Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World

Ari wakes Dante so that they can head home before their parents get worried. Neither of them wants to go home and would rather savor this intimate moment for as long as possible. Dante asks Ari if he will always love him, and Ari assures him that he will. Ari and Dante kiss and tease each other, trying to prolong their time together.

The drive back home is quiet. Dante is unusually quiet, despite being the one who “was always so full of words, who knew what to say and how to say it without being afraid” (12). Ari is wondering if Dante is afraid like he is when Dante suddenly admits that he wishes he were a girl. He clarifies that he likes being a boy, but if he were a girl, he and Ari could get married and be together publicly. Ari tells him that they could never get married.

Ari turns on the radio and Dante sings along to an Eric Clapton song, wondering why Ari never sings. When they get to Dante’s house, Ari watches him as he goes up the front steps, noting, “[T]here was no weight or worry in his step” (13).

Ari had never felt this tired. When he falls onto his bed, his dog Legs jumps up beside him, happy to have him back. Ari nods off for some time and when he wakes up, it is pouring outside.

Downstairs in the kitchen, Ari joins his mother for a cup of coffee. She makes a comment about how late Ari got in, so he explains that he and Dante fell asleep in the truck and “didn’t do anything” (14). Lilly sympathizes with Ari’s situation, recalling how much she had wanted to be intimate with Jaime when they were first dating. Ari point out that it was probably much easier for them, seeing as they were a straight couple. Ari asks his mother “why do I have to be this way?” (15). Lilly tells him that she does not want him to feel as though he is living in exile, saying, “[I]n this house […] there is only belonging” (15). She recalls how her sister Ophelia felt as though she did not belong in her family and how badly it affected her.

Lilly asks Ari if he knows what a cartographer is. When Ari defines it as “someone who creates maps,” Lilly tells him that he must learn to be a cartographer, and that he and Dante will “map out a new world” (16). She reminds Ari that he and Dante have a wonderful support system in the form of their parents. Ari feels emotional about his mother’s unconditional support, but cannot help but feel like he will be a bad cartographer.

There are only a few days left of summer. Ari is lifting weights in the basement when he decides he should probably pick up a hobby, other than keeping his life a secret and thinking about Dante. Ari takes a shower and makes a list of things he wants to do, including applying to college, reading, writing, listening to music, and becoming intimate with Dante, though he crosses out that last item.

Ari thinks about Dante and how scared he must have been when he was jumped and beaten by a group of boys. Ari cannot forgive himself for the trauma Dante endured and hates himself for not having been there to protect Dante.

Ari’s mother wakes him up to tell him that Dante is on the phone. On their call, Ari tells Dante that he fell asleep reading The Sun Also Rises. Dante was hanging out with his father, who was telling him about famous gay men in history. Dante says that his father is not bothered by the idea of someone being gay, but that he is merely worried for his son. Ari wonders about his own father, and if he is worried or confused about Ari being gay. Dante offers to hang out, so Ari heads to his house.

At Dante’s house, Ari finds him sitting on his front porch, barefoot as usual. Dante says his mother is the only one bothered by the fact that he likes to be barefoot. The conversation turns to what it means to be Mexican or American, and the boys decide that they will never be Mexican enough, American enough, or straight enough for society. They talk about the impact of AIDS, and how “that makes most people afraid of us—afraid that we’ll pass the disease on to them” (21). They speak about how bleak the future looks for them and other gay people. The conversation turns to sex, namely, when Ari and Dante might have sex. Ari plays it casual, but all he has been thinking about recently is making love to Dante.

Dante and Ari go to the movies to see Stand by Me. Upon settling down Dante takes off his tennis shoes. They sit in the top row, where they can see a couple in front of them kissing. Ari feels jealous of the couple, knowing that he and Dante will never be able to kiss in public like they can. As they are watching the movie, Dante whispers to Ari that he wants to kiss him. Knowing that no one is watching them, Dante kisses Ari.

