"All right, all right, one more," I said, getting ready. I aimed carefully, and then I swung the golf club back slightly and gave the golf ball a good tap. It rolled forward and inched toward its target — the opening of a rubber boot. Glenne and I watched intently as the ball came close to finishing its journey, only for the ball's path to be disturbed when the plane had some turbulence. We grunted in frustration.
"Well, that got boring fast," I commented as I placed the club, ball, and boot back where I'd found them. "How do humans do this without going out of their minds?"
"You're asking me?" Glenne replied. She sighed and leaned against some luggage. "How big is the Atlantic, anyway?"
"I don't know," I replied. "We haven't looked out in a good while. Come on, we'll see if we can spot land yet."
Glenne followed me as we passed through the luggage compartment. We looked down through the windows of the hatch and I frowned.
"It's all land," Glenne observed.
I looked at the watch again. We'd been flying for about nine hours, and we'd obviously passed the coastline a while ago, as it was nowhere in sight, even when I craned my neck to look as far as I could.
"I thought you said New York was right along the coast," Glenne inquired.
"I did," I answered. "This plane must be headed somewhere inland. Like, way inland."
Just as we started to wonder exactly where we were flying over, we heard the intercom in the distance relay the captain's voice throughout the plane.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. If you look out of your windows now, you can see where the Missouri River meets the Mississippi River. Isn't that lovely, folks?"
I exchanged a glance with Glenne.
"Missouri River? Mississippi River?" she repeated. "Where are we, Dave?"
I thought for a moment. "Sounds like we're somewhere over Missouri or Mississippi, I guess. I don't know. I'm not a hundred percent sure where that is in America, but it's definitely a ways from the coast."
"Dave," Glenne complained.
"I know," I said, cutting her off. "It's just a minor setback. We'll still get to New York, it'll just take a little longer."
"Dave!" Glenne snapped.
"What!" I snapped back. "What's wrong?"
Glenne sighed impatiently. "Dave, don't you think this is a bit of a problem? You're acting as if this is perfectly okay. Do you have any idea how many miles we are from New York, because it sounds like we're about to be even farther off course."
I exhaled. "I don't know how far off we are, exactly. But no, I don't see any problem with it. We'll have to travel a little longer, but it won't be an impossible task. I'd call it an adventure," I said.
Glenne stared at me for a second. "An adventure," she repeated crossly. "Everything's an adventure with you. For all you know, we could be traveling across half the country. Don't you realize the risk in that?"
"We knew there would be a risk when we went into this," I reminded her.
"Well, yes, but —" She rolled her eyes. "The longer we have to travel, the more likely we'll be caught trying to do so."
"You worry too much," I observed. "I told you, I've got this covered."
Glenne coughed incredulously. Then she angled away from me a little and put an arm over her face. "He's a madman. I just ran away with a madman."
It was probably a bit insensitive, but I found this a bit amusing and smiled. "Well, to be fair, if I was sane, we never would've made it this far," I said.
Glenne gave me a look, her arm still draped over her face. She sighed and closed her eyes. "You said you knew New York like the back of your arm. Do you know anything else about the rest of America?"
I thought for a moment. "Just a few details I saw in some movies," I answered. "But that's not a problem. We obtain a map, follow some road signs, and we're home free."
Glenne made a doubtful face. "Follow some road signs," she repeated. She closed her eyes. "We're doomed."
I rolled my eyes. "Come on, Glenne. Have a little faith. We aren't getting anywhere if you keep thinking like that," I said.
Glenne looked at me again. Then she sighed. "I really hope you know what you're doing."
I opened my mouth to respond, but decided against it. The only thing that was going to assure her that I had things under control was to show her.
I considered that a challenge accepted.
— § —
We flew for another two hours when the plane started its descent. Glenne and I went back to our place under the floorboards.
