We had a wonderful time in the city.
I found a tourist brochure and we discovered that the statue and fountains that we saw were in a place called Trafalgar Square. We saw a big clock apparently named Big Ben, a big mansion called St. Paul's Cathedral, a bridge supported by two towers called the Tower Bridge, and watched the bustling about in Central London. Now, we were getting ready to climb onto the London Eye.
It was closed to the humans at this time of night, so getting in was easy. We climbed the base of the ferris wheel and slowly started our ascent up the network of metal rods and cables. It being so dark, it was unlikely that we'd be seen. Glenne and I talked as we made our way to the top.
"Wow," Glenne said, letting out a breath. "Tonight was crazy."
I smiled. "Yeah," I replied softly. "I forgot how much fun it was to go to the city." She met my eye and we held each other's gaze for a few moments. I stopped climbing. "I feel that there's something I need to tell you," I said, maintaining eye contact.
"Yeah?" Glenne asked, coming to a stop as well.
I fought off a grin. "I told you so."
Glenne's jaw dropped open a little and she shoved me, her face turning burnt orange again. "Shut up!" she protested. I laughed and watched as she folded two arms in front of herself and turned away from me, smiling. Then she looked at me out of the corner of her eye. "But . . . yeah. You did," she said softly.
I looked out at the city. "Hey, look, we're almost at the top."
Glenne looked up and I watched her face as she took in the view. We didn't say anything for a couple minutes. Finally, she broke the silence.
"You know . . ." She looked down. She opened her mouth to continue, but nothing came out.
"Yeah," I replied, looking back out at the city. "It's beautiful."
"No," Glenne said, and I looked over at her. "I mean, yes, it's beautiful, but that isn't what I was going to say. I was going to say that . . ." She looked at me. "Thank you. I've never met anyone quite like you before." She smiled nervously. "I guess that isn't saying much, since you're really the only one I've ever met."
I smiled. "I understand. It's not every day you meet an insane octopus that considers himself a father to four baby penguins," I said with a laugh.
Glenne shook her head. "That's not what I meant," she replied. "I meant that . . . If I end up all alone in that tank for the rest of my life, I'd be okay with that. Just for . . . knowing you."
She smiled and I maintained eye contact as my smile dropped, trying to find the words to respond with as we hung on the metalwork just above the halfway mark. Finally, I looked down.
"Come with me," I said softly, the words coming out before I'd even processed them in my mind.
"What?" Glenne asked, leaning closer to me.
I looked at her again. "Come with me," I repeated.
Glenne was speechless for a few moments. "But . . . how? The zoo will probably transfer you, but why would they transfer me with you?" she asked.
"We won't go back to the zoo," I replied. "We'll run away together. We'll go to New York. You can meet the penguins. We can . . ." I hesitated for a moment. "We can be together," I said finally. "We don't have to be lonely anymore."
Glenne held my gaze for what seemed like a long time. I couldn't tell if she was thinking it over or weighing her chances of survival if she jumped off the Eye from this height just to get away from me.
"Dave . . ." She looked down and I braced myself for rejection. "I don't know about this. What if we're caught?"
"We won't be caught," I replied immediately.
"You don't know that," Glenne replied, looking at me again.
I wanted to say that I did, but she was right. I wasn't a psychic. I didn't know what would happen. But, to my surprise, I didn't care.
"You're right," I admitted, "but we've been captives of the human race for too long. Octopuses don't do well inside stone walls. I say it's time to take back our lives and worry about the consequences later. Maybe we will be caught. At least we can say we tried."
Glenne looked at me for a moment, unresponding. Without a word, she continued climbing. I climbed after in silence.
We reached the peak of the Eye and perched ourselves on the topmost passenger capsule, looking out over the city in silence as raindrops began to fall from above. It didn't take long before the slow drizzle turned into a steady rainfall. If it weren't for our suckers sticking us to the top of the capsule, we probably would've slipped off.
