Jason, of
Jason and the Argonauts,
off to capture the Golden Fleece, but in the afternoon he thinks I'm Apollo—that's my middle name—and I'm just home from the war. He thinks the Furies, or uh, the goddesses of the underworld, blame him for my mom's death."
"Uh-huh. Wow. For real?" Pete nods to show he's listening to me and scowls as he studies the road ahead. The sleet has turned to rain and the cars in the streets are churning up dirty water and mist with their tires, making it hard to see. He drives with one hand on the steering wheel and one on the stick shift, and leans his shoulder against his door. I look left and right for my dad.
"So, has he always been ill? I mean, ever since you can remember, or—?"
"No! Oh no. He's been healthy lots of times—well, I mean, pretty healthy—I mean, he's mostly healthy—most of the time. It's no big deal."
CRAZY GLUE :
Or—uh, sorta-kinda.
"I've always just been used to the way he is. My mom—she was—she was always there keeping things—or uh—
him
under control. He's nervous around people and loud noises and stuff, so that's why I'm surprised he's disappeared. He never leaves the house."
"Yeah, I see," Pete says, only I'm worried he doesn't. I'm worried he doesn't really get how great Dad is.
"He's great. He's a great father. I mean—he—I—I don't want you to get the wrong idea."
CRAZY GLUE :
Watch it. Don't oversell it, goob.
"No, I don't," Pete says. He shakes his head; then he turns onto one of the cobblestone roads and we bump along. I keep a watch out for Dad.
"Me and my dad, we like to canoe on the canal, and this one time—it's so funny—this one time we found this torpedo, out in the woods where we had stopped to eat our sandwiches. I mean, what was it doing there?"
"No kidding?" Pete smiles at me, his brows raised.
"Yeah, and my dad wants to bring it home to show
my mother, so we set it long ways across the canoe, right in the center. It doesn't sink the canoe, just kind of lowers it, so we figure we're safe. Then Dad says for me to climb in the front. He climbs in the back at the same time, and the whole thing sinks. I know we looked ridiculous, sitting there with the torpedo between us going under. And that water was so freakin' cold! I thought we were going to die of hypothermia before we got home."
CRAZY GLUE (ACTING AS JASON) : "
Hey, Dad, water's coming in over the sides.
"
FBG WITH A MUSTACHE (ACTING AS DAD) : "
It's just a bit of water. It'll level off before we sink. We'll just be paddling a little lower, eh? We've got to expect that.
"
CRAZY GLUE (AS JASON) : "
I don't think so. It's really coming in now. Shouldn't we start bailing or something?
"
FBG WITH A MUSTACHE (AS DAD) : "
It'll be okay.
"
CRAZY GLUE (AS JASON) : "
Dad?
"
FBG WITH A MUSTACHE (AS DAD) : "
Well, don't just sit there, son. Start swimming!
"
I watch for Pete's reaction to my story. He nods and chuckles, so I feel what I've said is okay.
"But we got the torpedo. We brought that baby home. It's still in our basement."
Pete glances at me. "Really? How?"
"We flipped the canoe and got out all the water. Then we laid the oars inside under the seats and the torpedo on top of the seats. Then we dragged it by a
rope while we walked alongside it on a dirt path. We had a car back then, so when we got to the first boathouse, we called my mom and she picked us up."
CRAZY GLUE :
Yeah, you lost that car when your dad tried to see if it could float in the Potomac.
"Cool, I'd like to see it sometime."
"Yeah, sure, cool."
CRAZY GLUE :
Oh perfect, now look what you've done. No way can you let him inside your house!
"So, yeah, my dad's like my best friend. He's always just been my—my best friend."
"Well, you don't hear that too often," Pete says. "I hope we find him."
"Yeah, me too."
CRAZY GLUE :
Me three.
