PREVIOUS CHAPTER
Back in Seattle, I found a voice mail waiting on my answering machine. I hit “play” as I untied my shoes.
“Hey son, it’s your dad.”
I almost punched the delete button, but stopped with my finger hovering above it.
“Just wanted to check in and see how things were going. Give me a call back if you want. Miss you.”
Then a few seconds of silence before the click that signified his hanging up. I put my shoes back on and went to visit Zip at his sister’s place.
When I rang the bell he came over on his crutches and yanked the door open.
“Welcome, welcome!” he shouted, beaming. Chomper the pug ran tight ovals around us, emitting breathless little barks. I knelt down to rub him behind the ears.
“Would you look at that,” I said. “He didn’t even pee himself!”
“Don’t jinx it,” said Zip. “Hurry up. There’s a great documentary about Magellan running on the History Channel.”
I followed him to the living room, watching the way he moved with the crutches. There was a hint of impatience, but otherwise he seemed to have the hang of it.
“Who’s Magellan?”
Zip shook his head. “You really didn’t learn a thing in school, did you?”
“Memorizing the accomplishments of dead Italian people was never a top priority.”
“Ferdinand Magellan was one of the greatest explorers in history,” said Zip. “Dude flew an airship all the way around the world back in the 1500s.”
“Oh. That guy.”
“And he was Portuguese, not Italian.”
“Of course. What’d they give him?”
“Hmm?”
“For finishing that trip? Did they make him a knight? Did the Portuguese have knights?”
“Oh, Magellan himself didn’t make it.”
“I thought you said —”
“No, his crew finished out the journey without him. See, somewhere off the coast of Southeast Asia, Ferdy got cocky and floated too close to the canopy. Pterodactyl flew up and snatched him right off the deck.”
“No shit.”
Chomper had his tongue out. He mostly sat up on the couch next to Zip, but every once in a while he hopped down and ran over to me for a pat on the head.
We watched the documentary for a while, but I could tell that Zip was no longer interested. He kept reaching for his phone to check the time.
“Okay,” I said, “you’ve obviously got questions. Ask.”
He flicked the TV off and tossed the remote aside.
“What happened after I went out?” he asked. “One second you’re dragging my ass through the forest. Then I wake up in a hospital bed.”
“They didn’t tell you anything?”
“I mean,” said Zip, “this sleazeball came to visit me a couple times. Wearing a suit.”
“What’d he say?”
“He said, ‘you’re not in trouble. Your friends are fine.’ Shit like that.”
“Anything else?”
“Said if I kept my mouth shut about the tablet they’d set me up with a government pension.”
“Must have been Cooper,” I said. “Medium height, short black hair, smiled like a snake?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah, me and Li have seen a lot of him.”
I could tell he felt left out, so I filled the silence with the first thing that popped into my head.
“The forest’s not supposed to be there,” I said. “It’s supposed to be water.”
“What?”
“Like, instead of forest — everything that’s forest, is supposed to be water.”
“That’s two thirds of the globe.”
“I know,” I said. “They showed us what it would look like.”
“Are you allowed to be telling me this?”
Definitely not.
“Fuck them,” I said. “I’m telling you. I don’t care what they think.”
His shoulders relaxed.
“What do you mean, ‘supposed to be’ water?”
“Millions of years ago, we went from having water to having forests. And they think it has something to do with the tablets.”
He rapped his knuckles idly against his leg.
“Why did they tell you that? Why not just tell you to shut up, the way they did with me?”
I watched his face carefully. “They want us to go on an expedition.”
He snorted. “Right.”
“Me and Li and a scientist. We’re supposed to investigate a magnetic disturbance. Or something. I’m not totally clear on that part.”
Zip rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. After a while he stopped moving and rested his face on his palms. All I could see was the line of his mouth, taut as a wire.
“You alright?”
He took a moment to respond.
“Yeah,” he said. “It’s just… I’m so pissed, man. That should be me out there. I should be on that mission, but I fucked up, and I’m going to have to live with that the rest of my life.”
“At least you’re alive,” I said. “We thought you might die.”
“I kinda wish I died,” said Zip, pulling his hands away from his face. Then he smiled ruefully. “I don’t mean that.”
“You better not,” I said, trying to think of what Li would say.
Get over yourself, fuckface. I went through hell to save you. Where’s my thank-you card?
“What am I going to do, Tetris? I mean, what am I going to do with my life?”
“What does anybody do? Find a job. Find a girl. Chill out and enjoy yourself.”
“Right,” said Zip, but he didn’t sound convinced.
“Look,” I said, “we’re going to Thai Restaurant tonight for dinner. Want us to pick you up?”
I was pleased to see him brighten at the thought.
“Thank God,” he said. “I mean, my sister’s great. She’s been going light years out of her way to take care of me. But… let’s just say she’s not going to be winning ‘Top Chef’ any time soon.”
When Li and I picked him up at six, he’d put on a nice shirt and rolled up his empty pant leg, fastening it neatly with safety pins. At the restaurant he even managed to grin when the waitress, who’d seen us often enough to recognize the missing leg, asked what happened. After regaling her with the tale — in Zip’s version, the culprit was a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and the story did not end well for the reptile in question — Zip even managed to requisition her phone number, scribbled upon a napkin, which he carefully folded and placed in his pocket.
And for once, instead of making a snarky comment, Li gave Zip a congratulatory smack on the back, and then we were all laughing, and for the first time in a while I knew that everything was going to be okay.
