Four days after our first day, still working eleven hours a day and only buying the cheapest entreés from Sakura twice a day, we worked up around three hundred and fifty dollars total. Not bad, if you ask me. I guess it's true what they say: the only way to get what you want in this world is through hard work. I was pretty proud of us.

To wash our clothes, we went into a family restroom at a restaurant and washed them in the sink. Then we'd sneak out of the window and sleep on a roof, our clothes laid out next to us to dry. But, a few days ago, Ms. Sarina noticed how we were wearing the same clothes every day, and when we reminded her that our "luggage was stolen," she kindly gave us some extra Sarina's Donuts uniforms, which was a red T-shirt shirt with the store logo on the shoulder and khaki pants. She also gave us some cheap cloth bags to hold everything in. Of course, we still had to wear our hoodies and gloves to disguise our octopus arms.

On our sixth day there, I was mopping up some spilled cappuccino when a dark-skinned man walked in and struck up a conversation with Sarina.

"Good afternoon," Sarina said when he approached the counter. "What can I get for you?"

The man exhaled thoughtfully. "Let's see," he said as he examined the menu. "I'll take a dozen glazed and a large coffee."

Sarina punched some buttons on the cash register. "That'll be seven dollars and thirty cents," she told him.

The man fished the money out of his wallet and gave it to Sarina. She put the money in the register and gave him his receipt and change.

"It'll be just a few minutes, sir," she said before heading back to the kitchen.

The man sat down at a table near me. I had just finished cleaning up the mess and put a "Wet Floor" sign down when Glenne emerged from the kitchen and came to my side.

"Hey," she said, "it's one o'clock. Are you ready for lunch?"

I smiled. "Yeah. I just need to put this away," I said, referring to the mop and bucket. I left to replace it and returned a minute later.

"Order up!" Sarina called from the counter just as we started to leave. The man started to stand.

"All right, thank ya — oh!" The man cringed as he stood up straight, holding his hand to his back.

"Are you all right, sir?" Glenne asked. I could tell she was genuinely concerned. It was sweet.

"Oh, it's my arthritis," the man explained. "I got it real bad in my hips."

Glenne's brow furrowed. "What's . . . arth-rye-tiss?" she asked, looking over at me. I shrugged. I'd never heard the term before either.

The man looked surprised that we didn't know. "You know, arthritis," he said, rubbing his swollen knuckles a little. "Inflammation of the joints? Causes pain?" He pulled a bottle out of his shirt pocket. "I have to take one of these when it gets bad," he said, holding the bottle up for us to see. It read "Aleve."

"Well, do you need any help taking your donuts to your car?" Glenne offered.

"Truck, actually," the man corrected. "Eighteen-wheeler. I'm taking a load of kitchen supplies to Louisiana," he said before throwing an Aleve back. "But no, thank you. I think if I can help unload a whole trailer-full of merchandise through the pain, I can take a box of donuts and a coffee across the parking lot just fine."

I thought for a moment as the man went to the counter and grabbed his order. "Hey," I called, grabbing his attention again before he left. "Louisiana, is that east?"

The man arched an eyebrow. "You don't get out much, do you? Yeah, it's east. Why?"

I exchanged a look with Glenne. She shrugged indifferently, so I took that as an okay. I turned back to the man and briefly explained our situation to him. "And we've been stuck here for six days trying to raise some traveling money. If you'd be so kind as to give us a ride, we could pay for our own food."

Technically, that would've depended on how long the journey would be, but I figured if we just lived off of cheap snacks until we got to Louisiana, we just might make it. I decided to leave those details out, though. If we could convince him to take us at least half the distance he was traveling, that'd be better than nothing.

"Hm," the man mused. "I don't see why not. I'm leaving right now, though, so you'd better come on."

I smiled at Glenne, who gave me one in return. "Thank you, sir," I replied. "It will only take us a few minutes to grab our things and meet you outside."

"Sounds good," the man said. "Name's Roderick, but you can call me Rod."

"Octavius," I replied. "And this is my sister, Melissa."

"Nice to meet y'all," Rod said. "I'll see you at the truck. It's the big red one, can't miss it."

Glenne and I nodded as he turned and left. I turned to Glenne. "New York, here we come!" I said excitedly. "And no one's getting hurt. He's heading east anyway, and we can pay for our own food."

Glenne surprised me by squealing with excitement. "I can't believe it! I'm so proud of you, Dave!" she said as she threw her arms around me.

I chuckled and hugged her back. "Thanks. That means a lot coming from you."

Glenne pulled back and looked me in the eye. "Look," she said, her smile fading, "I'm sorry."