I keep my head turned away from Pete and stare out my window. My face feels hot and my ears are burning. That sock is still stuck in my throat. Something
Jason and the Argonauts,
off to capture the Golden Fleece, but in the afternoon he thinks I'm Apollo—that's my middle name—and I'm just home from the war. He thinks the Furies, or uh, the goddesses of the underworld, blame him for my mom's death."
"Uh-huh. Wow. For real?" Pete nods to show he's listening to me and scowls as he studies the road ahead. The sleet has turned to rain and the cars in the streets are churning up dirty water and mist with their tires, making it hard to see. He drives with one hand on the steering wheel and one on the stick shift, and leans his shoulder against his door. I look left and right for my dad.
"So, has he always been ill? I mean, ever since you can remember, or—?"
"No! Oh no. He's been healthy lots of times—well, I mean, pretty healthy—I mean, he's mostly healthy—most of the time. It's no big deal."
CRAZY GLUE :
Or—uh, sorta-kinda.
"I've always just been used to the way he is. My mom—she was—she was always there keeping things—or uh—
him
under control. He's nervous around people and loud noises and stuff, so that's why I'm surprised he's disappeared. He never leaves the house."
"Yeah, I see," Pete says, only I'm worried he doesn't. I'm worried he doesn't really get how great Dad is.
"He's great. He's a great father. I mean—he—I—I don't want you to get the wrong idea."
CRAZY GLUE :
Watch it. Don't oversell it, goob.
"No, I don't," Pete says. He shakes his head; then he turns onto one of the cobblestone roads and we bump along. I keep a watch out for Dad.
"Me and my dad, we like to canoe on the canal, and this one time—it's so funny—this one time we found this torpedo, out in the woods where we had stopped to eat our sandwiches. I mean, what was it doing there?"
"No kidding?" Pete smiles at me, his brows raised.
"Yeah, and my dad wants to bring it home to show
my mother, so we set it long ways across the canoe, right in the center. It doesn't sink the canoe, just kind of lowers it, so we figure we're safe. Then Dad says for me to climb in the front. He climbs in the back at the same time, and the whole thing sinks. I know we looked ridiculous, sitting there with the torpedo between us going under. And that water was so freakin' cold! I thought we were going to die of hypothermia before we got home."
CRAZY GLUE (ACTING AS JASON) : "
Hey, Dad, water's coming in over the sides.
"
FBG WITH A MUSTACHE (ACTING AS DAD) : "
It's just a bit of water. It'll level off before we sink. We'll just be paddling a little lower, eh? We've got to expect that.
"
CRAZY GLUE (AS JASON) : "
I don't think so. It's really coming in now. Shouldn't we start bailing or something?
"
FBG WITH A MUSTACHE (AS DAD) : "
It'll be okay.
"
CRAZY GLUE (AS JASON) : "
Dad?
"
FBG WITH A MUSTACHE (AS DAD) : "
Well, don't just sit there, son. Start swimming!
"
I watch for Pete's reaction to my story. He nods and chuckles, so I feel what I've said is okay.
"But we got the torpedo. We brought that baby home. It's still in our basement."
Pete glances at me. "Really? How?"
"We flipped the canoe and got out all the water. Then we laid the oars inside under the seats and the torpedo on top of the seats. Then we dragged it by a
rope while we walked alongside it on a dirt path. We had a car back then, so when we got to the first boathouse, we called my mom and she picked us up."
CRAZY GLUE :
Yeah, you lost that car when your dad tried to see if it could float in the Potomac.
"Cool, I'd like to see it sometime."
"Yeah, sure, cool."
CRAZY GLUE :
Oh perfect, now look what you've done. No way can you let him inside your house!
"So, yeah, my dad's like my best friend. He's always just been my—my best friend."
"Well, you don't hear that too often," Pete says. "I hope we find him."
"Yeah, me too."
CRAZY GLUE :
Me three.
I keep my head turned away from Pete and stare out my window. My face feels hot and my ears are burning. That sock is still stuck in my throat. Something
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