"All right," I said to Glenne, urgency taking my voice, "it's broad daylight out here, so we're going to have to be extra careful." Glenne nodded. "Our best bet is to hitch a ride on baggage claim. Once we're inside the building, we'll bust out and find a map. Then we'll get started on the road to New York. Also, landing is gonna be a bit more rough than taking off. Don't forget to brace yourself."
I couldn't see Glenne's face, but her silhouette was still. Finally, I saw her nod again. We braced ourselves and in about twenty minutes, we had endured the landing and we crawled out from the floor. I gestured to a couple of large bags and we latched onto them as tightly as we could and blended in. A few minutes later, we heard the hatch open and held ourselves as still as possible. We had to stay like this for a while before our bags were loaded onto a dolly and we were taken to the baggage claim dropoff. Then we were thrown onto a conveyor belt and were swallowed by the terminal.
I carefully peeked up to ensure the area was clear. We were in some back room where a bunch of conveyor belts zig-zagged across each other carrying luggage one way or another, where they eventually disappeared into a far wall. When I didn't see anyone around, I detached myself from the bag and looked around for Glenne. She was a few bags ahead of me and was just pulling herself off her bag as I looked at her. I gestured for her to follow me and jumped from the conveyor belt onto the floor. She landed next to me and I looked around. There was an air duct high up on a wall and I gestured for Glenne to follow. We scaled the wall and stopped at the grate.
"After you," I said to Glenne as I separated the grate from the wall. Glenne arched an eyebrow at me, but climbed inside the shaft without question. I climbed in after her and pulled the grate back in place. "Okay, phase three is a go."
"What were phases one and two?" she inquired.
"I never look back, dearest. It distracts me from the now," I replied nonchalantly as I squeezed past her. "Follow me."
"Are you ever going to give me a straight answer?" Glenne asked. I detected a smile in her voice.
"When you start having a little more confidence in me," I answered, glancing back at her. I heard her exhale, but she didn't respond.
We migrated through the complicated network of air ducts until I found one leading outside of the building, thankfully on the roof. We climbed out and tried to wipe off the dust that was matted onto our skin.
"Ugh," Glenne said as she tried and failed to brush off a bit of dust, "I'm gonna need a bath."
"Same here," I said irritably. The dust was just stuck to us. "We'll deal with it later. Come on, let's figure out where we are."
We migrated along the roof and looked out over the edge. I saw a big sign that said Tucson International Airport. I squinted in thought. Tucson?
It was obviously a very rural place. I couldn't see any skyscrapers looming in the distance from any direction. Just wide open spaces with a few small trees and shrubs here and there and some tall hills in the distance, small businesses scattered about in the near distance. I spotted something beneath us against the building.
"Wait here," I said, pulling myself over the wall. "I have an idea."
I went down and, after making sure no one was around, grabbed a newspaper from the stand that was just below our position on the roof. I looked at the words across the top, but quickly realized I had a hard time reading them. The text was too small. I grunted in frustration and climbed the wall, rejoining Glenne on the roof.
"Okay," I started, "I have a newspaper, but I'm having a hard time making out the words. You wouldn't happen to know how to read, would you?"
"Nope," Glenne answered sorrowfully, "sorry."
"Blast . . ." I said in frustration. I became distracted for a moment as I remembered that was what Skipper said when he was upset about something.
"What's wrong?" Glenne asked, breaking me from my thoughts.
"Nothing," I said, staring determinedly at the newspaper. "Hold this," I said, more sternly than I meant to, shoving the newspaper in her direction. "I'm gonna go snag a pair of reading glasses."
"Be careful," Glenne called after as I climbed back into the air duct.
I moved through the ducts, peering through each grate that I passed. So far, I just saw the lobby and some waiting areas. Finally, I found an office. There was a man at the desk, helping someone that was standing on the other side of a window. I waited for the customer to leave. The man got to his feet and grabbed a coffee cup from the desk, and then he turned and left. I perked up as I saw a pair of reading glasses on his desk. I gently pushed the grate from the wall ever so slightly, and then I reached out a single arm and snatched up the glasses, bringing my arm back into the duct. Pulling the grate back, I smiled with satisfaction as I held the glasses up. That was easy.
