup had stewed long enough for the tomato flavor to meld with the oxtail, and grandfather had splurged on hand-pulled noodles. It was a perfect dinner.

“Arby’s this week, right?” I asked. I started looking through grandmother’s coupon pile to find her favorite.

They exchanged a glance, and that’s when I should have known something was wrong. But grandmother was so smooth in her response that I totally bought it.

“I think ninety-one might be too old for Arby’s,” she said. “Too much sodium, and I already had those fries today.”

I found the coupon and tacked it onto the refrigerator, right next to the picture of me from second grade Halloween. “We’ll have to do something else, then.”

“Another dinner of noodles. For longevity,” grandfather said, and I could not complain.

That night, full of warm soup, I lay on my childhood bed, staring at my phone. My mind drifted to Louise again, replaying our conversation, wondering what she would think of grandmother’s reaction to Meng’s pencil. Was there anything I could tell her now? I suddenly remembered to check my voter registration status. I took a breath and texted her.

confirmed voter registration! ✅

Her reply came immediately.

excellent!! how was the trip back to boston?

I smiled. A part of me had worried she’d brush me off, that our lives were done intersecting. Instead she opened the conversation up to talk about not pencils or Shanghai or grandmother or Meng, but me.

not bad! grandparents came to the station to meet me. felt a bit like I was back in elementary school getting picked up from the bus stop. but it was v cute

Again, another quick reply.

ahhh too cute! bet they made you food too

I grinned.

and there were fresh sheets! how’s princeton?

so you do know where i go to school!

My cheeks burned. I almost tossed the phone away. I forgot I had feigned not knowing. I tried to salvage my dignity.

I noticed it in your profile today

only today? you didnt research everything about me before we met?

I could easily lie. Was she upset? Had she somehow figured out I had thoroughly searched her name before meeting her? It shouldn’t have been possible—I knew that much about internet privacy. Still, I panicked.

id expect more from a cs major at swat