Eddie is talking to me. I have grown to love the sound of his voice and his funny way of telling stories, his weird tastes in food, his wild clothes. You never know with Eddie, what he might do next. Take for example that day he got the invitation. Well he could have gotten the invitation weeks back, but he chose to tell me all about it at the last minute. He was picking out something to wear for a reunion, a school reunion. I remember thinking boy that would be a thing, wouldn't it- to be invited to a school reunion? I lost count of the number of schools I went to. No school reunions for me, not ever, you can bet your life on that. I was envious of Eddie then as I watched him try on unsuitable clothes, modelling them for me with infectious enthusiasm. The most I learnt from school was how to forge an absence note. It must be a good feeling to anticipate meeting up with old school mates.
Crazy Eddie and his allergies, his obsessions.
Then there was the business with the name-Larry Pisinski. That hurt me, just a little. In all the time I knew him, he had never thought to tell me, in spite of the fact that we were close as brothers and kept no secrets. I'd bared my soul about Hannah, fessed up about Harley and my stint in Cook County, I thought there were no secrets between us then I find that out about him. That who I thought of as Eddie Nambulous wasn't, wasn't ever really him… just some stranger called Larry Pisinski.
So, what do I call him-Larry or Eddie? And what other surprises would be waiting for me next week or next month? He had his reasons. Sure, he had his reasons, but not to tell me his best friend that he wasn't ever who he said he was? But heck, I love him, he's saved my ass more times than I can count with his potions and his quick thinking and I can't bear grudges against him. So I smile and nod at him and give him advice. It's like he was going to the Prom all over again. And even though I never got to do that even once, I don't begrudge him his chance at happiness- at seeing old friends, like Mary Anne, who must be someone special to him. It's a new side to Eddie, and I'm feeling privileged to see it, privileged to hear the joy in his voice as he speaks to me.
Now he is gone and I feel bereft, abandoned. This isn't what we do; it's not the way it goes. I go out and he stays here. This chair is Eddie's place, it's not mine, this is his Airstream. We have our duties well defined: the alien hunter goes out and hunts aliens; the paranoid genius stays in by the computer and provides research and backup. A simple plan.
He could be in danger, God help him, Eddie could get hurt. I am the one who goes out there into the dangerous world not my paranoid friend. I am lost here, stuck in, pinned down like a caged lion. Yes, right down to the pacing. Relax, Cade, sit, read a book. He'll be all right, just a school reunion. Gua don't go to school reunions, do they? He has his pistol and he can use it. Still I had to go, didn't I? I had to go help him. You help your friends after all, you have to, it's only fair, it's the right thing to do.
Ok, then, here he is now, talking to me. I can't see him at all, just hear his voice. Maybe he is on the phone and that is why I can't see him? Maybe I have the earpiece tucked snugly in my ear, his reassuring presence in my skull, telling me where to go, how to get out of this mess I'm in. He's probably engaged in some bizarre activity, creating a pizza, cleaning the carburettor, doing Buns of Steel, hanging out the washing, digging up the book., whilst simultaneously searching the net for help, for Gua, for messages, for me.
What's he saying? There's a lot of static, it's a buzzing like a bee, like a swarm of bees. Soon I will lose consciousness, I can recognise that feeling. Then the bees will fly off and he will be there again to jab me in the chest with some puke inducing concoction of chemicals. I stretch out my hand, but it meets no resistance, just flails in the cold air. Where are ya, buddy? I need you.
Need you now.