I made the short journey back to the roof, where I saw Glenne waiting where I'd left her. I put the glasses on my face and took the newspaper back from her, reading the top. My eyes widened.
"Wow," I commented.
"What?" Glenne urged. "Where are we?"
"Arizona," I replied.
"Are you sure?" Glenne asked.
"Yeah," I answered, "it says it right here," I said, pointing to the newspaper. "Arizona Daily Star." I also noticed the date. It was July 22nd. It'd really only been almost seven months since I saw the penguins last? It felt as if it'd been so much longer than that. The date displayed on the page seemed to mock me in all its black and white glory. I didn't realize that I'd started scowling.
"Dave?" Glenne said, snapping me from my thoughts. I glanced at her, relaxing the muscles in my face. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," I replied, staring determinedly at the newspaper again.
I sensed that Glenne wanted to press it, but she supposedly decided against it. "How far away are we from New York?" Glenne asked instead.
"Not sure on numbers," I replied, still not meeting her eye, "but pretty far."
"Well, how are we going to get there?" Glenne demanded.
"Simple, dearest," I replied casually.
She arched her brow. "This, I can't wait to see."
— § —
"All right, here's the airport," I said, pointing to where the Tucson was marked on the map, which we'd snagged from a gas station. We were hidden safely behind some dwarf shrubs a ways from the building so we wouldn't be spotted by any humans. I took the marker I had also snagged from the gas station and put a small X over the city. "We need to get here," I said, circling Manhattan.
Glenne arched an eyebrow. "That's a really long way to travel," she observed. "Are you sure we can't just hitch a ride on another plane?"
I looked at her doubtfully. "We could try, but it's the same deal as London. We'd have to go through the airport, figure out the gate number, and try to sneak on through luggage. It'd be too complicated with all of the security checkpoints we'd have to avoid. Going in through the other side would be pointless because we wouldn't know which plane is heading for New York. We could end up in —" I glanced over some of the cities marked on the map and picked one. "— Portland, for all we know. Our best shot is to go by land so we know exactly where we are and where we're going."
Glenne exhaled. "All right. Where do we go first?" she asked.
I studied the map. "Looks like the nearest interstate heading east is I-10."
"Okay," Glenne replied, "what are we going to do?"
"Glenne," I said, "it's time I taught you the art of hitchhiking."
Glenne arched her brow. "Hitchhiking? Isn't that when you ask people for rides? Don't you think there's a tiny problem with that?" she asked, gesturing to our bodies as if I didn't realize we were octopuses.
I grinned. "Who ever said we were going to hitchhike as octopuses?" I inquired.
Glenne eyed me carefully. "You don't mean that —"
"You bet your clamshells I do," I replied.
Glenne shook her head. "Dave, I really don't think I can pull this off."
"Now, Glenne," I said teasingly, "haven't you sensed the pattern? You always doubt me just before things work out. Yet you continue to have such little faith in me." I folded a couple of my arms and pouted a little. Glenne looked at me for a second and sighed impatiently as she rolled her eyes.
"I must be as insane as you are to continue going along with this," she replied.
"That's the spirit!" I said, nudging her. "Wait here. I think I saw some tourist stuff in that gas station. Be right back."
I left Glenne by the shrubs and, after ensuring the area was clear, went back to the gas station a few hundred yards away. It wasn't very busy, and the cashier had her nose buried in a fashion magazine, so I was easily able to sneak in through the bathroom window and silently snag some clothes and accessories. I also grabbed a small compact mirror. Before I turned to sneak back to the bathroom, something caught my eye and I turned to a shelf.
It was a snowglobe.
The base was sky blue with ARIZONA written in white, capital letters with a star on either side. In it, there was a tiny cactus on the left and a tiny man riding a tiny horse on the right. Whatever was in it glowed bright blue as well, making it look like nighttime inside the small collector's item. I thought about taking it for the heck of it, but decided against it. What would I want with a snowglobe? Besides, we needed to travel light. I went back to the bathroom, climbed out of the window, and returned to Glenne.