"Yes," Glenne said after what seemed like forever. She caught me off guard and I looked at her.
"What?" I asked quietly.
She looked at me. "Yes," she repeated softly. "I'll go with you."
I started to smile. "Really?"
She smiled back. "Let's do it."
I felt happier about this than I probably should have. I don't know, I guess I had already prepared myself for rejection, so when she actually agreed, I was overjoyed. I reached out and hugged her tight — well, as much as two eight-armed beings with no torso can hug, anyway — and laughed with joy. She laughed and returned the gesture. It lasted a few moments before we relaxed, our arms still around each other, and looked at each other, still smiling. Our smiles relaxed as the rain continued to fall from above, slipping down our sleek skin. I'm not sure how long we sat there, but I could've stayed like that for a long time.
Something landed on my head and Glenne looked up, arching a brow.
"Sorry, chap!" a pigeon called from above, sloping downward and taking refuge from the rain under an awning.
I touched my head and looked at my arm to see a white substance there. I pressed my lips together, feeling irritated beyond belief.
Glenne started to snicker and I looked at her.
"What?" I asked, once again failing to maintain my frustration and smiling. Glenne backed away from me as she started laughing uncontrollably. "Oh, you think that's funny?" I said, using the rain to wash my head off as Glenne continued to laugh, hanging on to the metalwork so she wouldn't fall. "Stop laughing, you!" I protested, even though I had started laughing as well. I moved toward her, but Glenne fled, swinging down the metalwork by her arms like a monkey. I watched for a moment in surprise. For a girl who'd never seen the light of day, let alone a city, she had some moves. I followed her lead and swung after her.
She reached the bottom before I did, so I used two arms to grip some metalwork on my right, and two more to grip the metalwork to my left, another two to pull myself backward, and then I let go to slingshot myself in her direction. She looked back in time to see me flying toward her and squealed with shock as I ran into her.
We rolled a few feet until we stopped, and laid there on the ground, laughing as if there were no tomorrow. As we composed ourselves, I realized I was still on top of her and we met each other's eyes. After a moment of silence, I backed off, trying to play it casual, and helped Glenne upright.
"So, where do we go first?" Glenne asked with a yawn.
I smiled. "I'm thinking we should get some rest before even thinking about our escape," I suggested. I took one of her arms. "Come on, let's go find a place to sleep."
We roamed around for about twenty minutes before we found a quiet rooftop with an empty crate. I turned it on its side and put a wooden board on top to where it would serve as a sort of makeshift awning and protect us some from the rain. I climbed inside and Glenne squeezed in next to me. Rain continued to pitter softly outside. I looked at Glenne's silhouette next to me.
"Good night, Glenne," I said softly.
"Good night, Dave," she replied. Then she nuzzled her head to my neck and I felt myself tense up for a moment. I looked down at her as she closed her eyes and went to sleep. I smiled softly and rested my head on hers, closing my eyes shortly after.
I got the best night's sleep that I'd had in a long time.
— § —
When I woke up, it was warm and humid. Glenne was still sleeping soundly against me. I didn't have the hearts to wake her. That is, until I processed the soft voice in the near distance.
I gently nudged Glenne and she moaned, so I clamped an arm over her mouth.
"Glenne, wake up," I whispered.
She woke with a start and looked at me, fear overcoming her expression.
"Stay quiet," I whispered. I carefully peeked outside. By the door that led down into the building we had slept on, there was a man talking on a cell phone.
". . . telling you, I came up on the roof, and crikey! There are two octopuses sleeping in a blooming crate! I called animal control a few minutes ago. I can't wait to get that reward the London Zoo put out for these guys. Five hundred pounds each!"
"We need to get out of here," I said urgently.
"How?" Glenne asked in a panic. "Animal control is coming!"
"Follow my lead," I said, climbing out of the crate. She followed closely behind.
