He’s in our dorm room, still looking pretty hung over, sipping on a can of coconut water. “Hey,” he says, rolling toward me on his cot. “Your grandfather is a madman, you know that? After we finished with the poker, he showed me a bunch of old photos. I thought they were going to be pictures of you as a kid, but no. They were vintage snapshots of burlesque ladies with no gloves. From back in the day.” I force a grin. I’m still thinking about Daneca and my brother, wondering how many times she’s been out with Barron, wondering why she ever went out with him even once. It’s hard to concentrate. “You looked at porn with my grandfather?” “It wasn’t porn! Your grandmother was one of the ladies.” Of course she was. “The costumes were amazing,” he says dreamily. “Feathers and masks and sets like you wouldn’t believe. Crescent moon thrones and a massive rose with petals that swung like doors.” “You were looking at the sets?” Now I’m laughing for real. “I didn’t want to stare at the women.