"All right," I began, "these are yours." I laid a small off-white T-shirt with Tucson written in the center in front of her, along with a zip-up hoodie, a pair of jeans, cheap, white loafers, a pair of cloth gloves, and a white hat that also said Tucson and had a picture of some sort of Native American. I had pretty much the same thing in a couple sizes larger. They didn't have many options.
"And how am I supposed to make this work?" Glenne asked, picking up the clothing as if she'd never seen clothing before in her life. That thought actually kind of freaked me out. Think about it.
"Here, just follow my lead," I said, picking up the pair of jeans. She mirrored me as I put one arm in each leg, and the ends of those arms into the loafers. Then I grabbed the shirt and pulled it over my head, two arms going through the armholes. I adjusted the extra arms under the shirt to make it look like a stomach and pulled the hoodie on, and then pulled the gloves over the ends of those arms, which came up to our forearms.
I looked Glenne over. "Not bad, but you need to fix your figure," I said, smiling humorously. "You look a bit lumpy."
"Isn't that what every woman wants to hear," Glenne said sarcastically, folding her fake human arms with a smile. She started shifting her extra arms under her clothes and I had the sudden urge to stare at a nearby cactus. It was a very nice cactus.
"How's that?" she asked.
I looked at her again. She actually looked pretty good. "Not bad," I said. "Now for the real magic."
I adjusted my skin tone a few times and looked in the small compact mirror. I smiled with satisfaction. Then I looked at Glenne and held up the mirror so she could see herself. "All right, now match me."
Glenne took a deep breath and shifted her tone. Then she looked at me expectantly.
"Little lighter," I instructed.
Glenne made her skin tone a little bit lighter.
"Perfect," I commented, "now give your cheeks a little extra color."
Glenne pushed color into her cheeks.
"Eh, a little less color," I said, "and more pinkish than orange."
Glenne dialed back on the color and made it pinker. "How's that?" she asked, obviously growing impatient.
"Good," I said. "Now give yourself a nose and add a reddish-brown arc over your eyes so it looks like eyebrows. You've seen humans, you know what I mean." She adjusted the texture of her skin at the center of her face to form a nose and willed herself some eyebrows. I laughed. "A little less Yosemite Sam, please," I joked, disappointed that she didn't get the reference. I remembered watching a couple Looney Tunes episodes with the penguins and became momentarily sad, but forced the thought away. Glenne stared intently into the mirror as she matched my brows. When she had it down, I put my fake hand to my chin and eyed her carefully.
"What?" Glenne demanded. "What is it now?"
"Your face," I replied thoughtfully. "It needs something."
Glenne folded her fake human arms, looking at me irritably. I held up a finger and perked up.
"I got it," I said. "Right through here," I said, tracing her cheekbones right under the eyes around to her temple, "try some freckles."
She arched an eyebrow. "Freckles?" she repeated. She rolled her eyes. "All right." She willed some burnt orange dots to appear on her upper cheeks. "Hm?" she said, looking at me sternly as if my answer had better be yes.
I studied her, then smiled. "Perfect," I said softly. I grabbed our hats, putting one on her head and one on mine. "Now, you —"
"Hey, now," Glenne said, cutting me off. I looked at her and lowered my brow in confusion. "What, you can assess me and I can't assess you? I don't think so." She folded her fake arms.
I rolled my eyes playfully. "All right," I said, holding my fake arms out, "how do I look?"
Glenne stepped back and looked at me from top to bottom. She narrowed her eyes.
"What?" I asked curiously.
"Your face," she said, mimicking me, "it needs something."
I watched her carefully as she thought for a moment. Then she held up a finger. "I got it," she said, looking to where the map was still laying on the ground nearby. She picked up the glasses I'd laid on top of it and turned back to me, pushing the glasses onto my face. She studied me for a moment and smiled. "Perfect."