The man quickly realized we were awake and coming after him and he stumbled backwards.
"Crikey! They're awake! And they're —"
He didn't get to finish his sentence because I'd reached out and snatched his phone away, ending the call. Then I grabbed a two-by-four that was laying on the roof and knocked him over the head. He crumpled and lay unconscious.
"Dave!" Glenne protested, snatching the board from me. "You knocked him out!"
"Yeah, he was gonna go get help," I replied. "What was I supposed to do?"
"I don't know! Not hit him!" Glenne argued.
I sighed impatiently. "We need to discuss this later. We're wasting time," I said, picking the man up and moving past her. "Come on, I have an idea. Bring that board with you."
Glenne gripped the board tighter and followed me through the door that led down into the belly of the building.
"Dave, where are we going?" Glenne asked. "Someone is going to see us!"
"Don't worry," I said, "I've got this covered."
I searched the man's pockets and found his apartment key, which, as the little card hanging off the keychain indicated, was Apartment 42D. The apartments to my right read 48D, 46D, 44D, and —
"In here," I whispered, quietly opening the door. I peeked inside for a moment. "The coast is clear," I said, migrating into the room and shutting and locking the door behind Glenne.
"What are we doing in here?" Glenne asked quietly, obviously still panicking. "What are you going to do with him?"
"I'm going to make him look crazy," I replied nonchalantly, setting the man on the floor in the living room. "You throw some stuff around and hide the valuable-looking stuff so they seem missing. I'll be in the bedroom."
"Dave! I'm not doing that!" Glenne protested, setting the board aside.
I looked at her impatiently. "Glenne, you told me you wanted to run away with me. You said you trusted me. I need you to trust me now."
Glenne looked from me to the unconscious man, and back to me. Then she sighed. "Fine. I trust you," she said, giving in.
"Good," I replied. "Watch him, too. If he starts to wake up, another good knock to the head should do the trick. Try not to make too much noise."
I migrated into the bedroom and went through some of the drawers, picking out various articles of clothing. I put them on as I had back in New York, slipped on a hat, a pair of boots, and a pair of white gloves. I looked myself over in the mirror and changed my skin tone. I saw a pair of glasses and thought about leaving them, but decided to go ahead and put those on too. I looked through some of the drawers for women's clothing, but I couldn't find anything. With a sigh, I looked around for an alternative and found a large duffel bag in the closet. I picked it up and went to the door.
"Glenne?" I called softly through the door. I heard her rustling around the room.
"Yeah?" she called back.
"Don't freak out, okay?" I replied.
I heard the rustling stop.
"Why?" she asked warily.
I opened the bedroom door and stepped out. Glenne dropped the tea set she was holding and gasped, the tea set crashing loudly on the floor. I hoped no one heard.
"Dave?" she inquired.
"Yeah, it's just me. We need to discuss this later," I said. "I didn't see any women's clothes in there, so I'll need you to get in here."
I held up the large duffel bag with a sorrowful look. She arched an eyebrow.
"You want me to get in a bag?" she asked, looking a little offended.
"I don't know what else to do to hide you," I explained softly. "Please, I don't want them to take you away."
Glenne sighed and closed her eyes. "I can't believe I'm letting you drag me into this. Fine," she reluctantly agreed. I held the bag down as she climbed inside.
"I'll be as quick as possible. Stay quiet," I told her. She nodded and I zipped her in.
I gently shouldered the bag and started for the door. After opening it and checking the hallway, assuring myself that it was empty, I stepped out and left the door cracked open. I walked down the hallway, feeling relatively calm, until I heard sirens outside and quickened my pace. I dashed down the stairs and tried to blend in with a small group of people that were leaving the building. The animal control officers rushed into the building, not giving me a second glance. I sighed with relief as I made it outside. I didn't get far before someone tapped my shoulder.
"Oi," a voice said. I turned to see an animal control officer standing there. "You see any octopuses around here?"