I was taken aback. "About what?" I asked.

Glenne shifted a little before making eye contact again. "For doubting you," she said. "You've really surprised me."

She smiled again and I smiled back. That was a very defining moment for me. I had felt like nothing more than a rat on the street for almost four months, and in only a short time of knowing Glenne, I felt like king of the world. Someone that meant a lot to me was proud of me. She trusted me. She . . . believed in me. More than I believed in myself.

Reality smacked me in the face and I realized Rod was out there waiting on us. "We should . . . go grab our stuff and let Sarina know we're leaving."

Glenne nodded and we went back into the kitchen. After grabbing our stuff from Sarina's office, we found her preparing another order. I told her we were hitching a ride with someone and she paused her work.

"Oh, you're leaving? Well, I'll sure miss you. You guys were a big help around here," she said. She turned to one of her employees. "Hey, Jess, finish this order for me." She turned back to us. "Come to my office and I'll give you your last payment."

We followed her back to her office and she went into her drawer and pulled out a tin safe. "Let's see. You worked for seven hours straight today, so that's thirty-five dollars each." She handed us the money. "You two take care. I wish you much luck to come."

Glenne and I exchanged a smile and turned back to Sarina.

"Thank you," Glenne said, taking the words out of my mouth.

Sarina smiled. "No problem."

Glenne and I tipped our caps and headed out.

"How much do we have now?" Glenne asked.

I counted the total and told her with a smile. Between everything we'd earned and everything we'd spent on food, we had a little over four hundred dollars saved up. "Muscle up, buttercup. We're on our way." I had to admit, it felt really good to say that I had earned half of that money. It was so . . . satisfying.

"Wow!" Glenne said. "We really can pay for our own food!"

I smiled at her. "Yes, but we should still eat cheaply. The more we can save, the better."

Glenne nodded. "Got it. I agree."

We met Rod at his big red truck. He was sitting in the driver's seat munching on a donut. He hopped out when he saw us.

"All set?" he asked.

"Affirmative," I replied. I started for the truck, but Glenne gripped my arm. I turned to her. "What's wrong?"

"Is that thing safe?" she asked in a low panicked voice.

I chuckled. "Don't worry. You trust me, right?"

Glenne hesitated, but then she sighed. "Yes," she said, relaxing.

I smiled. "Come on."

We climbed up into Rod's truck and sat on the bed that was in the back. It was a bit disorganized in there, but we ignored it. Whatever got us to New York.

Rod climbed in and shut the door, putting the box of donuts in the passenger seat and the coffee in the cup holder. "All right, folks. Y'all better hold on. It's gonna be a bumpy ride."

And he didn't lie, either. Glenne and I held on to the bed as the truck bounced out onto the road. It eased up some as we picked up a little speed.

"So, where are you two from?" Rod asked, keeping his eyes on the road. "You said you're brother and sister, but you got different accents."

"Well," I started, "we're both from America, but my sister lived in London for a while, so I guess she picked up the accent."

"Really?" Rod said. "Sounded pretty native to me." He shrugged indifferently with his eyebrows raised. "Hm."

I decided to redirect the subject. "Where are you from?"

"South Carolina," Rod said with a smile. "The Palmetto State. I live with my wife and two daughters in Orangeburg."

"You must miss them," Glenne said.

Rod nodded with a sad smile. "Yeah," he said. "But I gotta put bacon on the table. They're the reason I do what I do. This job can be pretty grueling, but it pays good so it's worth it. My boss says there's a chance I can score a job in the office if I keep up the good work for a while longer until ol' Lucille retires. Then I can see them every day. I tell my kids all the time, 'Won't be long, now. Just you wait.'"

I looked at Glenne, who smiled at me.

"What?" I whispered under the roar of the truck's engine.

Glenne shrugged. "Nothing. He just reminds me of you. Trying so hard to get back to your boys," she replied.

I thought for a moment and smiled back at her.

"So," Rod spoke up again, "what business y'all have in Manhattan?"

"Our parents," I answered. "They're gonna help us out until we can get back on our feet."

"And Dave wants to see his boys," Glenne chimed in.

Rod glanced back at us for a moment. "Who's Dave?"

Glenne and I exchanged a panicked glance for a moment, but I held up a hand as I answered.

"Oh, that's my middle name," I said. "My sister sometimes calls me by that name."

"Ah," Rod replied, buying what I had just sold. "So you have children too?"

"Oh," I started, not particularly wanting to talk about it again, "yes. They're adopted, actually."

"I see," Rod said. "If you don't mind my asking, why did you leave them in Manhattan?"

