Dweller - Jeff Strand [85]
“Gloves, too.”
Garrett put on the thick, padded gloves without protest.
“All right. Come on up.”
Garrett stood there for a moment, as if working up his courage.
“You can take as long as you need.”
It took Garrett another couple of minutes. Then he stepped forward, reached out, and gently touched Owen with his index finger.
“Easy,” Toby warned Owen, even though Owen hadn’t moved.
Garrett moved a bit closer, then began to pet Owen’s arm. The monster remained docile.
“Isn’t that cool?” Toby asked.
“Not with the gloves.”
“Okay, you can take the gloves off. But that’s it.”
Garrett pulled off the gloves and shoved them back into his pocket. He ran his fingers through Owen’s fur. “He’s got bugs on him.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“You should give him a bath.”
“Do you want a monster or a poodle?”
“A monster.”
“He’s got lots of knots in his hair, too. I haven’t been combing him as much as I used to.”
“Can I do it?”
“Not today. But you can someday.”
“I like him.”
“Me, too. Okay, that’s enough for now.”
As Garrett stepped away, Owen signed: Friend.
“He says you’re his friend,” said Toby.
Garrett smiled and made the friend sign back.
“Why can’t we go see him?” Garrett asked.
“Do you know what ‘arousing suspicion’ means?”
Garrett considered that. “It means people think you’re doing something bad?”
“Pretty much. If we go out there too often, then your mother will question what we’re up to, and then there’s a bigger chance that she’ll find out about Owen. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah.” Garrett looked disappointed.
“I’d be out there with Owen all day, every day if I could be. Heck, I’d have him move in with us, give him his own bedroom. But since we can’t, we have to be careful.”
“Okay.”
Toby had to admit to himself that it probably wasn’t a very good parenting technique to give his child advice on how to avoid arousing suspicion in his parent when breaking the rules, but this wasn’t a normal situation. There was nothing better than the excitement in Garrett’s eyes when they went off to see Owen, and he couldn’t risk Sarah finding out.
“We’ll go tomorrow, though. I promise.”
“Can Hannah come with us sometime?”
“Not until she’s eight.”
As they approached the shack, Toby realized that it had been over three months since he’d visited Owen by himself for any reason except to fasten the chains. It was a wonderful realization.
“Oooh, yeah, you’re getting a welt there,” Toby said, inspecting Owen’s right wrist. “Maybe we can pad it somehow. Do you think they sell fuzzy handcuffs in your size?”
Owen either didn’t get the joke, or didn’t find it amusing. Toby suspected the latter.
“We’ll leave one of them off, just for today. Will that make you happy?”
Yes.
Owen kept his arm at his side the entire time, just as Toby knew he’d do.
It was cruel to keep his best friend chained up like this. Sure, Owen loved getting to interact with somebody besides Toby (excluding the unfortunate animals he killed for food) but these conditions were becoming tiring. It was sadistic, as if he were bringing his son to gape at the sideshow freak every three or four days.
Regardless, it was several more months before Toby felt comfortable enough to let Garrett see him without the chains.
1996
There was no danger.
None at all.
Owen was gentle, even when Garrett started roughhousing with him a bit. Yes, Toby had to call for them to stop a couple of times—okay, a few times—when the game of tag got too feisty, but his son was far rowdier than his monster. Owen played with him like a grandfather might—having fun, but always aware that he was the adult and Garrett was the child and that it was his responsibility to make sure Garrett didn’t get hurt.
Garrett loved feeding him. He’d toss popcorn and beef jerky and jelly beans into his mouth, and Owen would show off his impressive catching abilities with far more glee than he’d ever shown with Toby. It was as if having a kid around made the monster feel young again.
“We should build a roller coaster out here for him,” said Garrett.
“No way. How much