Chapter 4Eli melded into the group fairly quickly. Viv liked him the moment she met him, and was fascinated to find out that he wasn’t only demisexual—something she had heard about but never from first-hand experience—but his parents were Jewish atheists. Sometimes when they all hung out together it was like watching a documentary interview between the two of them, which Alexi didn’t mind. They liked learning about Eli while saying next to nothing about themself. When Eli said that his parents still celebrated certain Jewish holidays, but it was more out of tradition and ethnic culture, Alexi couldn’t help but think about how their and their dad’s faith had shattered after their mother’s death, yet they continued celebrating Easter and Christmas with the community and keeping Lent just bec
