Osborne leaned back in his chair, his thin smile stretching from ear to ear. “Absolutely not. We weren’t going to learn anything from the Beaumont woman, and watching her and Horne make googly eyes at each other was making me sick. The Colonel has lost his objectivity. If the subject returns to the Beaumont house, then Horne will be there to apprehend it. If nothing else, this will keep him occupied and out of the way.”
“Out of the way of what, exactly?” Kruger stammered.
Osborne’s chuckle sucked all the warmth from the room. “We tried Horne’s soft-handed approach. Now, we’re doing it my way.” He gave a reptilian smile. “We’re going after the kid.”
***** ***** *****
Ellen hadn’t spoken in several minutes. TJ leaned across the table a few times to make sure she was still breathing, that the shock of his story hadn’t scared her to death. He shrugged his shoulders at Sam, who gestured for him to poke Ellen to make sure she was still alive.
Ellen suddenly stirred before any poking was necessary. “So let me get this straight. The robot dinosaur that you made for your science project was, in fact, not a robot at all, but a real dinosaur. A dinosaur that you did not make, but that you found in the swamp. And it pooped on your wall. And attacked Eddie Figley. And you think those men from the Herpetological Society are not from the Herpetological society, are not real doctors, even, but are some kind of government spies.” She looked from TJ to Sam. “That about right?”
TJ and Sam had an unspoken exchange, verifying the facts. All was check. “Yeah, I think that sums up the most important parts.”
Ellen sank into her chair and rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands. “TJ, I swear, sometimes you make my head feel like it’s going to explode.”
Sam raised her hand even though Ellen couldn’t see her. “Does that mean you do or don’t believe us?”
Ellen answered by letting her forehead fall forward, thudding onto the table. Then she stood and paced the kitchen. “It means that I have no idea what to make of any of this. I have no idea what to do with you, TJ. I try. I try so hard.”
Sam’s face turned hot and she suddenly didn’t know what to do with her hands. She knew the beginning of an uncomfortable conversation when she heard one.
“I work two jobs to keep a roof over your head and food on the table. But maybe that’s the problem. I’m not around enough to keep you out of trouble. Is that what this is? Some kind of cry for attention?” Her fingers dug into her hips.
TJ pushed away from the table. He hardly noticed the wave of pain that shot up his arm from the gash on his hand. All his attention was focused on the frustration boiling over in his chest. “I try real hard, too, Mom. I try real hard to be okay with being alone all the time.”
“So you go out and steal a rare reptile? You’ve got strange men coming to my door asking questions about you. The thing is probably an endangered species. I have no idea how many laws you’ve broken.”
“I didn’t steal Rex.” The world started to blur through the veil of tears building in TJ’s eyes. “I found him. He was all alone too. Just like me.”
Ellen threw her arms in the air. “You named him. Wonderful.” She spun on her heels and was suddenly only inches from TJ’s face. “You don’t think before you act. You see something you want and just take it. You don’t care who gets hurt as a result. You’re just like your…” Ellen stood upright and let her voice trail off. Her throat closed as she choked back the words she swore she would never say, a promise she had managed to keep for nearly eleven years.
Her small frame twisted, becoming a nightmarish version of its former self from the tears now flowing freely from TJ’s eyes. Words he thought he would never hear stabbed his eardrums. He couldn’t think of anything to say. He had nothing to say. How could he possibly defend against an accusation like that? How could he claim that he was nothing like a man he’d never met? A man that would abandon his wife and infant son.
TJ pushed past his mother and ran upstairs.
Sam looked to the floor. She tried to mutter something, some kind of apology, but she didn’t know why she was apologizing. She wanted to be anywhere but there. She got up and ran after TJ.
Ellen fell back into her chair. Her forehead smacked down again. Her tears spilled out onto the kitchen table, and her muffled sobs echoed off the linoleum floor.
***** ***** *****
TJ already had most of his fishing gear piled on his bed by the time Sam walked into his room. She tried to reconcile what she’d heard downstairs with what she was seeing right now.
