Tourist season at Lake Wallenpaupack means a break in the monotony of Alexi’s life. They’ve been secretly advertising the ice cream parlor they work at through the Foodspotting app, hoping that will bring even more customers. One such customer is Eli, a recent addition to the area with a bright and open disposition that Alexi is drawn to immediately. And since Eli is demisexual, Alexi welcomes him into their friend group of other queer twenty-somethings.<br><br>The more Alexi gets to know Eli, the more smitten they are. If only they didn’t have crippling self-esteem issues, problems at home with their dad, and enough emotional baggage to fill a freight train. They’re desperate to get out of that rut so they can have space in their heart for someone like Eli. After years of playing a passive role, making the first steps towards change might prove too much for them.

#IceCreamSundae

To make matters worse, her birthday was coming up. Every year, without discussing it with each other, Alexi and their dad made chicken gnocchi soup, her favorite dish, and ate it silently together. The first couple years they had tried to talk, but it never ended well. Alexi learned quickly to not ruin the moment of remembrance.


This year Alexi thought harder about that tradition than they normally did. It was easy to blame their dad for their stunted ability to communicate their emotions, but they had allowed themself to get like that. They had always been able to talk to their mom about anything when they were a kid. She had such a good humor about everything, right up until her diagnosis. Alexi pondered over the years whether that was also the day they started to bottle things up so she wouldn’t be worried about them too. It was such a tumultuous time that it was hard to say, and it wasn’t exactly something they could ask their dad about.


Chapter 24