Lawn Boy

Seeking to make new friends, Mike starts eating lunch out on the lawn with the employees of a nearby boutique coffee shop. The coffee roasters are named Dallas, Austin, and Houston. Austin seems impressed when Mike tells him about his topiary art. He even accepts Mike’s invitation to drop by his house to see it.

After Austin views his “merman,” Mike asks him to go out for a drink at Tide’s Inn. Austin declines the invitation, which makes Mike’s heart “sink a little” (87). Mike admits that he’s “never been much good at the social thing. And that’s actually rare for siblings of special-needs children” (87).

Mike and Nick meet at Tequila’s for a round of darts. Mike becomes annoyed when Nick tells a crude joke about gay people and complains about Mexican people. He asks Nick: “Why are you always bashing people? Mexicans, fags, lesbians. I don’t get why they offend you so much. What did a Mexican or fag ever do to you?” (90). Nick responds that undocumented immigrants are “taking all our jobs” and “don’t pay taxes.” He adds that gay people are “not normal” (90).

Mike then shocks Nick by telling Nick that he had oral sex with Doug Gobles when they were both in the fourth grade.

When Mike gets home from the bar, he starts to think about why he puts up with Nick. Mike remembers when Nick practically lived at his house when they were in seventh grade. He also recalls how Nick’s dad used to rough him up regularly, though Nick never talked about it. Most importantly, Nick has been “like a brother to Nate” (95). “He’s spent countless hours in front of the TV with him, eaten a gazillion Big Macs with him, read a million books to him, stuck up for him in school” (95).

Mike’s boss Chaz asks him to drive his BMW. He talks to Mike about his new business venture, Rasmachaz, which he wants Mike to play a lead role in. They drop by a Mexican restaurant called Isla Bonita.

Mike sees Remy walk in and sit at a booth. He begins to approach her but sees she is with a guy who has his arm around her. He is disappointed, but then Remy introduces the guy with his arm around her as her brother, Travis. Travis asks: “Is this the guy?” (102). Mike is surprised and flattered that he’s “the guy.”

Remy comments about Mike not coming around to see her lately. She tells him she no longer works at the restaurant and asks what he is doing. He tells her he is working in production and getting ready to publish his novel. He immediately regrets the lie about the novel.

Mike finally gets the nerve to call Remy and ask her out. She accepts a date with him on the 19th and tells him to decide where. He’s thrilled when she tells him she’s broke; he figures it makes him more attractive to her since he’s working now.

Mike and Remy flirt by text while she is working at her father’s hardware store. Mike goes out to a breakfast buffet with his mom, Nate, and Freddy. He feels guilty about not inviting Nick.

Mike visits a flea market. He buys a fishing rod, DVDs, and a new lawn mower.

Mike swaps rooms with Freddy and takes up residence in the shed. The next morning, he sees Freddy coming out of his mother’s bedroom.

Mike attends Chief Seattle Days, a local festival that includes a parade, canoe races, a pageant, salmon dinners, and vendors. He runs into Nick by the tribal center, and they apologize to each other over the row they had when Mike told Nick about his sexual encounter with Doug Gobles in the fourth grade. They have a bonfire on the beach, and while Freddy is strumming a guitar, Mike facetiously whispers in Nick’s ear: “Do you want to see my dick?” and starts to laugh (122). Nick responds, “The fuck!” and punches Mike in the shoulder, knocking him off a log he was sitting on. He then starts laughing along with Mike and helps him back up on the log.

At the end of the chapter, Mike reflects on how happy he is sitting around the fire with his friends.

Mike arrives at work just in time to see the police arrest Chaz for some unidentified transgression. As the cops take Chaz away in handcuffs, Chaz assures Mike: “A minor setback, Muñoz, trust me. Nothing to worry about. Stay the course, comrade. Stand by and think big, Muñoz” (126). Mike realizes he will never see his last paycheck, which would have been $1400. He takes Chaz’s BMW and parks it at his house “until such time as Chaz came to claim it” (127).

Mike, unemployed, dreams of “a new job, a new truck, my own place, a real novel with my name on it” (128). He turns to casino gambling. Even though he is up $170 at one point, he ends the night $200 poorer than he started.

On his way home from the casino, Mike runs into his former coworker Tino. Tino gives Mike a ride and tells him how the landscaping crew misses him: “The old lady misses you. Same with Truman. He boxwood look like shit, ese” (136). Tino tells Mike: “Miguel is el mejor. It means you the best, vato” (136).

When the day of his date with Remy arrives, Mike has only $20, and decides on a picnic on the beach. He buys a bottle of wine and makes some sandwiches. When it starts to rain, he decides to take her to Tide’s Inn, the bar where his mother works. His mother tells Remy she has “excellent taste in men” and makes small talk with Remy (140).

When Remy asks Mike about his novel, he admits there is no novel. He says he is trying to write one “but it’s terrible” (140). Before they part in the parking lot, they share a kiss that is “more than polite but still a little ambiguous” (141).

Mike is hampered by a throbbing toothache. He puts in job applications at KFC, Payless Shoes, and Taco del Mar. On the bus ride back, he sees protesters picketing at 305 and Hostmark. He recognizes the “ringleader” of the protesters as Andrew the librarian. He admits that the protesters inspire him even though he doesn’t know what they are protesting. However, he also thinks that he needs to “save himself” before he can help save the world.