“You’re going fishing?” She couldn’t make sense of it. She thought TJ would have been throwing things, not preparing for an outdoor excursion.
He nodded. “This is our cover.”
There was no humor or playfulness in TJ’s voice, not something Sam encountered often. “Cover for what?”
“We’re going to find Rex.”
A heavy weight pressed down on Sam’s shoulders. Her knees buckled under it. She sat on the edge of TJ’s bed before she fell over. Things had gotten too out of control. They were just kids. Dinosaurs and government agents were far beyond them. “TJ, I think—”
TJ stopped packing to cut her off. He stared straight into her eyes. “Are you bailing on me, too?”
Sam’s chest tightened. She should have grabbed TJ’s wrist and dragged him as far from this as she could. But she knew him too well. Abandoning ship would never happen. And she would never bail on him. Never. She grabbed a fishing pole. “No way. I was just gonna call dibs on this rod.” She managed a smile, and TJ almost managed to return it.
***** ***** *****
The varnish on the kitchen table had started to wear by the time Ellen pried herself off it. She had to go to work. She always had to go to work. She had been working two jobs ever sincehe left.
I can’t believe I said that. I’m the worst mother of all time. TJ’s going to hate me forever.
She didn’t remember the last time they’d gotten in a fight this bad. Probably when he was seven and had first started asking about his dad. She’d done her best to ignore it or brush it off, but eventually the tension had just exploded. She’d asked in a tone she wasn’t proud of why he wanted to know so much about a man that abandoned them, and TJ had asked what she’d done to push him away.
They didn’t speak for a week.
And now she had to run off to work when she should be trying to fix things. She felt trapped. She always felt trapped.
She scribbled a note for TJ and left it on the table. She put on the waitressing uniform that she had forgotten to wash so it smelled like old meatloaf and climbed into the truck that had a crack in the windshield and needed its exhaust replaced.
There were only a few things that could pull her out of a hole this deep. She reached into the glove box before remembering why her prized possession was no longer there.
In all of the craziness, she had forgotten to give TJ his birthday present.
***** ***** *****
The stairs sounded like they were made out of kittens as TJ and Sam tried to sneak down them. He knew his mom wasn’t there, he’d seen the truck leave, but one could never be too cautious when embarking on a mission of extreme importance. A mission involving dinosaurs.
They set all their gear down by the back door. TJ hoisted his backpack onto the table and double-checked that he had everything he needed. “Let’s go over the plan again,” he said as he silently debated whether or not he really needed his baseball. After a moment of thought, he decided he did.
“Again?” Sam sounded annoyed. “That’s, like, the third time.”
“We can’t be too prepared. We know what we’re up against now.”
Sam sighed. “Fine. We head into the swamp via the hiking trail. Which, by the way, is exactly how I almost got eaten by an alligator before, but whatever, it’s your plan. But, it’s the only place in town where Rex can really hide, so he’ll probably go there. I get it.”
TJ nodded. “Exact
ly. While we’re there, we can search for a more permanent home for him, but locating him is our primary objective.”
A scratch at the sliding glass door made both of them jump. Their jaws fell open.
“Uh, objective complete,” Sam stated matter-of-factly, more than a bit shocked by what she was looking at.
Rex let out a low whine from the other side of the door.
TJ nearly tripped over his fishing gear as he raced to let him in. He didn’t hesitate at the sight of Rex despite the biting incident. He just threw his arms around him and hugged the T-rex for all he was worth.
Sam was more reluctant. She hung back, wielding her fishing pole like a sword, ready to defend herself if she needed to.
But she didn’t. Rex nuzzled his snout into TJ’s shoulder, hiding his eyes in the folds of TJ’s sweatshirt. TJ buried his face in Rex’s scaly hide. Certainly not as comfortable, but there was nowhere else he’d rather be at that moment.
TJ finally pulled away. “Does he look bigger to you?”
Sam scoffed. “Duh. Yes! Much bigger. If he loses his temper again, he won’t just take a chunk out of your hand. He’ll take your whole arm.”
