by Dave Lemel
Simon nodded and crossed his arms.
“Well, I really think there’s something to it.”
The pit in Simon’s stomach grew from cherry to peach, and he did his best to maintain an outwardly civil tone. “If I also recall correctly, Jay said they almost immediately realized what a massive mistake they had made.”
“No. He said what a massive mistake it had been giving the key to the Vikards.”
“I’m failing to see the distinction.”
“Allowing a Bopecan port key to end up in Vikard hands was the regret. Their initial logic for stealing the port key was not something they regretted.”
“What are you saying, Todd? You agree with their reason for turning against their own planet?” Simon uncrossed his arms and he lost a touch of the control he had over his voice as it rose a few octaves. “They almost caused the destruction of the entire solar system!”
Todd stopped pacing, but the pace of his speech and his talking hands increased noticeably. “Again, that part was because of allowing the Bopecan port key to end up in the Vikards’ hands. At least any blame you can apply to my dad”—Doug’s worn face turned to a glowing, toothy smile at the word “dad”—“and Jay. The only reason the Vikards came after our solar system in the first place is because of an ongoing war with our overlords, the Bopecans.”
“Overlords? What, did Daddy make a still up here and you two been drinking moonshine all night?”
“Listen, man, he’s got very solid reasoning behind his logic. They didn’t come to the point of rebellion easily or quickly. I think if you just opened your mind up a little and allowed him to make his case, you may start to see some things a bit differently. They’re holding Jay in a secret prison, for crying out loud. No trial, no humans involved in the decision whatsoever, just what they decide goes, end of discussion. It’s our planet, and the prisoner is a human! You really cool with that?”
Simon looked at the ground and exhaled slowly. “Okay. I will give you that the prison has not sat well with me ever since I first learned of its existence. However,” he said, looking back up and dead into Todd’s eyes, “there is no argument you or your fugitive father can make to persuade me from finishing this assignment. We can talk all you want on the way home, but let’s get going first.”
Todd took a step toward Doug. “That’s just it, Simon, I’m not prepared to go home yet or finish this assignment. This assignment may never be finished as far as I’m concerned.”
“Todd, what are you talking about? Seriously. Out with it.”
Todd took another step toward Doug. They now stood side by side, and for the first time since Doug had made his presence known the night before, Simon could see the resemblance between father and son.
“I think the three of us should be the beginning. Right here, right now, we start the resistance to take our planet back.”
“Have you completely lost your mind? The resistance to take our planet back? Our planet hasn’t been taken, Todd. There’s no occupying force to take it back from.”
Todd calmly shook his head. “I…” He looked at Doug before turning back to Simon. “We ,” he said, the defiance in his voice intensifying, “disagree. Please just sit, and we can explain our position to you more thoroughly. I know you’ll see it our way if you just listen.”
Simon’s jaw clenched so hard he swore he heard a tooth crack. For a split second, he pictured himself lunging at Todd and literally attempting to shake some sense back into him. Finally, the tension in his jaw dissipated, he closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply through his nose. He tilted his head back and exhaled slowly through pursed lips as an image of Sasha holding Penny appeared in his mind’s eye. When his head tilted back down, he opened his eyes, spun, and began walking toward the easier path back down to the lake.
Todd looked at Doug, who shrugged back in reply. “Where’re you goin’?” he called after him.
Simon did not even look back. “Home.”
“What do you mean, home? You’re just gonna leave us here?”
Simon stopped cold. He turned and shouted in exasperation with his arms out at his sides. “Yes, Todd! I have a beautiful baby girl and a pregnant wife back home. I came on this assignment against my wishes as a favor to you. Now you’re turning it into a coup against an imaginary enemy, and I’m trying my best not to run over and strangle you. So yes! I’m leaving!” He turned and continued down the path.
“What are you gonna tell ’em when you get back?” Todd yelled as he took a few steps to follow Simon. Doug’s hand landed on Todd’s shoulder, and he firmly held him in place. “Let him go, son.”
Todd cupped his hands around his mouth. “Fine! Go! We’re better off without you, family man!” His hands fell from his face and his link caught his eye. He took it off and threw it down the path after Simon. “Take that back with you to your Bopecan masters!”
Simon kept right on walking as if he hadn’t heard a word.
Chapter 25
The park at the entrance to the trail. Please , Simon said to himself, squinting in an attempt to force the distant opening to come into focus, please let that be it . Even with a decently groomed trail, the hike was not easy carrying the pack. It was slightly better going down than it had been going up at least. Plus, he had left the tent behind to lighten the load, not to mention the hurry he had stormed off in. He was now starving but had committed himself to make it to the Penko Peak station to buy his ticket before dealing with his rumbling belly.
He could clearly see the park through the opening now. The pack felt lighter, and his posture straightened as his step attained a bounce that had been lacking. The walk through Prisco was brutal. Nearly half the storefronts had food displayed in their windows, Gleebans sitting, eating, or both. He nearly conceded to the now roaring beast in his gut after drifting up to a particularly enticing establishment.
