10

Summary

• Saint Sebastian is a tennis coach and history teacher at University Liggett School in Gross Pointe Woods who becomes a legend for having played against tennis star Johnny McEnroe.
• In summers, he works at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club, which romanticizes his past tennis match into a victory, admiring his humility when he corrects their exaggerations.
• Sebastian eats dinner at the yacht club as part of his job, and he lives in East Detroit, sometimes visiting his brother at Tom Lake when he can take time off.
• The narrator reflects fondly on times when Sebastian visits Tom Lake, playing tennis with Sebastian, her romantic partner Duke, and Pallace, who quickly becomes involved with Sebastian.
• Under the floodlights, Duke plays energetically and intensely, with Sebastian managing to be both a challenging and accommodating opponent for everyone.
• The narrator and Duke, both actors in theatre productions, immerse themselves in their roles and the arts community in Tom Lake, planning to move to L.A. together.
• The group acknowledges their different backgrounds, sexualities, and relationships freely without judgment in this Michigan arts utopia.
• As Sebastian and Pallace's relationship deepens, so does the discussion of their future and whether they will leave their origins behind after the summer.
• Sebastian seems aware of Duke's unpredictable and possibly "crazy" behavior, leading to concerned conversations with the narrator and others about the language used to describe his mental state.
• The chapter also discusses a series of incidents exhibiting Duke's erratic behavior, from writing exhaustive character notes to punching out a window pane.
• Benny, a long-time family friend of the narrator, is set to marry her daughter Emily, and there's a celebration despite social constraints due to health concerns of Benny's parents.
• During the festivities, it becomes known that Benny and Emily have decided not to have children due to climate change concerns, causing a mix of reactions from the family.
• The narrator links her daughters' futures, including their decision about children, to the family tradition of quilting and hopes for them to continue living on the family farm.
• Benny articulates environmental changes affecting farming and suggests a future shift from cherry orchards to other crops that could survive a changing climate.