TJ patted Rex on the head. “Don’t listen to her. I know it was an accident.”
Rex chortled his agreement.
The ground shook from the rumbling in Rex’s stomach. TJ pulled just about everything out of the refrigerator, and Rex devoured it all. A dozen eggs. Last week’s pot roast. A bag of baby carrots. The weird, nearly fossilized casserole that seemed like it had been in there since the dawn of time. When it was all gone, Rex clearly still wanted more.
“This could be a problem,” TJ said. “He’s too big now. There’s not enough food in the house to feed him.”
“There’s not enough food in the entire neighborhood to feed him,” Sam added.
TJ scratched his chin, pondering the situation. “We have to go ahead with the original plan. We have to find him a place in the swamp.” His gut tied itself in a knot. He had just gotten Rex back and already he was off to find a way to get rid of him.
Rex lowered his head and whined like he understood. TJ rubbed his snout. “This is best,” he said. “It’s not safe for you here. Besides, I’ll come visit all the time.”
TJ led Rex up to his room, hugged him again, and locked him inside. Sam had her pack on and was ready to roll when TJ got back downstairs.
They didn’t say anything. They just exchanged nods and headed off into the night.
***** ***** *****
The road passed by in a blur. Ellen threw the truck into park in the diner parking lot but didn’t remember actually driving there. She shuddered at the thought of driving so mindlessly.
It was TJ’s birthday, but instead of getting excited for the cake she had planned to bring home and for the amazing present she planned on giving him, she was now trying to figure out how to keep him out of jail for stealing an endangered lizard from a national park.
She rubbed her temples and hummed the song from her Kiss music box.
How is this my life?
The squeal of the rusty hinges and the bang of the truck door sounded like a cell door slamming shut behind her.
I just want to eat cake tonight and see a smile on my boy’s face. That’s it. No more surprises. Is that too much to ask?
The bell rang over the door. Lulu peered at Ellen with a girlish grin from behind the counter. She met Ellen’s confused stare with a nod of her head toward the booth in the back corner. Brock smiled at her over the edge of his coffee cup.
Ellen sighed and slumped her shoulders. Of course. I just wanted some cake.
Lulu’s grin only got wider as Ellen leaned on the counter. “How about that?” Lulu gestured to Brock, who had yet to take his eyes off Ellen.
Ellen grumbled. “How about what?”
“Oh don’t give me that. Handsome stranger is back. Ordered a coffee and said he’d sit a while. Now, I take pride in just about everything I serve here, but, and I’m the first to admit it, the coffee ain’t one of them. Tastes like it was brewed with battery acid. Point being, no one comes here for the coffee. He’s got eyes for you, girl.”
“Yeah, he’s got eyes for something,” Ellen mumbled. “Look, Lu, the night just started and it’s already been a long one. Can’t you take his order?”
Lulu shook her head. “No way. He’s the finest looking thing to set foot in here in ages, and he only stepped those fine feet in here because of you. Now, you go over there, refill the man’s battery acid, and let him treat you to a nice steak dinner.”
Ellen knew there was no point in arguing with Lulu. The woman was a stalwart. She’d just have to grit her teeth and pretend to flirt with the herpetologist.
Coffee sloshed over the edge of Brock’s cup and onto his hand as Ellen gracelessly poured his refill. He winced but did his best to hide it.
“Lulu’s right,” he said. “This coffee does taste a little like battery acid. It’s only redeeming quality was that it hadn’t yet burned the skin off my hand, but now it’s lost even that.”
His dimpled smile made Ellen’s heart flutter, but she would never allow him to see that. She gritted her teeth. “If you’re not here for the coffee, then what do you want, Dr. Horne? Come to see if I’ve stashed any of my son’s illicit reptiles in the back?”
Brock choked on the coffee, both from the taste and from Ellen’s unexpected aggression. “Whoa, look, I’m not here about TJ. I know my boss can come off a little strong. He’s just…passionate about what he does. I’m sorry about how we conducted ourselves in your home. I had no intention of accusing you or TJ of anything.”