I was surprised by the question, but I quickly came up with another lie. "I left them with my parents while I stayed with my sister in London where she was having her treatments after she was diagnosed with cancer. She needed me there to help her, but I didn't want to burden my boys by uprooting them and dragging them across the ocean. Know what I mean?"

Rod nodded. "Yeah, I getcha. That'd be kinda like dragging my kids around the country in this tin can. They're better off staying in one place, getting a good education and having a normal childhood. I think it's nice that you did something like that for your sister, though. Most people don't have the means or motives to help others, even their own family."

"Well," I said, taking Glenne's arm, "family is very important to us." Glenne gave me a sideways glance and I looked back at Rod. "So, how long have you been on the road?"

"Be about seventeen years now," Rod answered. The truck bumped some more and Glenne and I had to hang on again as the truck pulled onto the interstate. "'Bout four and a half years after I got married and we had our first born."

"How old are your girls now?" Glenne asked.

"One's seventeen, goin' turn eighteen in five months. The other's eleven, just turned 'bout two months ago," Rod told us. "How 'bout yours?"

I panicked for a moment. Technically, I knew that Private was hatched shortly before they came to New York, and the rest weren't much older than him, but I somehow felt it would be a bit unbelievable for me to claim I had adopted four newborns together. "Oh, um, the oldest is sixteen, next down is twelve, then nine, and the youngest is five."

Rod glanced back at us for a brief moment. "You adopted four boys? And you're a single parent?"

"Well, they're brothers. I couldn't find the heart to separate them. I figured I'd take them in before someone else did separate them," I explained. "And how did you know I'm single?"

"Well," Rod said, "you said you left your kids with your parents. I assumed there was no mother figure in the picture if you didn't leave them with her."

I thought for a moment. I found it kind of funny that he created another lie for me without realizing it. This was actually getting kind of fun – manipulating the humans into believing whatever crap I told them. Told you they're gullible.

"So, what's it like to study marine life?" Rod asked.

I smiled at Glenne as she shot me a warning look. With a wink, I went all out in my next lie. I went on and on about completely botched adventures and cool "discoveries" that really were just things I learned from things I've heard over the years from tour guides directing children through the Central Park Zoo, and some knowledge from my personal experience as an octopus, of course. Ha, I think I even got too caught up in the lie. Apparently I nearly got eaten by a shark off the coast of Australia. I'm not entirely sure why or how I came up with that, but there was no taking it back after I'd said it.

"Well," Rod laughed, "sounds like you've been on quite the adventure."

I returned the laugh. "You could say that," I replied, catching Glenne's eye.

"Well, you mind if I play a little music for the ride? It'll be a while before we stop."

Glenne and I shrugged. "Sure."

He reached for the radio. "Haha, good. Because this is my truck so you two don't really have a choice. As the great Dean Winchester said, driver picks the music and shotgun shuts his cakehole," he joked, winking at us momentarily as he reached for the radio and turned it on. We enjoyed a little country music as we continued on our way. I didn't know what he was talking about, but I was just grateful that no cliche songs came onto the radio reminding me of my problems this time.

— § —

A little over four hours later, as Rod announced that we'd come to a town called Abilene and he pulled onto exit ramp 279 so we could get something to eat, at which time he reached over to the radio again to switch it off.

"All right, y'all. What are y'all in the mood for?" he asked.

"Well, we really prefer seafood," I answered.

"All right," he said. He pulled out his phone. "Okay, Google, where are the nearest seafood restaurants?" he asked it.

The nearest seafood restaurants are Catfish Corner on Treadaway Boulevard and Copper Creek on Loop 322, the phone answered in a feminine-like voice. Glenne and I exchanged a glance. Even I didn't know they could do that.

"Hm," Rod mused, "which one's more wallet-friendly?"

Catfish Corner has cheaper menu options, the phone replied.

Rod smiled. "Catfish Corner it is. Okay, Google, give me directions to Catfish Corner."

Following the phone's directions, Rod found the restaurant and dropped us off so he could go park the truck at the nearest truck stop. He told us to find a table and feel free to go ahead and start without him.

The dinner was pretty uneventful. Rod showed up soon after we were served. We had some small talk as we ate. I made up more lies, Rod told us some of his on-the-road stories. Glenne and I only had to pay eleven dollars and some change between the both of us for the all-you-can-eat catfish, and it wasn't bad at all, financially or satisfactorily. Of course, we typically like our seafood raw, but grilled wasn't too bad. We all got a to-go box and left almost an hour later.