He had noticed the smell half a block away. It was as if it had grabbed him by the nostrils, lifted him off the ground, and pulled him floating to the window. There he found a large plaque hanging with a simple menu. It only had a few options of what seemed to be some kind of specialty of the diner. Below those were three smaller listings that he guessed were the choices of sides or desserts.
The restaurant was narrow. It had a bright yellow counter lining one side wall that came to the front window and continued along halfway up that to the door. At the far end was the window he assumed you ordered from, and behind that was the kitchen. There were no chairs or stools anywhere to be seen, and the lone Gleeban eating was standing at the side counter about midway to the back. Simon tried to see what was on the tray in front of him, but all he could make out through the dirty window was that it appeared to be the color of an artificial orange drink.
As he neared the Penko Peak station, he knew if there was even a slight chance that he would have enough time to run back before his train departed he would be doing exactly that. Upon entering the station and checking departures, he found that he not only had time to return for a meal, he would have to kill a few hours afterward. He purchased his ticket and headed back up to Prisco.
Focusing on the hunger was a decent way to distract himself from the more painful thoughts attempting to dominate his mind. He was keenly aware that wasting a few hours prior to departing would be difficult. He had already been counting on the train ride down being the hardest part. Just sitting there stewing in his thoughts. At least once he got back to the Henrietta, he’d have Ben and Foggen for company.
He pulled his sleeve up, and just as he was about to make the call to Ben he had been dreading, he lowered his arm and pulled the sleeve back over his link. He had time to burn after he ate, anyway. Plus, there remained a twinge of hope nagging at him that just maybe if he gave Todd a little more time to come to his senses, he would never have to make this particular call.
It was mid-day as Simon made the turn back up Prisco�
��s main street. A decent rise in activity was noticeable but still by no means could it be considered a flurry. This was a small mountain town, and the pace here very much reminded Simon of the familiar pace from so many mountain towns back in his native Colorado.
He made a beeline for the door he had hardly been able to resist walking through earlier. He soon recognized that it was now propped open, and the smells were practically gushing out into the street. He entered and found a few Gleebans digging into their trays along the side counter but nobody in line to order.
As he approached the window to the kitchen, the largest Gleeban Simon had ever encountered grunted and rose from a creaky stool. While making his way to the other side of the window, the large Gleeban cleared his throat, pulled the bottom of his filthy apron up to his mouth, and spat into it. If he was surprised to see a human in his restaurant, it did not show as he warmly greeted Simon. “Beautiful day, wouldn’t ya say? What can I get ya to make it even more so?”
“I’m not exactly sure,” replied Simon with a smile. “It smells absolutely fabulous in here, and since you’re the one making it smell so good, I’ll let you tell me what to order.”
The mound of a Gleeban snorted a small chuckle. “I like that. Gimme fifteen and I’ll ring the bell when your platter is ready.”
Simon pulled out five of the ill-gotten bills from Tenjo’s safe and slapped them down on the ledge. “Keep the change.”
His eyes opened wide and his rectangular pupils focused on the wad of cash sitting in front of him. “Hey, you can eat here anytime, friend. I’ll have it up shortly.”
Simon took a spot at the empty stretch of yellow counter on the front window. He leaned on his elbows and zoned out as best he could. If he reflected too much on his morning, he was afraid he might try to do something about it, and he felt adamant that this was not his broken Todd to fix. He had agreed to this assignment as a favor. A huge favor! he exclaimed to himself. To my supposed best friend. See, this is why I should not even be going here , he thought as he scanned the street for something to derail his train of thought. Was that Benjo?
“Order up for my new best customer.”
Simon spun and glided across the floor to the window. A large pink tray sat on the ledge where the money had been. On the tray were two small pies, each an iridescent shade of orange; in between them was a little box filled with a pile of tiny yellow balls. “This one here,” the purveyor of the establishment pointed to the small orange pie to Simon’s left, “is my most popular. This one,” he indicated the other and smiled wide, “is my personal favorite.”
“And these?” Simon pointed at the pile in the box.
“Pontens. Both my most popular side dish and personal favorite.”
“Thank you so much.” Simon grabbed the tray. “I’ll let you know my verdict before I leave.” He walked his tray back to his spot and placed it on the counter. As he picked up his two-pronged fork and debated which to try first, he could feel the large Gleeban watching him from the other end of the restaurant. He decided to start with the most popular and gently pushed the fork through the top crust.
Once through the upper shell, the fork released a thick, gravy-like liquid the color of dried blood. It oozed out and dripped over the side of the pie. Simon decided to scoop out a piece of the crust with a healthy amount of gravy. He put the forkful in his mouth and began chewing as he looked out the window.
The overwhelmingly mineraly taste punched him in the tongue. It was what he imagined a melted rock might taste like. He looked back down and stopped chewing instantly. Did something just move in there? He cautiously probed with the tip of his fork, and sure enough, something squirmed when touched. The gravy heaved and rolled as whatever it was swam through it. Whether it was the pit that had been steadily eating at his insides since his fallout with Todd weakening his normally strong stomach, he did not know. It didn’t really matter one way or the other, the contents of it were now violently projecting onto the floor in front of him.
