And then it was Sheila’s turn. She was, after all, the grande dame of the evening, and she was meant to give me the final present. With a sad smile, she handed me a box of her own, and she said, “This gift makes me very happy, and very sad.”
I knew then what it was. I opened it, and unveiled it from the luxurious tissue paper it was entombed in. My very own Chanel purse. I gasped as I held the purse tightly in my hands. It was so much more than a present. It was a rite of passage I wasn’t ready for. “It’s too early.”
“No,” she said. “You are a woman now.”
She pulled me into a hug, and we didn’t say a word, because I knew that this was a new day for us. I was no longer her little girl. I was my own person, and she knew that too. I could feel her letting go of one version of me and welcoming another. I suppose I was doing the same. Because this wasn’t the Sheila I had known my whole life. This was a new Sheila, equally gorgeous on the outside, but less of a mystery on the inside. I understood her now, and I think perhaps she understood me too.
As she held me tightly, all I could think of to say was “Thank you.” And then I paused and added, “Mommy.”
She looked at me with so much love that it almost knocked me over. And then, as if unable to handle the emotions of the moment, she said, “Okay, let’s move on. It’s only a purse.” But we both knew it was so much more than only a purse. It was a symbol. It was a torch being passed. And, c’mon, it was Chanel.
If you attended my sixteenth birthday party (and if you are Persian and live within a five-mile radius of Beverly Hills, or go to high school with me, you probably did, and rest assured your thank-you note is coming), then you probably had a blast. I mean, forget the Oscars, and the Emmys, and Taylor Swift’s birthday party. This party outdid them all. I know you felt that way, because you didn’t want to leave. I mean, it was a rager.
But when the party finally started to die down, and you exited the banquet hall, you might remember that my mother and father were standing atop the steps, bidding you good-bye and thanking you for coming. My mother was wearing a shiny red dress, her hair cascading down toward her shoulders, her entire presence singing “Don’t You Wish Your Mother Was Hot Like Me?” And my father shook your hands and looked you deep in the eyes, and his gaze sang out, “Don’t You Wish Your Father Was Kind Like Me?”
And then you probably turned around and took one last look at the room. The walls were lined with art that a rising artist named Iglesias made for the party. The art was colorful and unique: spray paint on cardboard. You had never seen anything like it, and maybe you bought a piece, not because you were obligated, but because it was a privilege.
In the back of the room, you saw the guest of honor still enjoying herself. I may not have been the most beautiful girl in the room, but I was certainly the happiest. In fact, I was beaming, because I was surrounded by just about everyone I loved. You didn’t know most of them. You didn’t know that the woman in green dancing with her family was in fact my birth mother. You didn’t know that the old woman cooing at the baby was my grandmother, who had been released from her nursing home for the night. You didn’t know that the man taking pictures was my brother-in-law. And that the baby being passed from my grandmother to me was my niece, Rose, who was up way past her bedtime for the occasion and who, yes, was dressed in couture.
But despite all you didn’t know, you must have been thinking exactly what I was thinking: This is the party of the century.
Acknowledgments
This book wouldn’t exist without the vision, encouragement, and support of Mitchell Waters and Holly Frederick at Curtis Brown. Mitchell, thank you for your patience and belief in me, and for seeing that there is (and always will be) a teenager living inside me. Holly, being your intern was my luckiest break ever. You have always inspired me to be true to myself and to follow my dreams. That we are still working together always puts a smile on my face. To the rest of the Curtis Brown team, especially Steven Salpeter, Anna Abreu, and Steve Kasdin, thank you for always making an agency feel so welcoming and fun.
To my brilliant and passionate editor, Alessandra Balzer, thank you for putting so much thought and care into this book, and for seeing something special in Daria and her world. I feel so lucky to have found a home with you and the amazing Balzer + Bray team.