I pretended to think for a moment. "Nope," I replied. "But, uh, I think I heard the man in 42D muttering something about octopuses on the roof. I went up and checked it out, but it looked empty to me. Maybe he had a few too many, hm?" I suggested with a smile.
He ignored the comment. "You American?" he asked, probably recognizing my accent.
"Yes, I'm here on vacation," I replied.
The officer took out a pen and a small pad. "I'm gonna need your name for the report."
I blinked. Okay, no big deal. Just think of a name. I looked at the pen and paper in the man's hand and his wristwatch caught my eye. In the center, above the base of the hands, it said: OCTAVIUS.
I took about two seconds to consider. Seemed fitting.
"Octavius," I replied.
The man wrote down the name and looked up. "Octavius . . .?"
I realized he was looking for a last name. I thought for a moment, trying not to take too long so I wouldn't raise his suspicions. Thankfully, I was saved when two guys came toward us from the apartment building. A team of paramedics exited behind them and took the man from the apartment to an ambulance.
"Hey, Brian," one of them said, "I don't think this guy is all there. We found him in the middle of his apartment and it looks like he was robbed. He's also got a nasty knock to the head. He keeps rambling about two octopuses that knocked him out and trashed his apartment."
The voices faded behind me as I made my retreat. By the time Brian turned back around, I'd be long gone. I quickly made my way to the Hungerford Bridge, which only took a few minutes. As soon as I got there, I took an opportunity to slip under the bridge while no one was looking and opened the bag.
Glenne climbed out of the bag in a rush. "God!" she cried. "What took you so long?"
I arched an eyebrow. "It's been, like, five minutes." She groaned and turned away from me. "I'm sorry," I said as I started taking the human clothes off.
"Why?" she demanded, turning back to me. "What was the point in that? Why couldn't we have just escaped? What happened to we'll just camouflage ourselves and the humans will never find us?"
The tone in her voice caught me off guard, but I managed to keep myself composed. "I wanted to throw them off our trail," I answered. "And I thought it best if we didn't separate, especially since you've never been in the city before."
Glenne studied me for a minute, and then she sighed. "Before we do anything else, I need you to promise me that you'll never do that again. I will not be shoved in a bag again. Five minutes in that thing was worse than being locked in a tank for most of my life."
I nodded quickly. "Absolutely. You . . . You deserve better than that." She studied me carefully. "I should've thought of something different. I'm an idiot. I'm sorry."
She was silent for a long time as she studied me and the water beneath us. Finally, she sighed.
"You're not an idiot," she said, fixing her gaze on the water.
"Not even a little?" I asked with a small smile.
She smiled at me. "Maybe a little," she replied.
"I knew it," I said, shaking my head.
Glenne laughed. "Come on, Seaweed Brain," she said. "It's time we start heading for New York."
— § —
"No, that'll take too long," I replied. "We don't even know our way around the ocean. We could easily get lost."
"That's true," Glenne replied, looking down in thought. "How about a boat?"
"That would be a long trip," I replied. "It would probably take one to two weeks, maybe longer depending on the ship. I don't know if we'd be able to stay hidden that long. You also said you didn't want to feel locked away anymore."
Glenne sighed. "That's true. But I have been locked up for my entire life. What's a week or so more when it'll take us where we want to go?" she asked.
I thought for a moment. "We'll save that as a backup plan," I suggested. She nodded. "A plane ride would be the fastest way, but airport security is really tight. I'm not sure if we'd be able to board without being seen. I know our best chances would be at night, but even then, it's taking a huge risk."
Glenne mused over that for a minute. "What if we . . . disguised ourselves as humans? — like you did? I have to say, that was a pretty convincing disguise."
I shook my head thoughtfully. "I don't think that would work. I don't know everything that goes into passing through airport security, but I do know we don't have the proper credentials for it, and trying to obtain them would be difficult. Unless we did it illegally, which would also be too difficult," I said with a doubtful glance at Glenne.
