hers；　he？d　worn　a　suit　to　Dan？s

graduation；　but　it　was　black　wool？too　warm　for　June；　and　all　wrong　with　the　weirdly　trendy；

tight…fitting　pumpkin　orange　shirt　he？d　borrowed　from　Dan　to　wear　underneath　it。　He？d　yanked

out　the　orange　ribbon　in　his　fury；　and　his　wiry　salt…and…pepper　hair　was　now　fashioned　into　a　sort

of　messy　chignon；　held　together　with　the　electric　blue　magnetic　bulldog　clip　they　used　to　keep

their　takeout　menus　on　the　door　of　the　refrigerator。　To　make　things　worse；　there　were　stray　pieces

of　pink　towel　lint　in　his　beard。

Maybe　homeschooling　wasn？t　such　a　great　idea。

？Isn？t　there　someplace　you　kids　need　to　be？？　Rufus　asked；　downing　the　remains　of　his　wine。

Obviously；　one　glass　wouldn？t　be　nearly　enough。

？e　on；　Dad；？　Dan　plained。　？It？s　not　like　I？m　never　going　to　college。　I　just　deferred　for　a

year；　that？s　all。？

Rufus　reached　for　the　uncorked　bottle　of　Sangiovese　in　the　middle　of　the　table　and　poured

himself　some　more。　？I　just　spent　eighty　thousand　dollars　on　your　high　school　education；　all

borrowed；　so　it？ll　probably　be　double　with　interest。　Excuse　me　for　not　being　ecstatic。？　His　gray

eyebrows　knitted　together　in　a　furry　single　line。　？Does　Vanessa　even　know　about　this？？　he

demanded　suspiciously。

Dan　ripped　open　a　clear　plastic　packet　of　fluorescent　orange　duck　sauce　with　his　teeth　and

squirted　it　onto　an　egg　roll。　？Not　really。？

Je