I smiled back. "Thanks," I said. After a moment of awkward silence, I clasped my hands together. "All right. Let me see you walk."
Glenne looked at her feet, which were humorously facing opposite directions. I laughed a little.
"That's the sort of thing that will get us caught in no time," I said. "Go on, walk. And keep your feet straight ahead."
Glenne made her feet parallel to each other and took a few steps forward. I backpedaled in front of her.
"Make your knees more defined," I instructed. Glenne worked to give herself more knees. "You're doing good! Now turn one-eighty." She turned around easier than I thought she would and started walking. "Now you're getting the hang of it," I encouraged. "Let me see the fingers."
She held up her hands and moved her fingers, but they looked like big gummy worms. I smiled humorously.
"Here, watch my hands," I told her. I held out my hands and flexed the fingers, emphasizing where the "joints" should be. She looked at her hands and started flexing her fingers again, and after a few moments, she had it down pat. I smiled at her. "Great. Last, but not least, show me some elbow," I said, holding up my arms, bending them slightly off center. Glenne mimicked me.
"Fantastic," I said. "That was easier than I thought it'd be. You're a fast learner," I commended.
She smiled and folded her arms. "Now who's the one with little faith in who?" she teased.
I smiled back. "Whom," I corrected.
Her brow furrowed. "What?"
"Nothing," I replied with a laugh. "Okay, we've got the disguise, now all we need is a story."
Glenne watched me carefully. "Okay," she replied. "What is it?"
I thought for a moment. It had to be unique, but believable. After a few minutes of piecing the story in my mind, I smiled and picked up the map, and then I put an arm around Glenne's shoulders and started guiding her back toward the gas station.
"Whoa, where are we —"
"Sh-sh," I said, putting a finger to her lips. "Don't say a word. Just to ensure you don't accidentally say something that will conflict with our story, I'll do all the talking."
"So what do I do?" Glenne asked, looking up at me as I tipped her chin.
"You just be quiet and follow my lead," I replied.
"I can't at least know what you're going to say?" Glenne protested.
"You'll find out soon enough," I replied open-endedly. I looked at her as I added, "dearest sister."
— § —
We were walking down the side of the road, thankful for the bill of our hats blocking some of the sun from our eyes. Every few minutes, a car would pass by, but despite our efforts, no one pulled over for us yet. To be fair, Glenne did accidentally use the wrong finger to hail one of them.
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Glenne asked after we'd been walking for almost half an hour.
"Of course," I replied, looking over my shoulder to see a car approaching in the distance.
"Why can't we just hitch a ride like we did in the city? Then we wouldn't have to wear these disguises," Glenne asked.
"On the interstate?" I said quicker than I was able to think about it. Glenne didn't know what an interstate was. "The reason is because speeds can get up to eighty on the interstate. You don't want to be on top of a vehicle moving that fast for very long. I may be crazy, but I assure you, I'm not that crazy," I explained with a smile.
Glenne sighed. "What if they don't believe that story? It sounds a bit far-fetched, don't you think?" she asked, waiting next to me.
"Please," I replied nonchalantly, "the humans will believe anything. Why else do you think they keep electing bad presidents?"
"Well, I still don't get why we had to change our names. No one's gonna think we're the octopuses from London," Glenne asked.
"I don't know, it feels right," I replied with a shrug. "Different face, different identity, might as well change your name while you're at it."
When the car was close enough we stuck out a thumb. I smiled as the car slowed to a stop. An elderly couple was in the front seats.
"You folks need a lift?" the woman in the passenger seat asked, her arm resting on the open windowsill.
"Yes," I answered with a friendly smile, "heading east?"
"You're in luck, chérie!" she answered. "Hop in!"
She hit the button to unlock the doors. I opened the back and Glenne climbed in. I climbed in after her. The SUV was pretty roomy and well air conditioned.