On the road again, there wasn't too much talking. Glenne had gone up to the top bunk to sleep. Having a full stomach coupled with sleeping on something more comfortable than a rooftop quickly reeled her into a slumber. About an hour after we'd been driving, we got stuck in traffic.

Rod sighed. "If people would learn how to drive, maybe this wouldn't happen as often. Know what I'm sayin'?" he asked, glancing back at me.

I laughed nervously. "Yeah," I lied. Honestly if he hadn't said anything I would've just assumed this was some kind of normal thing. Why would they let people that don't know how to drive just come out and sit on the interstate, blocking everyone's way? Humans are weird.

"So what's London like?" Rod asked.

Surprised by the question, I had to think for a minute. "Oh, it's beautiful," I said. "One of my favorite memories is seeing the city from the top of the London Eye at night."

"Oh, really?" Rod replied with a smile. "Must be nice, traveling around the world. That's what I want for my girls. I want them to explore. See all the beauty in the world. I hope one day I can too."

"Well, there's certainly a lot to see," I replied.

"How many countries have you been to?" Rod inquired.

I thought for a moment. "Well, I've lived in Kenya, Japan, Brazil, and Spain, all before I adopted those boys in New York, and then in London for the past couple of years. But my team and I have visited a lot of places, more than I could keep track of." I hoped he wouldn't ask me to name off any places, because, honestly, I only knew of a few. Thankfully, he didn't.

"Wow, pretty diverse guy. Do you know any other languages?" he asked.

My hearts fluttered a little. "Oh, uh, I picked up on some. I had a translator with me most of the time," I replied, hoping to get out of demonstrating anything.

"Ah," Rod mused. He peered down the road. "It looks like it lets up a little further down," he said, presumably referring to the traffic.

I stood up to check on Glenne, who was still sleeping. I smiled. She even slept peacefully as a human.

"I wanna ask you something," Rod said, breaking me away from my thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"Why do you two always wear those gloves? It's May and we're in the south. Much too warm for those, don't you think?" he asked.

"Oh, uh," I started, "I have . . . a skin condition. It's not contagious, it's just kind of unsightly."

Rod nodded. "You sister has it too, then?"

I hesitated. "It runs in the family," I blurted.

Rod pressed his lips together for a moment. "Okay," he said, dropping it.

About ten minutes later, traffic let up and we were smooth sailing again. A couple hours later, around ten o'clock, Rod let out a big yawn and turned to me.

"Hey, can you reach in that tiny refrigerator down there and hand me a Red Bull?" he asked.

I blinked. I had no idea what he was asking me. Thankfully, I knew what the fridge was since that's where we stored our leftovers. I opened it and looked inside. There was a blue can marked "Red Bull." I guessed that's some kind of drink, then. I handed it to him.

"Thanks," he said, popping it open and swigging down half of it. "Ah," he sighed. "It's these babies that save my job every night." He set it down into the coaster.

"How much longer until we hit Louisiana?" I asked.

"Well, we're about to pass through Canton, so shouldn't be but a couple more hours or so," Rod answered. "I filled up before we left Abilene so we should be able to make it straight there."

"Sweet," I replied. "I think I'll catch a little sleep before we get there then."

"Feel free to sleep until morning, if you like," Rod said. "After I drop this load off, I'll be catching a few hours of sleep for myself. Then I'll be heading to Alabama to drop off the next load. After that, I'll be heading back home to South Carolina and going home for a few days. Y'all are welcome to tag along. And if I happen to be heading up towards New York for my next load, you're still welcome."

"Wow, thank you. I really appreciate that," I told him.

"Of course. Folks have got to help each other out. And it sounds like you have four special boys waiting on you. I'll do what I can," Rod said with a smile.

I nodded. "Really, thank you," I said softly. I came to realize that maybe not all humans were bad. Sure there were those heartless humans that didn't even bother showing me any attention when I was zoo-hopping, but Rod, as well as Georgie and Lorrie, and even Sarina were proof that maybe there were some good eggs out there. Maybe I had misjudged them. At least a little. "Good night, Rod."

"Night, Octavius," he called back as I climbed to the top bunk.

Glenne was still sleeping soundly, curled up against the back wall. I curled up next to her, pulling the sheet over me.

"Good night, Glenne," I whispered softly. Then I drifted off to sleep.

— § —

Note: The quotes used in this chapter were: "The only way to get what you want in this world is through hard work," spoken by Tiana (portrayed by Anika Noni Rose) in The Princess and the Frog (2009); "Muscle up, buttercup," spoken by Maui (portrayed by Dwayne Johnson) in Moana (2016).

Next chapter will be posted on September 6th 2023.