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“‘Desperately Lonely Sw<strong>in</strong>g Set Needs Lov<strong>in</strong>g Home,’” he said.<br />
“‘Lonely, Vaguely Pedophilic Sw<strong>in</strong>g Set Seeks <strong>the</strong> Butts of Children,’” I said.<br />
He laughed. “That’s why.”<br />
“What?”<br />
“That’s why I like you. Do you realize how rare it is to come across a hot girl who creates an adjectival version of <strong>the</strong> word pedophile?<br />
You are so busy be<strong>in</strong>g you that you have no idea how utterly unprecedented you are.”<br />
I took a deep breath through my nose. There was never enough air <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> world, but <strong>the</strong> shortage was particularly acute <strong>in</strong> that moment.<br />
We wrote <strong>the</strong> ad toge<strong>the</strong>r, edit<strong>in</strong>g each o<strong>the</strong>r as we went. In <strong>the</strong> end, we settled upon this:<br />
Desperately Lonely Sw<strong>in</strong>g Set Needs Lov<strong>in</strong>g Home<br />
One sw<strong>in</strong>g set, well worn but structurally sound, seeks new home. Make memories with y<strong>our</strong> kid or kids so that someday he or she or<br />
<strong>the</strong>y will look <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> backyard and feel <strong>the</strong> ache of sentimentality as desperately as I did this afternoon. It’s all fragile and fleet<strong>in</strong>g, dear<br />
reader, but with this sw<strong>in</strong>g set, y<strong>our</strong> child(ren) will be <strong>in</strong>troduced to <strong>the</strong> ups and downs of human life gently and safely, and may also<br />
learn <strong>the</strong> most important lesson of all: No matter how hard you kick, no matter how high you get, you can’t go all <strong>the</strong> way around.<br />
Sw<strong>in</strong>g set currently resides near 83rd and Spr<strong>in</strong>g Mill.<br />
After that, we turned on <strong>the</strong> TV for a little while, but we couldn’t f<strong>in</strong>d anyth<strong>in</strong>g to watch, so I grabbed An Imperial Affliction off <strong>the</strong> bedside<br />
table and brought it back <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> liv<strong>in</strong>g room and Augustus Waters read to me while Mom, mak<strong>in</strong>g lunch, listened <strong>in</strong>.<br />
“‘Mo<strong>the</strong>r’s glass eye turned <strong>in</strong>ward,’” Augustus began. As he read, I fell <strong>in</strong> love <strong>the</strong> way you fall asleep: slowly, and <strong>the</strong>n all at once.<br />
When I checked my email an h<strong>our</strong> later, I learned that we had plenty of sw<strong>in</strong>g-set suitors to choose from. In <strong>the</strong> end, we picked a guy named<br />
Daniel Alvarez who’d <strong>in</strong>cluded a picture of his three kids play<strong>in</strong>g video games with <strong>the</strong> subject l<strong>in</strong>e I just want <strong>the</strong>m to go outside. I emailed<br />
him back and told him to pick it up at his leisure.<br />
Augustus asked if I wanted to go with him to Support Group, but I was really tired from my busy day of Hav<strong>in</strong>g Cancer, so I passed. We<br />
were sitt<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>re on <strong>the</strong> couch toge<strong>the</strong>r, and he pushed himself up to go but <strong>the</strong>n fell back down onto <strong>the</strong> couch and sneaked a kiss onto my<br />
cheek.<br />
“Augustus!” I said.<br />
“Friendly,” he said. He pushed himself up aga<strong>in</strong> and really stood this time, <strong>the</strong>n took two steps over to my mom and said, “Always a<br />
pleasure to see you,” and my mom opened her arms to hug him, whereupon Augustus leaned <strong>in</strong> and kissed my mom on <strong>the</strong> cheek. He turned<br />
back to me. “See?” he asked.<br />
I went to bed right after d<strong>in</strong>ner, <strong>the</strong> BiPAP drown<strong>in</strong>g out <strong>the</strong> world beyond my room.<br />
I never saw <strong>the</strong> sw<strong>in</strong>g set aga<strong>in</strong>.<br />
* * *<br />
I slept for a long time, ten h<strong>our</strong>s, possibly because of <strong>the</strong> slow recovery and possibly because sleep fights cancer and possibly because I was a<br />
teenager with no particular wake-up time. I wasn’t strong enough yet to go back to classes at MCC. When I f<strong>in</strong>ally felt like gett<strong>in</strong>g up, I<br />
removed <strong>the</strong> BiPAP snout from my nose, put my oxygen nubb<strong>in</strong>s <strong>in</strong>, turned <strong>the</strong>m on, and <strong>the</strong>n grabbed my laptop from beneath my bed,<br />
where I’d stashed it <strong>the</strong> night before.<br />
I had an email from Lidewij Vliegenthart.<br />
Dear Hazel,<br />
I have received word via <strong>the</strong> Genies that you will be visit<strong>in</strong>g us with Augustus Waters and y<strong>our</strong> mo<strong>the</strong>r beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g on 4th of May. Only a<br />
week away! Peter and I are delighted and cannot wait to make y<strong>our</strong> acqua<strong>in</strong>tance. Y<strong>our</strong> hotel, <strong>the</strong> Filosoof, is just one street away from<br />
Peter’s home. Perhaps we should give you one day for <strong>the</strong> jet lag, yes? So if convenient, we will meet you at Peter’s home on <strong>the</strong><br />
morn<strong>in</strong>g of 5th May at perhaps ten o’clock for a cup of coffee and for him to answer questions you have about his book. And <strong>the</strong>n<br />
perhaps afterward we can t<strong>our</strong> a museum or <strong>the</strong> Anne Frank House?<br />
With all best wishes,<br />
Lidewij Vliegenthart<br />
Executive Assistant to Mr. Peter Van Houten, author of An Imperial Affliction<br />
* * *<br />
“Mom,” I said. She didn’t answer. “MOM!” I shouted. Noth<strong>in</strong>g. Aga<strong>in</strong>, louder, “MOM!”<br />
She ran <strong>in</strong> wear<strong>in</strong>g a threadbare p<strong>in</strong>k towel under her armpits, dripp<strong>in</strong>g, vaguely panicked. “What’s wrong?”<br />
“Noth<strong>in</strong>g. Sorry, I didn’t know you were <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> shower,” I said.<br />
“Bath,” she said. “I was just . . .” She closed her eyes. “Just try<strong>in</strong>g to take a bath for five seconds. Sorry. What’s go<strong>in</strong>g on?”<br />
“Can you call <strong>the</strong> Genies and tell <strong>the</strong>m <strong>the</strong> trip is off? I just got an email from Peter Van Houten’s assistant. She th<strong>in</strong>ks we’re com<strong>in</strong>g.”<br />
She pursed her lips and squ<strong>in</strong>ted past me.<br />
“What?” I asked.<br />
“I’m not supposed to tell you until y<strong>our</strong> fa<strong>the</strong>r gets home.”<br />
“What?” I asked aga<strong>in</strong>.<br />
“Trip’s on,” she said f<strong>in</strong>ally. “Dr. Maria called us last night and made a conv<strong>in</strong>c<strong>in</strong>g case that you need to live y<strong>our</strong>—”<br />
“MOM, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!” I shouted, and she came to <strong>the</strong> bed and let me hug her.<br />
I texted Augustus because I knew he was <strong>in</strong> school: