Wink

Ross’s father and Linda feel for Ross when he tells them Abby’s news. The family’s Halloween decorations are still up, and they fit Ross’s mood. He draws a cartoonish spider with two heavy-lidded eyes. Ross goes to Frank’s house that night. The house and the neighborhood look uninviting to Ross and his father, but the interior of Frank’s house is clean, the furniture and rugs are worn but neat, and there is a wall of shelves full of vinyl albums and cassette tapes. Ross says Frank could transfer all of his music to an MP3 player, but Frank vows he’d never do that. Ross’s father thinks the “hiss and pop” of the older formats adds character (118). Frank triumphantly tells Ross that his father understands.

Ross sees two acoustic guitars, which he draws, with short lines surrounding the instruments like visible vibrations. Frank asks Ross if he’s ready to get sore fingers, explaining that his fingers will hurt less as he develops calluses. Frank offers Ross the older of the two guitars; the guitar once belonged to Frank’s cousin, but Frank “freed” it to teach himself how to play. The instrument feels good to Ross, and his father leaves them to practice for an hour. Once Ross’s father is gone, Frank offers Ross a beer. He laughs at Ross’s shocked expression and insists he’s kidding.

Ross is disappointed his fingers aren’t agile. Ross plays single notes first and finally manages a C chord after several tries. He repeats the chord many times to memorize the feeling of his fingers’ positions. Frank shows him how to use a pick to strum the strings; once Ross shows he can use the pick correctly, Frank gets his own guitar to show Ross how to strum in different patterns and rhythms. Ross masters a comfortable rhythm and continues strumming the C chord. He’s feeling proud and happy about his progress when Jimmy Jenkins opens Frank’s front door. Ross’s joy vanishes, and Jimmy freezes. Ross still suspects Jimmy is the memes’ creator, and the suspicion makes Ross hot with anger. Frank tells Jimmy to leave so the lesson can continue. Jimmy scowls at Ross before he departs.

Frank says Jimmy lives nearby and came to visit his cousin Denny, Frank’s housemate and the drummer for Ripe Sponge. Frank struggles to explain Jimmy’s home situation before dropping the subject. Ross blurts, “Jimmy’s a total %$#&@!” (125). Frank admits Jimmy’s a difficult person but says he isn’t dangerous.

Frank lends Ross the guitar and a case so he can practice at home. The case is battered, covered in band stickers, and features the name of Frank’s band in orange spray paint. Ross sketches it. Frank orders Ross to practice diligently after he compliments Frank’s teaching skills. Ross shows Frank the talent show flyer and asks if he would be ready to play a song in the show. Frank is somewhat positive Ross could, though he doesn’t know if the treatments will affect Ross’s progress. He suggests they discuss it again. As Ross leaves, Frank asks if he’s learning guitar to impress a girl. He answers, “Not entirely!” Ross walks to his father’s waiting car, half expecting Jimmy to attack him, yet he feels uncommonly wonderful. He draws a picture of Batpig contentedly strolling with a guitar case in his grasp.

Ross takes to heart Frank’s order to play until his fingers bleed. Although Ross has a hard time with the fingering, he perseveres. Ross ignores texts from Abby while he obsessively practices. He’s unwilling to confront his feelings about Abby’s impending move and sketches his smartphone receiving texts he won’t answer. He convinces himself he wants to surprise her with his musical skills, but Abby is done being ignored; she enters Ross’s room without warning and surveys the guitar, CDs, song books, etc. He’s embarrassed at being discovered.

Abby teases Ross until he tells her everything, including Jimmy’s intrusion during the first lesson. Abby hopes he’s not going to befriend Jimmy and adopt his spitting habit. Ross implies that would never happen; he voices his suspicion about Jimmy being the meme maker. Abby doesn’t question Ross’s conjecture, but she does wonder when he was going to tell her about playing guitar. He indicates that he thought she would be preoccupied with her own problems, which Abby admits. They spend an hour making each other laugh and playing on their phones. Abby barrages Ross with overdramatic statements encouraging him to enter the talent show; she doesn’t stop until Ross agrees to play a couple of chords for her.