She sighed irritably. "I don't know, Dave. This just seems too complicated. Running away . . ." She looked down and shook her head. "It sounds amazing, but maybe it's just a fool's dream."
I watched her as she studied the ground, disappointment and defeat seeping into her expression. For a moment, I felt as if I was looking in a mirror. Back in San Diego, I'd felt the same way. Disappointed that things hadn't worked out how I'd wanted them to, that I never got the chance to make amends with the penguins. Defeated because there was nothing I could do about it. I didn't have a choice. I was helpless. I was . . . alone.
"Maybe it is," I said, my expression hardening with determination, "but I don't care. We aren't just going to give up. Giving up is for rookies. For too long, we've been submissive to the demands of the humans because we haven't been given the option to choose our own lives. Now we have that option. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't at least try to fight for this. I've hated myself for not trying harder with the penguins before it was too late. I'm not going to make that same mistake again."
Glenne looked at me for a few moments. Then she sighed. "You're right, I guess. But you'll have to forgive me for not wanting to get my hopes up," she said, her eyes locked to mine.
I held eye contact. "Glenne," I said softly, "I promise you things will work out in our favor. I promise you nothing will go wrong."
Glenne and I maintained eye contact for a few minutes as we remained silent. I recognized the look in her eye. She was internally struggling with how much she should let herself trust me — how much she should let herself believe in the things I said, the things I promised her. I had a momentary flashback of that day in the Central Park Zoo infirmary so long ago, when I held little Rico in my arms with a needle ready to suture his wound. I promise everything's going to be just fine, I'd said. I'd followed through with that promise, I was going to follow through with it again.
I later learned that it is unwise to make such risky promises.
— § —
At six o'clock in the morning, Glenne and I rose out of the water of Gallions Point Marina just enough to see the airport in the distance. Bright lights illuminated the runways and planes were either taking off, landing, or pulling into the terminal.
Glenne leaned in closer to me. "How are we going to find a plane that's going to America?" she asked.
I narrowed my eyes and scanned the row of planes. One plane crossed in front of my line of sight and revealed a plane behind it that said AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES across the side. I grinned.
"There," I said. Glenne followed my gaze.
"So, that one's going to America, but is it heading to New York?" she asked.
"Well, in order to find out which plane is heading straight for New York, we'd have to go through the airport, where we'd likely be caught. Our best bet is to take a plane to America and get to New York from wherever we end up. It's a bit risky, but less risky than trying to avoid airport security," I explained.
"I'm not so sure about this," Glenne said timidly. "I don't see how we're going to get all the way over there without being caught."
I kept my gaze on our target. "The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem," I said before finally looking over at her.
Glenne frowned. "I hope you know what you're doing," she said.
I smiled at her. "Do I sense doubt? Come now, have a little faith."
She smiled skeptically. "Get us on that plane. Then we'll talk."
I considered. "Fair enough. Come along, dearest, we have a flight to catch," I said, slowly pulling myself out of the water and looking around, ensuring the area was clear. Glenne followed closely behind.
"Okay, here's the plan," I started. "Stick to the shadows as much as possible and stay close behind me. Use camouflage anytime I do. Get to the luggage compartment and slip inside while nobody's watching. Hide out until the plane takes off. I'll keep an eye on our objectives, you be on the lookout for any wandering eyes. Any questions?"
"Yes," Glenne answered. "Remind me why I let you drag me into this?"
I thought for a moment. "Because I intrigue you?" I suggested.
Glenne smiled. "Possibly," she replied. "Let's get this over with."
