Summary

In “Thicker Than Water,” the narrator Cecelia receives a call from her mother, asking her to contact her brother Lucas and make amends with him so they can drive to Santa Fe and scatter the ashes of their recently deceased father, Arlo. Cecelia acquiesces. Shortly thereafter, Lucas picks her up in his car. They drive to their mother's home and retrieve their father's urn, then return to Lucas's house, where Cecelia is surprised to discover her brother's white girlfriend, Shelby, will be joining them on the trip. As they drive, Shelby tells Cecelia she is a foot fetish model on the internet. They also discuss race and relationships. Shelby claims that men are attracted to a woman's “pheromones,” so she does not wear any scents to disguise her “natural musk” (167). This reminds Cecelia of watching a...