Page 129 of Deep End

“. . . don’t see the problem, Alex! I’m committed to her. I’m not going anywhere. If she wants to call me Mom—”

Dad’s response, in the tone that made my guts churn and my skin goose bump. Not being hungry anymore. Crawling back upstairs and drinking from the Dixie cups in the bathroom, the ones Barb had bought for me to rinse my teeth.

She is, indisputably, the best thing that ever happened to me. I wondered for years why she kept her married name after the divorce, and at eighteen I realized that it wasn’t because it was Dad’s—but because it wasmine.

I turn to her and say, “You can just saygrandmother, you know?”

“Mm?”

“If I ever have a kid—which for the purpose of this conversationwould be grown from the mitosis of cells scraped from my cheeks, since I conduct myselfvery contraceptively—they wouldn’t call youstep-grandma.”

“I know, honey.” She lets go of the steering wheel and wraps her fingers around mine. Barb and I rarely do this. Have moments.Sap. “They’d be required to call me Dr. Vandermeer, of course.”

I snort and pull my hand away.

That night I stream a movie, and send Lukas a picture of my computer screen. I get a reply when the credits start rolling—eleven for me, 6:00 a.m. in Stockholm. Yup, I can calculate the time difference like a pro by now.

LUKAS:I knew it would come to this.

I laugh.

SCARLETT:“This” being me watching Midsommar?

LUKAS:I should have taken preventative measures.

SCARLETT:Mandatory follow-up question: do you actually celebrate Midsommar?

LUKAS:Yes.

SCARLETT:And do you . . . ?

LUKAS:Go out of town to dance around the maypole, play sack races, eat pickled herring? Yes.

SCARLETT:Interesting.

LUKAS:Just ask about the sex rituals, Scarlett.

SCARLETT:I don’t want to be culturally insensitive, but I need to know if they happen.

LUKAS:How disappointed would you be if I said no?

SCARLETT:Immensely.

LUKAS:Problem is, we mostly celebrate Midsommar with our extended families. Siblings. Parents. Grandparents.

SCARLETT:That’s too kinky even for me.

LUKAS:Figured. You should come visit next summer. See for yourself.

SCARLETT:You’re luring me there with the promise of depraved sex rituals, while planning to use me for depraved human sacrifices.

LUKAS:It’s a real invitation. Ideally you should come when Jan’s here.

SCARLETT:Why?

LUKAS:Keeps telling everyone how amazing you are. Pulling up videos of your dives to show every Blomqvist in a thirty-kilometer radius.

SCARLETT:You need to stop him.

---