The coffee pot swayed in Ellen’s hand. She thought of TJ’s face when she said that awful thing. “He’s a good kid.”
“I’ve no doubt.”
She studied Brock’s face. He was different than those other doctors. There was honesty in his eyes. “Then why are you here?”
His honest eyes lit up. “I wanted to see you again.” He sipped his coffee and cringed. “Under better circumstances.”
The rest of the night was interrupted by the occasional customer. Lulu wanted Ellen to give the man a chance, but she also had a job to do. Terrible coffee won’t pour itself. When she wasn’t taking orders, Ellen wandered back to Brock’s table. It was just surface conversation at first. They talked about their childhoods and families and things they liked and disliked and hated with a burning passion. They both thought Thin Mints were the most overrated Girl Scout cookie. Brock liked country music. Strike one against him.
By the end of the night, Ellen had made twelve dollars in tips and had completely forgotten about the fight with TJ. When Brock excused himself to step outside and take a phone call, Ellen took the opportunity to gush about him with Lulu.
“You should never question me again,” Lulu said.
Ellen put a hand over her heart. “I swear to blindly do as you say from now until the end of my days.”
Lulu scanned the diner, and then took a pink box out of the refrigerator. “Doesn’t look like it’s going to pick up again tonight. Why don’t you take this on home to the birthday boy?”
A cloud of decadent chocolate vapor hit Ellen in the face when she opened the box. A dreamy smile spread across her face. “I think I’ll do that.” Then reality seeped in, and her dream turned sour. “If he’s still talking to me.”
Brock slipped his phone into his pocket when Ellen stepped outside. “Calling it a night?”
Ellen hoisted the cake box for him to see. “TJ’s birthday. Plus, we kind of had a fight earlier. I need to get home and make things right.”
“Well, I hear there’s nothing more suited to doing just that than Lulu’s chocolate cake.” Brock stood up straight, poised, but not in the rigid way he typically did.
Ellen smiled at seeing him with an awkward lean to his shoulders. “You’ve learned a thing or two in your short time in Greenmarsh.” She kept smiling as she walked past him to her truck.
She did her best not to skip across the parking lot. Be cool. She felt his eyes on her. Her blood ran hot through her entire body. She breathed a sigh of relief when she hopped into the truck and sank into the ragged fabric seat.
Then she muttered every curse word she knew when she turned the key. The ignition clicked, but nothing happened. The stupid, old truck was dead. It had picked the absolute worst time to die. She turned the key again and again hoping to resuscitate it.
“Oh crap, oh shoot, oh crap. C’mon. Really?” She stopped and smiled when Brock knocked on her window. Be cool, she thought again as she rolled down the window, but all she wanted to do was punch the roof of her junk box of a vehicle and scream at the sky. Instead she said, “I could use a ride.”
***** ***** *****
Food. There was nothing to eat in TJ’s room. Rex had already eaten everything, including all the cardboard and plastic and Styrofoam the food was packaged in. He swallowed a shoe and chewed the wheels off the desk chair. He ate Godzilla, which he kind of regretted now because Godzilla had been his chum, but what could he do? The belly wants what the belly wants. Spike the turtle looked like he might be an appetizing snack, but…no. Something in the back of Rex’s mind said that TJ would not be happy if he ate Spike, plus, Spike was still miffed about the whole broken terrarium thing that Rex’s tail had committed. Anger might make him taste yucky.
Maybe there was some food left in that big, metal box downstairs in the kitchen. But TJ had told him to stay, and he was a good dinosaur now, so…no. He’d do what TJ told him to do. But…Rex couldn’t guarantee Spike’s safety for much longer if he didn’t eat something.
Rex studied the homemade lock on TJ’s door. He had watched TJ set and release it a few times before. He lifted the bar with his claw. He bit down on the door handle as gently as he could, hoping to turn it. Instead, he ripped it off completely then swallowed it down. It tasted like metal, like blood. No. He wouldn’t think of the B-word. Instead, Rex bumped the door with his nose. It swung open. Freedom.
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