We waited for an opportunity and moved forward, ducking under the nearest idle plane. I noticed a kart pulling a dolly across the runway and signaled to Glenne. When it passed by, we zipped forward and latched onto it, camouflaging ourselves to the back. I watched as the American International Airlines plane started to pass by and glanced back at Glenne, who signaled to me that it was all clear. Giving the area a quick once over, I pulled Glenne behind me as we raced across the runway and ducked in the shadow of the big metal bird. After making sure no one saw us, we climbed the landing gear into the plane. I led Glenne down a shaft until I hit a floorboard. I gently lifted it up to see that it led into the luggage compartment. I decided it best we hid here until we were in the air. Then we waited.
"What's taking so long?" Glenne asked me in a hushed whisper.
"It's only been a few minutes," I replied with a humorous grin.
She sighed with frustration. "I just wish we could take off already. I'm getting anxious. What if we're caught? Are you sure no one will find us here?"
I looked toward her silhouette in the darkness. "Not as long as we stay quiet," I stressed. I heard her exhale, but then there was silence.
We waited for what seemed like forever, and were nodding off by the time we felt the plane's engines starting. I took a couple of Glenne's arms.
"You might want to brace yourself," I advised. We stuck the suckers of our arms to the sides of the shaft and felt the frequency of the vibration of the plane increasing as the plane picked up speed.
"Dave, what's happening?" Glenne asked, panic seeping into her voice.
I squeezed her arms. "We're just taking off," I said over the roaring engines. "Everything's gonna be all right."
After a few minutes, we felt gravity shift as the plane lifted into the air. There was some mild turbulence before things finally leveled out and we reached a safe altitude. Glenne looked at me.
"Wait here," I said. I lifted the floorboard again and looked around. So far, there wasn't anyone around. I pulled myself up and looked around again. After assuring the coast was clear, I gestured for Glenne to come up. She pulled herself from the floor and replaced the board, and then she looked at me.
"So . . ." she started, her voice trailing.
I looked at her and smiled. "America, here we come," I said.
The corner of Glenne's mouth twitched for a moment before she broke into a smile. She laughed and threw several of her arms around me with an excited squeal.
"We did it! I can't believe we actually did it!" she cried.
I laughed and returned the embrace. "What did I tell you?" I pulled away so I could make eye contact. "We're on our way, dearest. In less than a day, we'll touch down on American soil, as promised."
Glenne smiled. "You truly are amazing, Dave," she said softly.
I smiled back and we held eye contact for a few minutes. As the intensity grew, I did what I always did to alleviate it.
"Took you long enough to figure that out," I joked.
Glenne playfully rolled her eyes and let go of me. "All right," she warned, "don't push your luck." She looked around the luggage compartment. "So, what should we do for the next several hours?"
I thought for a moment. Then I grinned. "I think I have an idea."
— § —
Glenne laughed so hard her face turned burnt orange again.
"What?" I asked with a smile. "Too much?"
Glenne tried to answer, but I couldn't make out what she was saying through her laughing. I looked back into the little hand mirror I was holding.
"I think I pull the hippie look off pretty well. I don't know about you," I joked, fluffing the wig I was wearing a little.
Glenne rolled her eyes and smacked her forehead with one of her arms. Then she looked at me. "Take that ridiculous wig off, Dave," she said.
"Fine," I said, pulling the wig off and putting it back where I found it. I rummaged through some other bags. "Ooh! How about redhead?" I said, pulling a red wig from one of the suitcases and putting on my head.
Glenne arched a brow and started laughing again. Then she cocked her head. "Actually, redhead does kind of suit you," she said.
"Really?" I asked, looking into the mirror.
"No," Glenne replied. She laughed as I gave her a dumbfounded look.
"Fine," I said, smiling as I put the wig back where I found it. "What do you want to do now?"
Glenne sighed. "I don't know. How long have we been flying?" she asked.
I looked at the watch I'd taken from a suitcase. "Almost two hours. We still have a while to go, I think."
Glenne looked around at the piles of secured suitcases. "What is there to do except go through people's personal belongings?" she asked.
