One Man Guy (26 page)

“You’ve got it all wrong, Eth,” Alek said, gently running his hand through Ethan’s surfer hair. “This summer’s not the dream. We are. You and me. And it doesn’t matter what time of year it is, as long as we’re together.”

“I like that, Polly-O.” Ethan smiled.

“We’ll wreak havoc, you and me,” Alek told him.

“What does that mean?”

“It’s a Rufus quote, dumb-ass. It means, Watch out, world: we’ll do crazy things together.”

“We’ll wreak havoc, you and me,” Ethan repeated. Alek leaned in to kiss Ethan as the platform vibrated from the force of two express trains shooting through the station, in opposite directions.

The Khederian Family’s Recipe for

STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES

1 cup long-grain basmati rice (if omitting lamb, use 2 cups)

1 16-ounce jar California grape leaves

2 red bell peppers

2 onions

1 bunch flat parsley, soaked thoroughly in lukewarm water (repeat until the water is clear)

¼
teaspoon allspice

1 pound ground lamb (optional)

approximately
¼
cup olive oil (if omitting lamb, make this approximately ½ cup)

2 teaspoons salt (or more)

1 teaspoon pepper (or more)

approximately
¼
cup fresh lemon juice (if omitting lamb, make this approximately ½ cup)

½ cup tomato paste

  1. Cover rice in hot water and let soak while preparing rest of ingredients.

  2. Separate and rinse grape leaves under cold running water.

  3. De-seed red peppers. In a food processor, pulse red peppers until finely chopped. Put in large mixing bowl. Pulse onions until finely chopped. Add to peppers in bowl. Remove parsley leaves from stems and pulse in food processor until finely chopped. Add to peppers and onions. Drain rice and add to vegetables in large bowl. Add allspice.

  4. Add ground lamb (optional) to vegetable-rice mixture.

  5. Add olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice. If you’re making the vegetarian version, you can taste a little bit of the mixture and adjust the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper accordingly. If you are making the meat version, just add enough olive oil until the mixture glistens, but not more.

  6. Line bottom of pot with a single layer of grape leaves.

  7. Lay grape leaves flat on a cutting board, veiny side up. Snip the nub of the leaf with kitchen shears. Place one tablespoon of stuffing in the middle section of each leaf (add a little more for larger leaves, a little less for smaller leaves). Fold in the sides first. They should almost, but not quite, meet. Then flip the bottom of the leaf over the stuffing, and roll up to form a snug (but not too snug) bundle. Place rolled leaf horizontally in the pot, on the outside circumference. The ideal pot is average height with a large circumference (wider than it is tall). Continue laying rolled leaves until the bottom of the pot is filled, then lay more leaves on top, forming a second, third, and even fourth layer. Continue until all the leaves are rolled, setting aside especially small or torn leaves.

  8. Place a few of the small and/or torn grape leaves on top of the rolled ones. Put a plate with a circumference slightly smaller than that of the pot on top of the leaves.

  9. Fill a kettle with water and bring to a boil. Let sit for ten minutes. Slowly pour hot water over stuffed grape leaves until the water reaches the bottom of the top-most layer.

10. Bring the water to a boil, drop to a simmer and cook, covered, for 20 minutes. Remove ¼ cup of the simmering water and whisk in the tomato paste until it achieves a sauce-like consistency. Pour evenly over the stuffed grape leaves and continue to cook for another 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 15 minutes. The grape leaves can be served warm now, or at room temperature.

This recipe is dedicated to my grandmother Mèline Boghossian (May 29[?], 1915 – February 2, 2010), a woman with magic in her hands.

—M.B.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Special Thanks:

To Ann E. Imbrie and Wendy Wasserstein, my writer-mentors.

To my friends who read this in various stages and provided invaluable support and insight: Chris Kipiniak, Rosemary Andress, Suzanne Agins, Ariel Whitefoot, and Emily Donahoe. And especially to Sarah Braunstein, my favorite living novelist.

To Emily Jenkins, who provided me with endless and generous guidance throughout this process.

To my dearest un-boyfriend, Andy Goldberg, for introducing me to many wonderful things, among them the music of Rufus Wainwright.

To Taylor Stewart, my consultant for Young Hip Gay Speak.

To my Armenian consultants: Paul Boghossian, Donna Bagdasarian, Aaron Poochigian, and Ara Merjian.

To my agent, Josh Adams, a true gentleman.

And most of all to my editor, Joy Peskin. When other people saw a young theater director, she saw a future novelist. All writers should be lucky enough to encounter a partner so dedicated, intelligent, and valiant. This book would not be if not for her.

Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers

175 Fifth Avenue, New York 10010

Text copyright © 2014 by Michael Barakiva

All rights reserved

First hardcover edition, 2014

eBook edition, May 2014

macteenbooks.com

eBooks may be purchased for business or promotional use. For information on bulk purchases, please contact Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department by writing to [email protected].

The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

Barakiva, Michael.

     One man guy / Michael Barakiva. — First edition.

        pages cm

     Summary: “When Alek’s high-achieving Armenian-American parents send him to summer school, he thinks his summer is ruined. But then he meets Ethan, who opens his world in a series of truly unexpected ways”—Provided by publisher.

     ISBN 978-0-374-35645-3 (hardcover)

     ISBN 978-0-374-35646-0 (ebook)

     [1.  Gays—Fiction.   2.  Coming out (Sexual orientation)—Fiction.   3.  Love—Fiction.   4.  Armenian Americans—Fiction.]   I.  Title.

PZ7.B229538On 2014

[Fic]—dc23

2013033518

eISBN 9780374356460