"Buckle up!" the man in the driver seat said. Glenne looked at me blankly and I reached back and grabbed the seatbelt, pulling it forward slowly and clicking it in place. She looked over her right shoulder in confusion, not realizing her side mirrored mine, and I pointed to her left. She saw what I was referring to and nodded in understanding, and then grabbed the seatbelt, mimicking what I'd done and looking at me questioningly. I gave her a thumbs up and she relaxed.
"Well, I'm Lorenda Crawford," the woman said as the car started moving forward again. "This is my husband, George. What are your names?"
"My name is Octavius," I replied, "and this is my dear sister, Melissa. She's a mute. It's very nice to meet you both, Mr. and Mrs. Crawford."
"Please," Mrs. Crawford replied, looking at us in the rearview mirror, "no need for formalities. You can call me Lorrie."
"And you can call me Georgie," Mr. Crawford chimed in, glancing back at us through his round wire-rimmed glasses.
I arched my brow. "Lorrie and Georgie?" I inquired humorously.
They laughed.
"Yep," Lorrie replied, "we've been called that ever since we started dating fifty-two years ago."
I exchanged a glance with Glenne. "Fifty-two years?" I repeated.
"Yep," Georgie replied, sharing a smile with his wife. "We celebrated our fiftieth wedding anniversary this past Monday."
"We're traveling the country, seeing some sights we've never seen before," Lorrie explained.
"We toured the Grand Canyon yesterday," Georgie said. "It's a beautiful place. Have you two seen it?"
"Can't say we have," I replied. "We've traveled more outside the country."
"Really?" Lorrie inquired. "Well then, what's your story?"
"Well," I began, "I worked with a team of marine biologists some years back that study diversities in marine life worldwide. My sister was putting herself through college when she was diagnosed with cancer of the throat."
"Oh, you poor dear," Lorrie said, putting a hand over her heart.
"Yes," I replied, "she's made a full recovery, thankfully, but she's been rendered permanently mute and much of her college money went to her treatments. She was so sick she was forced to drop out and hasn't been able to go back since. I stopped working so I could support her."
"Oh, that's a shame," Lorrie said. "Well, it's nice that you made such a sacrifice for your sister. It isn't often that you see family help family like that. It's quite sad."
"Yes," Georgie broke in, running a hand over his thinning scalp. "Kids nowadays want to just go, go, go. Selfish little monsters. We didn't raise our kids like that, did we hon?" he asked, briefly patting her arm before putting it back to the wheel. Lorrie just smiled at him. "But I do have one question. If Melissa's the one that had cancer, why are you bald too?"
Lorrie smacked his arm. "Georgie!" she snapped. "You don't just ask people why they're bald! How would you like it?"
"It's fine," I laughed. "I actually shaved it in support of my sister. She had beautiful red hair before she was diagnosed. We're hoping it'll start growing back soon."
"I'm sure it will, chérie," Lorrie replied with a sincere smile. When she looked away, I grinned at Glenne like, I told you so. She held up her hand like, So you did. Lorrie seemed like a sweet lady. Sweet, but gullible. They were actually buying this load of crap.
"Anyway," I continued, "I was hoping to catch a flight to New York, where our parents will help us get back on our feet, but sadly, our luggage, including my wallet, was stolen back in Tucson."
"Oh!" Lorrie and Georgie cried out in unison.
"Probably one of those snot-nosed kids," Georgie commented irritably. "Always looking for easy money."
"Did you call the police?" Lorrie asked.
"Yes," I answered, "we waited for three days with no luck. We don't have any money left on us, so we just decided to leave."
"Your parents couldn't come here to get you?" Georgie asked.
I hadn't thought of that as a potential question, but I thought up a lie and I thought it up quick. "Oh, they're old, Mrs. — ah, Lorrie. We couldn't ask them to come all the way to Arizona. That would be too hard on them. We insisted we would find our own way together. We always do, right, sis?" I said, winking at Glenne. She rolled her eyes briefly and slapped on a bitter smile.