As he grasped the counter for support, he heard the big Gleeban shout, “Whoa!” He shut his eyes and swallowed hard. When he re-opened them, he felt a hand clap on his back. “You all right? Was it that bad? Here, I’ll take it away.” The hand lifted from Simon’s back and the large fur-covered arms reached out for the tray.
“No.” Simon straightened up and put a hand on the tray himself. “No, it wasn’t that. I want to have more. Let me help you clean up first, and then I would really like to try more. I’m so sorry about the mess.”
The other Gleebans in the diner chuckled as they went back to their own trays. The big owner stood up taller and looked Simon up and down. “Sure, friend. Let me grab some stuff from the back to soak that up.” He pointed to the floor. “You may as well slide down a little and keep eating while I’m gone. Best while it’s hot.”
Simon slid his tray into the corner still facing out the window and decided he’d give the pontens a try next. He picked one off the pile and smelled it. A familiar fried-in-fat scent gave him the confidence he needed, and he bit into it.
The summer after Todd’s dad had supposedly died, Simon had returned to Wisconsin from summer break a few weeks earlier than he normally would have. He had stayed with Todd and his mother Marie at their home in Whitefish Bay. One day Todd convinced Simon to go to the Wisconsin State Fair with him. He had sold him on it the night before with a closing argument centered around world-class face stuffing.
The next morning, they headed to the fairgrounds just west of downtown Milwaukee. The first thing Todd had led Simon to was a small trailer with a long line. The trailer was covered with large lettering advertising what was available for purchase from within. By a large margin, the most prevalent item being announced by the exterior of this particular trailer was something called a cheese curd.
Simon had been an adventurous eater as far back as he could remember. The longer he observed from the line, the less he could understand what the fuss was about. The people waiting at the side pickup window acted as if they were being handed a bowl full of diamonds when their order came up. They would take the small basket and move just far enough away so as not to block the next patron. The look on their faces as they bit into the first little deep fried nugget was that of sheer ecstasy.
Finally, he and Todd had their turn to order. When their wait at the side window had ended, Simon examined his little basket. He picked one out and opted to try his first sans either the marinara or ranch dipping sauce. As his mouth experienced its first Wisconsin State Fair cheese curd, many thoughts exploded in Simon’s mind. How could something this simple be so sublime? How had I lived so many years not knowing about these? How many orders of them in one day would be considered excessive ?
These pontens were spookily similar in every way. As he popped another in his mouth, he recalled taking Sasha her first summer in Wisconsin to try them. When her reaction was, “It’s just fried cheese, I don’t get it,” he seriously considered calling off the wedding.
All at once his delicious, temporary distraction evacuated his brain, and an image of Todd standing next to Doug from earlier that morning took its place. He popped a couple more pontens in his mouth, but the joy of the first was gone. In his new mental state of rapidly rising rage, he forgot about his experience with the first pie and dug into the second with his fork. He quickly shoved a bite in his mouth and found this one to be delightful. He went for a second forkful, and just as the owner returned with a bunch of towels, he noticed a very curious scene out the front window.
Simon was aware the owner was talking but he was not listening. There was Benjo leading a group of what looked like the special forces police Foggen had described. They were heading up the block approaching from the bottom of the hill. Benjo was talking animatedly as the four uniformed Gleebans followed. As they passed in front of where Simon sat, Benjo was pointing to the top of the hill. Simon leaned into the window and t
ried to make out what Benjo was attempting to show them. It seemed like he was indicating the grocery and outdoor supplies store they had visited the day before.
Simon jumped back and cut off the restaurant’s owner mid-sentence. “The food was absolutely fantastic. The pontens in particular are incredible.” He reached in his pocket and grabbed a wad of square bills. He slapped them down on the counter and made for the door. “That’s for the mess I made. So sorry again, but I suddenly have to run.”
The owner lifted the bills off the counter with a smile. As Simon stepped through the doorway, he heard him call out, “Hey!”
Simon stepped back in. “Yeah?”
“Which one ya like better?”
Simon blinked twice, baffled by the question.
“The most popular one or my personal favorite?”
“Oh! Your favorite. Easily.”
The owner nodded happily as Simon took off up the sidewalk.
Chapter 26
The group led by Benjo was now most of the way up the sloped street. Simon followed from a distance and observed as they stopped in front of the grocery/outdoor store. Benjo gestured to the store, then clearly pointed up towards the park Todd and Simon had entered the trail from. Just as his feeling of unease over what he was witnessing grew to a fevered pitch, his link buzzed. It was the Henrietta .
I guess now’s as good a time as any , thought Simon as he dipped into a little alley between buildings. He answered the call and Ben’s face appeared. Music played in the background but it did not sound like Ben’s usual. “What’s that you’re listening to? It doesn’t sound like Buffett.”
“Oh, yeah no, yeah no, it’s this new group Foggen found. He wanted me to give it a shot. It’s all right, I guess.”
Something is definitely off in the universe today , thought Simon before continuing. “Well, I know you called me, but I just feel like spitting this out, so here it goes. I’m headed back to the ship alone.”