NEXT CHAPTER
Back in Seattle, I found a voice mail waiting on my answering machine. I hit “play” as I untied my shoes.
“Hey son, it’s your dad.”
I almost punched the delete button, but stopped with my finger hovering above it.
“Just wanted to check in and see how things were going. Give me a call back if you want. Miss you.”
Then a few seconds of silence before the click that signified his hanging up. I put my shoes back on and went to visit Zip at his sister’s place.
When I rang the bell he came over on his crutches and yanked the door open.
“Welcome, welcome!” he shouted, beaming. Chomper the pug ran tight ovals around us, emitting breathless little barks. I knelt down to rub him behind the ears.
“Would you look at that,” I said. “He didn’t even pee himself!”
“Don’t jinx it,” said Zip. “Hurry up. There’s a great documentary about Magellan running on the History Channel.”
I followed him to the living room, watching the way he moved with the crutches. There was a hint of impatience, but otherwise he seemed to have the hang of it.
“Who’s Magellan?”
Zip shook his head. “You really didn’t learn a thing in school, did you?”
“Memorizing the accomplishments of dead Italian people was never a top priority.”
“Ferdinand Magellan was one of the greatest explorers in history,” said Zip. “Dude flew an airship all the way around the world back in the 1500s.”
“Oh. That guy.”
“And he was Portuguese, not Italian.”
“Of course. What’d they give him?”
“Hmm?”
“For finishing that trip? Did they make him a knight? Did the Portuguese have knights?”
“Oh, Magellan himself didn’t make it.”
“I thought you said —”
“No, his crew finished out the journey without him. See, somewhere off the coast of Southeast Asia, Ferdy got cocky and floated too close to the canopy. Pterodactyl flew up and snatched him right off the deck.”
“No shit.”
Chomper had his tongue out. He mostly sat up on the couch next to Zip, but every once in a while he hopped down and ran over to me for a pat on the head.
We watched the documentary for a while, but I could tell that Zip was no longer interested. He kept reaching for his phone to check the time.
“Okay,” I said, “you’ve obviously got questions. Ask.”
He flicked the TV off and tossed the remote aside.
“What happened after I went out?” he asked. “One second you’re dragging my ass through the forest. Then I wake up in a hospital bed.”
“They didn’t tell you anything?”
“I mean,” said Zip, “this sleazeball came to visit me a couple times. Wearing a suit.”
“What’d he say?”
“He said, ‘you’re not in trouble. Your friends are fine.’ Shit like that.”
“Anything else?”
“Said if I kept my mouth shut about the tablet they’d set me up with a government pension.”
“Must have been Cooper,” I said. “Medium height, short black hair, smiled like a snake?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah, me and Li have seen a lot of him.”
I could tell he felt left out, so I filled the silence with the first thing that popped into my head.
“The forest’s not supposed to be there,” I said. “It’s supposed to be water.”
“What?”
“Like, instead of forest — everything that’s forest, is supposed to be water.”
“That’s two thirds of the globe.”
“I know,” I said. “They showed us what it would look like.”
“Are you allowed to be telling me this?”
Definitely not.
“Fuck them,” I said. “I’m telling you. I don’t care what they think.”
His shoulders relaxed.
“What do you mean, ‘supposed to be’ water?”
“Millions of years ago, we went from having water to having forests. And they think it has something to do with the tablets.”
He rapped his knuckles idly against his leg.
“Why did they tell you that? Why not just tell you to shut up, the way they did with me?”
I watched his face carefully. “They want us to go on an expedition.”
He snorted. “Right.”
“Me and Li and a scientist. We’re supposed to investigate a magnetic disturbance. Or something. I’m not totally clear on that part.”
Zip rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. After a while he stopped moving and rested his face on his palms. All I could see was the line of his mouth, taut as a wire.
“You alright?”
He took a moment to respond.
“Yeah,” he said. “It’s just… I’m so pissed, man. That should be me out there. I should be on that mission, but I fucked up, and I’m going to have to live with that the rest of my life.”
“At least you’re alive,” I said. “We thought you might die.”
“I kinda wish I died,” said Zip, pulling his hands away from his face. Then he smiled ruefully. “I don’t mean that.”
“You better not,” I said, trying to think of what Li would say.
Get over yourself, fuckface. I went through hell to save you. Where’s my thank-you card?
“What am I going to do, Tetris? I mean, what am I going to do with my life?”
“What does anybody do? Find a job. Find a girl. Chill out and enjoy yourself.”
“Right,” said Zip, but he didn’t sound convinced.
“Look,” I said, “we’re going to Thai Restaurant tonight for dinner. Want us to pick you up?”
I was pleased to see him brighten at the thought.
“Thank God,” he said. “I mean, my sister’s great. She’s been going light years out of her way to take care of me. But… let’s just say she’s not going to be winning ‘Top Chef’ any time soon.”
When Li and I picked him up at six, he’d put on a nice shirt and rolled up his empty pant leg, fastening it neatly with safety pins. At the restaurant he even managed to grin when the waitress, who’d seen us often enough to recognize the missing leg, asked what happened. After regaling her with the tale — in Zip’s version, the culprit was a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and the story did not end well for the reptile in question — Zip even managed to requisition her phone number, scribbled upon a napkin, which he carefully folded and placed in his pocket.
And for once, instead of making a snarky comment, Li gave Zip a congratulatory smack on the back, and then we were all laughing, and for the first time in a while I knew that everything was going to be okay.
NEXT CHAPTER