On the drive back to Dante’s house, Dante puts his feet on the dashboard of Ari’s truck. They boys realize that Dante left his tennis shoes in the movie theater. Ari offers to turn around, but Dante claims that his mother will not notice.

Dante’s parents are sitting on the front porch when Ari and Dante arrive back from the movies. Mrs. Quintana immediately notices that Dante does not have his tennis shoes. Dante and his mother have some back and forth about the shoes, wherein Dante reasons that perhaps someone who needs a new pair of shoes will find his at the theater. Ari enjoys watching Dante interact with his parents and seeing their “easy way of playing with each other” (27).

When Dante asks his mother if she has picked a name for the baby yet, she tells him they still have several months to decide. Dante is convinced that the baby will be a boy.

Up in Dante’s room, Dante gives Ari the list of baby names he has come up with, many of which are Mexican. While Dante is speaking, Ari can only think about how much he wants to kiss him. Dante tells Ari that he wants the baby to be a boy so that his parents can have a straight child who can speak Spanish, unlike him. Dante cries into Ari’s shoulder.

Ari dreams of Dante all night. He dreams about kissing and touching Dante.

Ari is doing his homework in the kitchen when his father comes in looking tired and sweaty from work. Ari recites the courier motto, which makes his father emotional. Jaime leaves to take a shower, which he does every day once he gets home from work.

When Jaime returns from his shower, Ari hands him a glass of wine and asks to join his father in the backyard. His father hands him back the glass and tells him to join him for a drink.

Legs and Ari go for a run in the morning. Afterward, Ari bathes her and then takes a shower. In the shower, he gets to wondering about bodies. He cannot help but think of Dante and wonders if Dante thinks of him all the time, too.

Later in the day, Ari finds his mother in the kitchen writing a new syllabus. He joins her for coffee and tells her, “Sometimes I don’t know who I am […] and I don’t know what to do” (33). He also asks her if she thinks God hates him and Dante for being gay. She assures him that God does not hate anyone, and that his being gay is not a sin. She admits to Ari that she and Jaime are unsure about how to best help him, but they love him. She assures him that although he is on the brink of a confusing and challenging time, he is never alone.

Ari wants to go away with Dante, desperate to be alone. He considers going on a camping trip with Dante but figures that their parents would probably know what they were up to. Ari does not want to feel ashamed about being with Dante or about wanting him.

Mrs. Quintana is sitting on the front steps when Ari arrives at Dante’s house. She invites him to take a walk with her to the park across the street. Mrs. Quintana refers to the time she and her family came back from Chicago and Ari seemed to notice something about her; she asks Ari if he knew that she was pregnant then. Ari confirms that he assumed she was pregnant because she has a certain glow about her.

When they walk back to the house, Ari realizes that his life is totally new and feels as if he “had just been born” (37). Ari realizes that he is growing up and that mapping out a new world will be “complicated—because the map wasn’t just for me” (38). Ari wants his “map” to include all the people in his life, like his family and the Quintanas.

Ari and his parents are watching the news when the daily report on the AIDS pandemic comes on screen. The footage shows thousands of people in New York City marching through the streets. Ari asks his mother, “[W]hen will it ever end?” to which she replies, “[M]ost people think it will just disappear” (39).

Watching Dante swim at the pool, Ari thinks of the day they met, when Dante offered to teach him to swim. Ari feels as though the universe brought them together, as if their relationship was fated. As Dante swims, Ari notices how effortless he is in the water, as if it is home to him.

On the walk home, Dante tells Ari that he is quitting the swimming team. He says that it takes up too much time. Dante’s mother was not happy about the decision, and Ari is not thrilled either, as he insists Dante is too good to quit. When Dante points out that it would give them more time to spend together, Ari tells him that they spend a lot of time together already. Dante reveals that he even considered transferring to Ari’s high school so that they could be together on school days. When they get to Dante’s house, Dante goes inside without saying goodbye, upset with Ari.