“This looks great,” I say. “I’m in.”
“Great.”
“Can we change one of the boxes?”
“Oh Jesus. Which one?”
“The one about giving one of the parents a makeover. I don’t really want to drag my parents into this at all.”
“Okay, I get that, but we gotta come up with something good. My dad takes this board very seriously,” Heaven says.
“Why don’t we give each other a makeover? You can goth me up and I’ll turn you into a pretty princess.”
“First off, I am not goth. I just like wearing black. Goth is a lifestyle. Plus, you don’t think I already look like a pretty princess?”
“I think you’re gorgeous,” I say truthfully. “A certified hottie. I’m just thinking about the bingo board. If we make each other over, it should still count toward the spirit of that square.”
“Yeah, okay. I’ll ask my dad, but that seems like a good swap,” she grumbles.
“Good.” I smile, and then Heaven gets real quiet. It goes against the laws of being a Ford to leave a silence unfilled, but something tells me to zip it just for a minute. It turnsinto a long few minutes, but I sit there and wait, and finally my brain decides to remind me I’m really sitting here in Heaven’s kitchen. She’s not psyched about it, but we are going to spend the summer together. Maybe this is good for my crush and my mission to get over it.
I spend a bunch of time with Heaven. Really get to know her, realize we’re terrible for each other. Poof! Crush gone. But, of course, we remain the bestest of friends forever. It’s a genius plan, really.
9
Saylor
I glance around the Goo-Campbells’ kitchen thinking of how long I have before Heaven kicks me out. I almost suggest that we could start the bingo right now, like right now, because why not. But I decide to keep my mouth shut. I look at Heaven’s hand where she’s toying with the edge of her phone case. It’s black with cartoon bats on the back. Her short nails are painted black too. I don’t know if I believe her about the goth thing.
“Where did you tell your mom you were going when you decided to walk over here?” she asks.
“I just told her I wanted to get some fresh air.”
“In this heat?”
“She was busy editing in her air-conditioned office. She wasn’t paying attention to the weather forecast.”
“Alright.”
I nod and try again to keep my lips zipped. Heaven looks down, like she’s looking at my cast before she looks up at me again. “So, you’re gay. That’s pretty cool.”
“Thanks.” I laugh. “It feels like it’s only been a few days and also like I’ve known forever.”Or maybe the first time I really looked at you.
“That makes sense. I came out to my parents when I was like five and things haven’t really changed since.”
“Do you do anything to celebrate Pride or just keep it low-key and chill? Like you do with everything else.”
“I’m not sure what that means, but no, I don’t really celebrate. Not really a parades type person. Jake and Axel usually give me their annual hug and tell me they are happy I’m their gay friend. My dad will put on like three disco songs and dance around the kitchen until I beg him to stop, but that’s about it. We did watch this really good doc on Black trans sex workers in New York last week. It was good to hear their stories, get a little context and some history.”
“That sounds cool. I don’t know how I’d want to celebrate.” Beyond kissing you. “I told my parents and my friends and then we wrapped up school and I was off to camp.”
“Be right back.” Heaven stands all of a sudden and grabs her phone. I watch her as she wrangles the dogs and takes them back to wherever she got the dog treats. I hear their crates closing and then Heaven is back. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?” I scurry after her as we head back over to the front door. She grabs her bag and waits for me to put on my shoes, and then I follow her to the garage. The automatic light comes on. I almost skid to a stop behind her as she unlocks the door to a sleek black Audi SUV.
“This is your car?!”
“Yes?”