Solomon’s grandmother pays a visit with gifts of pool toys and accessories. Thrilled to hear more about Lisa, she teases Solomon that he has a new girlfriend, but he brushes it aside. The pride his family feels for him now that he’s branching out of his norms with his new friendship is a new sensation for him. Solomon has had people tiptoe around him for quite some time and “He knew how to be pitied and misunderstood, but being admired wasn’t in his wheelhouse quite yet” (99).

Meanwhile, Lisa spends more and more time with Solomon; she becomes a fabric within the family. She stays for dinner and it’s easy for his family to get along with her, so much so that “he could quickly feel the rhythm in his house changing—the day would be quiet as ever and then Lisa would show up and they’d all fight over her attention” (103). They all get close quite quickly, and after about a month Solomon broaches the topic of Clark. He notices that it might make Clark feel bad that Lisa spends every day with Solomon instead of him, and he welcomes Lisa to invite Clark over.