"Well," Georgie started, "it's a good thing we showed up instead of some crackpot. Not everyone is who they say they are, you know," he said, looking at me in the back seat. It took everything in me to keep a straight face. "That is, if you don't mind hanging out with a couple old buzzards for a few hours," he said with a humorous smile.
I smiled back. "Not at all, Georgie," I replied. "We really appreciate the lift. So, where are you two headed now?"
"We're going to the Carlsbad Caverns National Park," Lorrie replied. "You're welcome to join us. It wouldn't cost you a penny."
"Oh, I don't know," I replied. "We wouldn't want to impose on your wedding anniversary."
"You wouldn't be imposing on us, chérie!" Lorrie insisted. "Come now, it'll be fun! I looked through a brochure for the Caverns and they seem absolutely beautiful. Besides, I think you two have been through a great ordeal. You need something to take your mind off things for a few hours."
I looked at Glenne, who was staring down into her lap, fiddling with her fingers. I nudged her and she looked over at me. I gestured toward the Crawfords. "What do you say, sister dearest?" I asked quietly. "Short stop on the way?"
Glenne looked from me to the Crawfords, and then back to me. She made an inquisitive face and mouthed, Penguins?
I shrugged. "It'll just be a few hours. It's not like they're going anywhere," I replied quietly. I mean, where would they go?
Glenne thought for a moment, and then smiled, nodding a little.
I smiled back and turned to the Crawfords. "Why not?" I replied. "I'm sure our parents won't mind waiting a few extra measly hours."
"Great!" Lorrie said happily. "Well, we have a full tank and a six and a half hour drive, so you two had better get comfy. Now, who's up for some tunes?" She turned the radio on and a song softly started to play through the speakers. "Ooh, I love The Platters!"
She turned up the volume a bit and Glenne and I settled back and listened to the radio as Georgie took the entrance ramp onto I-10. Glenne looked out the window, bewildered. I can imagine she'd never seen such a stretch of road in her life. Well, neither had I, not in person anyways. Everything I knew about interstates came from those movies I watched with the penguins.
I stared blankly into the ceiling as if it were far away. I saw flashbacks of the penguins again. Those nights in the cozy zookeeper's office. The arguments over who was better — Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan. The play fights that they tried to mimic from them. The times I had to shield Private's gaze when things got too violent. All the while, unaware that it would soon be coming to an end. I suddenly became aware of the lyrics to the song that was playing.
Too real is this feeling of make-believe.
Too real when I feel what my heart can't conceal.
Yes, I'm the great pretender.
Just laughin' and gay like a clown.
I seem to be what I'm not, you see.
I'm wearing my heart like a crown.
Pretending that you're still around.
Come to think of it, isn't this some kind of cheap movie gag? TV and radio stations reminding people of their problems? I remember that happening in a couple of comedy movies we watched. I started feeling a bit irritated that this particular song just had to be on the radio at this exact moment. My life is not some piece of fiction meant for public entertainment.
I felt something close around my arm and looked down to see Glenne's hand gripping it gently. I looked at her and she eyed me with curious concern. I realized I must've been making some sort of face again. I held up my hand and shook my head in dismissal. She reluctantly retracted her hand and sighed as she relaxed back in the chair as the song came to an end.
I'm wearing my heart like a crown
Pretending that you're still around.
I silently sighed with relief as a new song started playing. Then I frowned when the woman started singing.
I'm sorry, so sorry
That I was such a fool.
I didn't know
Love could be so cruel.
You have got to be kidding me. This was going to be a long drive.
— § —
About an hour later, Lorrie turned down the radio and struck up another conversation shortly after Glenne had fallen asleep.
"So, tell me, you two have any kids?" she asked.
"No," I laughed. "Neither of us have really had the time to have that kind of relationship with someone."
"Aw, they all say that," Georgie said dismissively. "If you really want a relationship and kids, you make time. We always throw off on kids nowadays, but that's only because they aren't raised right. The ones that are aren't so bad. We had a time raising our children, but it was all worth it."
