"Benji 'n' Reggie, Benji 'n' Reggie"

We were introduced to Benji and Reggie's relationship very early on in the book, right after the spiel about "the question of out". Our first glimpse of these two brothers was through the idea of "Benji and Reggie" as a matched set - twins born 10 months apart, connected and inseparable. Of course, by the summer that is recounted in Sag Harbor, Benji and Reggie have already "ceased to be twins" by what seems to be a mutual agreement between the two that they want to make identities for themselves, rather than just being "everyone's little/older brother". 

By the time we see the two of them interacting in the summer of 1985, they seem to have fully completed that separation process, and then some. Benji and Reggie don't seem to talk with or hang out with each other much, and most of their interactions feel rather procedural - who eats what food, who cleans what dishes, and other agreements and negotiations like that. That's basically all it is - negotiations. And, as the summer progresses and both Benji and Reggie have their own jobs, that interaction seems to go down even more. It almost leaves me feeling nostalgic for the two boys that used to be inseparable - a team of two, as Benji put it.

And it's clear that as much as Benji seems to ultimately think ceasing to be twins was a good idea, he also has moments of regret and longing for the old days. He's upset when Reggie breaks their yearly tradition of riding their bikes around Sag, he's a bit bitter when Reggie starts spending a lot of time with Bobby, and is constantly wondering "how/when did Reggie learn that?". Before, he had some comfort in always having someone in his corner and someone that shared his interests. Now, he's something of a social outcast (at least, that's how he feels), and it seems like his little brother isn't having any trouble going on without him.

Personally, I don't think that their decision to separate was a bad one - I think it's important for coming-of-age to get out of your comfort zone and try to explore your own individuality more. However, the extent Benji and Reggie had taken it by the time summer of 1985 rolls around feels extreme, as if all they managed to accomplish was break down their relationship while not making all that much progress on the individual discovery part. Their family was already full of disjointed pieces that never really fit like a true family - Benji calls them a "made-for-TV family", saying that "If we lived a hundred years in the future, we'd never have to deal with one another at all." Somehow, it feels like even more of a loss that the one still strong relationship in the family was dissolved as well.

Or at least it felt "dissolved", especially at the beginning of the story. The BB gun fight was a kind of turning point in my view of Reggie and Benji's relationship. They still aren't very close, nowhere near how they used to be, but Reggie's reaction when Benji got hit near the eye felt like something of a resolution to their relationship. Once again, when it came down to it, Benji had someone in his corner, someone upset for him and willing to go to bat against the others. Reggie repeats Benji's earlier "stoner phrase" of "that's uncool", blew up at Randy, and was extremely upset when the others wouldn't drive Benji to the hospital. It was a pretty emotional scene between Benji and Reggie, especially once they returned to their house, considering that Benji was trying to dig a BB gun pellet out of his face. The whole chapter felt very sibling-relationship focused, with how Benji was trying to protect Reggie by either getting him out of the fight completely, or trying to stick near him and be on his team.

The two of them obviously aren't the twins they once were, but it felt like an acknowledgement that they're still brothers, that they still care about each other and will stand up for one another. They don't have to give that sibling relationship up for the sake of making their own identity or putting on a front to the rest of the world.