I thought for a moment. Then I smiled. "You know," I started, catching her attention, "as many times as I've been on a plane, I've never actually seen how the world looks from way up here."
Glenne's smile faded. "You mean, you want to look out?" she asked skeptically.
I shrugged. "Sure. Don't you?" I asked.
Glenne hesitated. "Exactly how far up are we?" she asked.
"I don't know," I answered, "a few miles, I think."
Glenne broke eye contact, unresponding.
"You did know that's what planes do when we initiated this, right?" I asked.
Glenne looked at me, but didn't meet my eye. "Yes, but . . ." Her voice trailed.
"But what?" I urged, moving closer to her.
She closed her eyes and sighed. "Honestly, I've been trying to keep my mind off the fact that we're flying. I've never been on a plane before. When you suggested it, I thought it'd be fun. Then I saw a plane taking off when we got to the airport and I suddenly became afraid. Every time I think about how high up we are, I can't help but wonder what would happen if we crashed." She shuddered and looked down.
"Why didn't you say anything?" I asked after a moment had passed.
She laughed slightly, but she still wouldn't look at me. "I didn't want to look like a coward," she answered softly.
I was taken aback. "A coward?"
She shifted. "Yeah. You've just been — so brave this entire time. I was afraid that . . . you'd think less of me."
I was silent for a few moments, trying to process what she'd just said. "You . . . You think I'm brave?" I asked, astonished.
She shrugged a little. "Well, yeah," she answered. "You broke me out of a zoo, ran around a city, and evaded animal control. Then you snuck us on a plane. I never would've done any of that had you not dragged me into it," she said, looking up at me with a coy smile.
I looked down in thought. I was a lot of things, but brave?
"Glenne," I started, "I am anything but brave. I promise you that." I looked down again, trying to contemplate whether I should give her my reason why.
"And how could you possibly believe that?" Glenne challenged. I looked at her for a moment, her demanding eyes piercing into me. I looked at an invisible point past her.
"When . . . I told you about the penguins," I started, feeling my hearts wrench as I brought them up, "I may have . . . left out a few details." I paused to assess her reaction. She just waited for me to continue. I looked back down. "During those last few weeks, I didn't confront them about our growing apart because . . . I was afraid to," I admitted. She didn't say anything, but I didn't dare look at her.
"All that time I spent at the bottom of that tank," I continued, "all I could think about was the possibility of rejection. I'd already been rejected by everyone else because of them. Being rejected by them after I'd given so much of myself to them . . . I couldn't take that. And because of my cowardice, I let them grow away from me. It's my fault they ignored me. If I'd —" I looked at a suitcase that was across from me as if the words I wanted to say were enclosed in it. Then I looked at Glenne, who was waiting for me to finish. I looked away again. "If I'd had the guts to just say something, maybe things would've worked out better between us." There was silence for a moment before I said, "I'm not brave, Glenne. I am a coward."
Neither of us said anything for a while. Finally, she reached out and gripped a couple of my arms.
"You're not a coward, Dave," Glenne said, but her voice sounded as if it just passed right over me. "So you made a mistake. Your past doesn't define you. What you learn from it does." I looked up at her. Her eyes were reassuring, but I was still lost in my self-doubt. "You were afraid to come forward about your feelings, but that's not something to be ashamed of. Everyone gets scared to talk about how they really feel, especially if there's a possibility of rejection."
I studied her. "You sound like you speak from experience," I observed.
Glenne hesitated, but shook it off. "What I'm saying is, don't let what you did or didn't do determine who you are. It's now, what you're going to do, that matters. You're doing what not many animals would have the courage to do. You're making your own path. And for what it's worth," she shrugged a little, "that sounds bloody brave to me."
We maintained eye contact for a few moments in silence. Finally, I let off a soft smile.
"Actually," I said quietly, "it's worth more than you think."
Glenne smiled back. "And look on the bright side," she said, "if you'd never been transferred, you'd have never met me," she suggested, eyeing me coyly.
