Dweller - Jeff Strand [77]
“Dear Mr. Florren…”
Toby crumpled up the rejection letter and threw it against the wall. “It’s one r, asshole!”
1990
Owen lay on the floor. His fur was moist and his eyes were glassy.
“Do you think it’s…I don’t know, the flu or something?” Toby asked. “Do you get the flu? I don’t know what to do here, Owen. It’s not like I can call a vet. Do you feel really bad?”
Yes.
“Have you thrown up?”
No.
“I’m going to make some calls and find out what I should do. I won’t say who I’m calling for. I’ll just, I don’t know, find out what they would do for a gorilla with your symptoms.”
Stay.
“I’ll stay, but I can’t stay for very long. You know I have to get back. You’re not dying, right? If you’re seriously ill, I’ll stay and see what I can do, but I don’t think you look that bad.”
Though he tried to hide it, Toby felt queasy. How long did forest monsters live? Owen had a lot of white and gray hair now, but so did Toby, and he planned to be around for at least another half century. Owen couldn’t be dying, could he?
“On a scale of one to ten, how bad do you feel?”
Sick.
“I know that. Give me a number.”
Sick.
Toby sighed. “Okay. I’ll stay with you.”
“Where were you?”
“I lost track of time.”
“How do you lose track of time when you’re outside? It’s dark out!”
“I walked farther than I realized, and I turned back when it got dark. What’s the big deal?”
“I was worried, that’s the big deal! I don’t like you wandering around the forest in the daytime, much less at night. What if you got hurt?”
“I didn’t.”
“I know you didn’t. But what would happen to Garrett if you did?”
“You’d write a hit single about your loss and make him rich.”
“Did you really just say that? You really just made that joke?”
“No—I mean, I did, but it was thoughtless. You’re absolutely right. I got lost in thought and wasn’t paying attention. I promise it won’t happen again.”
“I just got scared, you know?”
“I know.”
“You got me in all kinds of trouble,” Toby told Owen. “I hope you’re feeling better.”
Yes.
1991
“Guess what time of the month it is, and guess what I missed…?”
“Okay, how about Toby for a boy, Sarah for a girl?”
“Nah,” said Sarah. “I don’t like having two people in the same household with the same name. It’s okay for a boy, I guess, because you could call him ‘junior,’ but what do you call a girl who’s named after her mother?”
“She could go by her middle name.”
“Then why not just make her middle name her first name?”
“You’re right. How about Owen for a boy?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Other kids will make fun of him. They’ll say, ‘You’re Owen us money!’”
“I bet they won’t.”
“Sorry. Veto on Owen.”
“Michael?”
“Maybe.”
“Hannah for a girl?”
“Do you know anybody named Hannah?”
“No, I just like the name.”
“Me, too. We’ll keep it in mind.”
“You see, Garrett, when a mommy has a baby in her tummy, sometimes she acts all weird, and it’s best to give her anything she wants. This helps daddies stay alive.”
1992
“It was a girl!” Toby announced.
Owen smiled.
“I hope everyone in this house is ready, mommies and sons included, because it’s time for…Tickle War! Rrrraaarrrr!”
“Can I get one?” Garrett asked, eyeing the puppies in the cages at the pet store.
“Maybe when you’re six,” Toby said.
“That’s forever!”
“You say that now. It goes fast.”
1993
“Look what came in the mail today!” said Sarah, waving the envelope.
Toby took it from her. “Wow. I didn’t think there were any still circulating. It’s even my old address.”
“Open it.”
“What is it, Daddy?” Garrett set down his tentacled alien action figure and hurried over to join the excitement.
“Nothing. It’s just Daddy’s dreams being crushed.”
“Don’t talk that way around him,” Sarah said.
“I’m just kidding.”
“He doesn’t know that.”
Toby tore open the envelope and handed the letter to Garrett. “Do you want to read it?”
Garrett enthusiastically grabbed the letter.