I couldn’t even begin to figure out how to live, let alone write, without the support of my family, and that begins with my incredible partner, Jonathon Aubry. You have taught me to love deeper and bigger than I ever thought possible. You are my partner, my best friend, and my Pally, and in the immortal words of Joan Crawford, we are “a hell of a match!”
My parents, Lili and Jahangir, have provided me with all the tools I’ve ever needed to build the life I want, along with love, support, and patience. I am forever grateful.
This book is a celebration of family, and I am so lucky to have a huge, beautiful family that I can always count on for dance parties, spades games, and so much love. To my cousins Maryam, Dara, Nina, Lila, Moh, Youssef, and Mandy, and my aunts and uncles, Shahla, Hushang, Azar, Djahanshah, and Parinaz, I feel so lucky to have you all in my life. To Brooke, John, Luis, and Mehrdad, thank you for joining our family and making it even more fun. To my nephews and nieces, Parker, Delilah, Rafa, Santi, and Tomio, I can’t wait for you to continue the adventures of la famille. You guys have a lot to live up to! And to the Aubry clan—Jude, Susan, Kathy, Zu, Paul, Jamie, and company—thank you for welcoming me into your incredible family.
Two special famille shout-outs to my cousin Vida for sending me boxes of YA books and igniting my love for the genre. Reading Harry Potter books side by side with you is one of this muggle’s favorite memories. And to my brother, Al, for teaching a stubborn quintuple Leo all about astrology. I hope this book’s astrological forecast is bright.
To Tom Dolby, you are a collaborator who has made me a better, more thoughtful writer. Your creative partnership and friendship always makes me feel like a young one.
To Melissa de la Cruz, thank you for your early support of this novel. It means the world to me. You are an inspiration to writers everywhere.
To Jennifer and Jazz Elia, there is no way I could get through life without your friendship. Thank you for always making me laugh, always showing up when I need a friend, and for being the best lesbian aunties the kids could ask for.
So many people have provided feedback on early drafts of this novel, support of my writing through the years, invaluable friendship, and most important, crucial help with child care, and a few that I must call out are Lauren Ambrose, Jamie Babbit, Fabio Blancarte, David Brind, Tom Collins, Mandy Fabian, Susanna Fogel, Nancy Himmel, Ted Huffman, Mandy Kaplan Klavens, Richard Kramer, Erica Kraus, Erin Lanahan, Gina B. Nahai, Busy Philipps, Melanie Samarasinghe, Micah Schraft, Sarah Shetter, John Shields, Lynn Shields, Mike Shields, Jeremy Tamanini, Amanda Tejeda, Serena Torrey Roosevelt, and Lila Azam Zanganeh.
Finally, to my children. I am grateful every day that I get to be your daddy. Watching you grow into the creative, hilarious, brilliant souls you are is without a doubt the greatest gift I will ever be given. I hope you read this book someday and ask your own questions about your beautiful, unconventional family, and that you always know how deeply you are loved.
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About the Author
Photo by Marc Ohrem-Leclef
ABDI NAZEMIAN’s first novel, The Walk-In Closet, won the Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Debut Fiction. He has written five produced films, including The Quiet, Beautiful Girl, and Menendez: Blood Brothers. Abdi is an alumnus of the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, was a mentor at the Outfest Screenwriting Lab, and has
taught screenwriting at UCLA Extension. He has been an executive producer and associate producer on numerous films, including Call Me by Your Name. He holds a BA from Columbia University and an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management. He lives in Los Angeles with his partner and two children. This is his first book for teens. Find him online at www.abdaddy.com.
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Books by Abdi Nazemian
The Authentics
Credits
Cover art © 2017 by Ladyfingers Letterpress
Cover design by Michelle Taormina
Copyright
Balzer + Bray is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
THE AUTHENTICS. Copyright © 2017 by Abdi Nazemian. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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ISBN 978-0-06-248646-2
EPub Edition © July 2017 ISBN 9780062486684
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FIRST EDITION
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