I smiled and gripped her arms a little more firmly. "I'd say that's the only good thing that's come out of this," I replied. We held eye contact for a few moments, the intensity once again growing between us. I looked up. "So, you wanna look out or what?"
Glenne's smile melted and she swallowed.
"Come on," I encouraged, "I'll be with you the whole time."
Glenne thought for a moment. "O . . . Okay. But promise me you won't do anything crazy," she said.
I grinned humorously. "What am I gonna do? Jump out of the plane and hang off the side like a maniac? You've got nothing to worry about. Come on," I said, pulling her along.
I led her to the very back of the plane, where there were thick-paned windows along the top of the hatch to the luggage compartment. Dim light shown through it. When we were next to it, I looked at Glenne.
"We'll look together. Okay?" I suggested, looking at her reassuringly.
Glenne swallowed again and took a deep breath. Then she nodded.
"All right," I said, gripping one of her arms, "on three. One . . . two . . . three."
We both turned and looked down into the windows, both falling immediately silent at the sight below.
It was still nighttime, but the sun was just rising in the distance. We couldn't see the sun from the angle we were at, but we could see the early morning light glinting off of the ocean below. Some scattered clouds passed underneath, all illuminated a deep, bright orange. The waves churned calmly several thousand feet below.
"It's beautiful," Glenne said breathlessly.
"It is," I replied. "If I picked a day to fly . . . oh, this would be it. A day just like this. I never would've thought —"
I broke off when I looked at Glenne. The light coming up through the window glinted off her skin and danced in her mesmerized eyes. She looked like she was glowing. The morning light looked amazing against her. After a few moments, she looked at me and I suddenly realized I'd been staring.
"You never would've thought what?" she asked, studying me curiously.
"I . . ." I racked my brain in internal frustration. I'd completely forgotten what I was going to say. I looked back down to try and regain my train of thought. "I never would've thought that . . . it would be anything like this," I said finally.
I stared determinedly at the ocean beneath us, feeling Glenne's eyes still looking at me.
"Dave, are you all right?" she asked after a moment.
"Yeah," I answered quickly. "Yeah, I'm fine." I watched the Atlantic as it continued to pass underneath. "It's just that . . . before this moment, I feel like I've flown thousands and thousands of miles and have never gone anywhere."
There was silence for a long time. When Glenne spoke again, it took me a moment to process her voice.
"Thank you," she said, which brought me to look at her again.
"What?" I inquired.
"Thank you," she repeated, smiling softly, "for teaching me not to fear the unknown."
I shrugged a little. "I wasn't trying to teach you anything. I was just . . . showing you something new," I replied.
She smiled. "Isn't that how you learn?" she inquired.
I thought for a moment and smiled back. "Not sure, but I'll tell you one thing," I said.
She arched a curious brow. "What's that?"
I took one of her arms. "Learning is a lot more interesting when I'm with you."
— § —
Note: The quotes used in this chapter were: "[Octopuses] Gypsies don't do well inside stone walls," spoken by Esmeralda (portrayed by Demi Moore) in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996); "Giving up is for rookies," spoken by Philoctetes (portrayed by Danny DeVito) in Hercules (1997); "The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem," spoken by Captain Jack Sparrow (portrayed by Johnny Depp) in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003); "Everything's gonna be all right," spoken by Dory (portrayed by Ellen Degeneres) in Finding Nemo (2003); "If I picked a day to fly . . . oh, this would be it," spoken by Quasimodo (portrayed by Tom Hulce) in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996); "I feel like I've flown thousands and thousands of miles and have never gone anywhere," spoken by Dusty Crophopper (portrayed by Dane Cook) in Planes (2013); The chapter's title, The Great Escape, is a reference to the 1963 John Sturges film; Glenne calling Dave "Seaweed Brain" was a reference to Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.
Next chapter will be posted on August 21st, 2023.
