Если я останусь

           "IthinkWillow’sofftoday."

           "Wecouldhaveabarbecue,"Dadsaid."ItisLaborDayandgrillinginthisheatwouldcertainlyqualifyaslabor."

           "Plus,we’vegotafreezerfullofsteaksfromwhenyourfatherdecidedtoorderthatsideofbeef,"Momsaid."Whynot?"

           "CanAdamcome?"Iasked.

           "Ofcourse,"Momsaid."Wehaven’tseenmuchofyouryoungmanlately."

           "Iknow,"Isaid."Thingsarestartingtohappenfortheband,"Isaid.AtthetimeIwasexcitedaboutit.Genuinelyandcompletely.GranhadonlyrecentlyplantedtheseedofJuilliardinmyhead,butithadn’ttakenroot.Ihadn’tdecidedtoapplyyet.ThingswithAdamhadnotgottenweirdyet.

           "Iftherockstarcanhandleahumblepicnicwithsquareslikeus,"Dadjoked.

           "Ifhecanhandleasquarelikeme,hecanhandlesquareslikeyou,"Ijokedback."IthinkI’llinviteKim,too."

           "Themorethemerrier,"Momsaid."We’llmakeitablowoutlikeintheoldendays."

           "Whendinosaursroamedtheearth?"Teddyasked.

           "Exactly,"Dadsaid."WhendinosaursroamedtheearthandyourmomandIwereyoung."

           Abouttwentypeopleshowedup.Henry,Willow,thebaby,Adam,whobroughtFitzy,Kim,whobroughtacousinvisitingfromNewJersey,plusawholebunchoffriendsofmyparentswhomtheyhadnotseeninages.Dadhauledourancientbarbecueoutofthebasementandspenttheafternoonscrubbingit.Wegrilledupsteaksand,thisbeingOregon,tofupupsandveggieburgers.