He shared a smile with his wife.
"How many children do you have?" I asked.
"Six," they replied simultaneously.
My eyes widened a bit. "Wow. Sounds like a full house," I replied.
They laughed.
"Isn't that an understatement?" Lorrie joked. "But children are truly a delight when you raise 'em up right. You should really try it sometime."
My smile melted and I looked down. "I did once," I said before I thought about it.
Lorrie frowned in the rearview mirror. "I thought you said you never had kids," she said.
"Oh," I said quickly, "they weren't actually mine. They were four boys I took care of . . . It didn't last that long."
"Oh, well, what happened?" Georgie asked.
I felt a bit irritated with myself for bringing it up. I really needed to learn when to shut up. Well, there was no backing out now.
"We sort of . . . grew apart. They wanted more independence and I kind of just . . . faded into the background. We ended up getting into an argument and stopped talking to each other or spending time together as often. I wanted to confront them about it, but I couldn't."
"You were afraid," Lorrie guessed.
I pressed my lips together and nodded. "Yeah," I admitted. "To be honest, when I get to New York, I was hoping to make amends with them. They live in Manhattan."
"I see," Lorrie said. She studied my reflection for a moment. "Do you consider yourself a fatherly figure to these four boys?"
I hesitated and looked down. "Yeah," I said softly. "I do."
Lorrie smiled. "May I offer some advice?"
I became curious. "Please," I replied, looking back up at her.
"Children are . . . ambitious," she started. "They want to believe they're old enough to take care of themselves. The truth? They're not, and they know they're not. In fact, they're not entirely sure how to take care of themselves when they do get older."
My brow lowered in thought. "I'm not following," I told her.
She smiled at me in the rearview mirror. "That fear you felt? I assure you, it was nothing compared to what your children were feeling. They may put on a brave face, but inside, they're petrified. You're scared because you know what could happen to them. They're scared because they have no idea."
I shrugged a little. "I still don't understand what you're trying to get at."
"What I'm saying is that they need you," Lorrie said. "They know they need you, but they're too stubborn to admit it. And more importantly, you need them. The worst thing you can do is give up on them. Believe it or not, they haven't given up on you. But the moment you give up on them, you'll lose everything."
I stared at the back of her seat for a while, unresponding. What if the penguins did think I'd given up on them? All that time I'd spent avoiding them, they could've decided that I was just sick of them. They could've been just as scared to confront me as I was them. They could've been just as afraid of rejection as I was. Then I just randomly disappeared. For all they knew, I left them intentionally. They had no clue what I'd been through in the past few months.
"One more thing," Lorrie said, bringing me back to reality, "it's never too late. The important thing is that you keep trying. The earlier you start, the sooner you'll start seeing results."
I nodded slightly as I absorbed her advice. "Thank you," I said quietly.
"Don't mention it," Lorrie replied with a wink. I looked over at Glenne, who had woken up without me realizing it. I wondered how much she'd heard. She gave me a small smile and took my hand in hers. Then she gave me an encouraging nod.
Her hand still in mine, I looked away and laid my head back on the headrest, watching the miles of desert speeding by. We passed a sign that indicated that services would be available in nineteen miles. A mere nineteen in the hundreds we needed to travel to get to New York.
I'd be counting them.
— § —
Note: The quotes used in this chapter were: "I never look back, darling [dearest]. It distracts me from the now," spoken by Edna Mode (portrayed by Brad Bird) in The Incredibles (2004); "I thought up a lie and thought it up quick" was a reference to How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss. There was a reference to Yosemite Sam from the Looney Tunes. The songs in the second to last scene were The Great Pretender by The Platters and I'm Sorry by Brenda Lee. Dave saying "Blast" was a reference to the TV show, where Skipper would actually say that at times when he was frustrated.
Next chapter will be posted on August 25th, 2023. Sorry for missing yesterday, it's been a rough week already.
