Day 6006

On Saturday morning, A is a boy named Hugo who has plans to go to the gay pride parade in Annapolis, Maryland with his boyfriend, Austin. It is good that A will be out of the house because Hugo’s parents speak only Portuguese. Foreign languages make life difficult for A, who cannot access a body’s memories fast enough to keep up with a conversation.

Hugo has a computer, and A finds an email from Rhiannon, who says she called Kelsea’s house first thing in the morning and got no answer. She seems to take this as a hopeful sign that Kelsea and her father are out getting help.

In her email, Rhiannon includes a link to an article about Nathan and several other people who claim they have been possessed. None of them are people A has ever seen before, and most appear to be trying to shirk blame for doing something wrong. Still, the article bothers A, who searches the Internet and finds more like it. In the process, he figures out that the reverend Nathan mentioned is named Anderson Poole. In several articles, Poole insists that demonic possession is a natural consequence of modern social ills. These statements bother A, who impulsively sends Nathan a note: “I am not the devil.”

Before leaving for the gay pride parade, A invites Rhiannon to come out and meet him there. Because of this, he has trouble paying attention to Austin. Even when some anti-gay protesters harass them and he helps Austin taunt them back, A’s heart is not really in the day. Still, he reflects that homosexuality is just like any other kind of sexuality:

In my experience, desire is desire, love is love. I have never fallen in love with a gender. I have fallen for individuals.

Austin notices A’s lack of attention. Apparently Hugo has been similarly distant lately. When Austin takes A aside and begins a breakup speech, A freaks out, terrified that he has just ended someone else’s love. He begs Austin to stick it out, at least for the rest of the day, and Austin relents. After that, A spends all his efforts on being a good boyfriend.

Back at Hugo’s house, A reads a note from Rhiannon that says she is sorry she could not come to the parade. He gets a note from Nathan, too, a reply to the claim that A is not the devil: “Prove it.”