“You’re that mama’s
boy. What was your name again?”
“ Um, James.”
“ Oh yeah! Hey, remember me? From the
park?”
This was Jared—Jenny’s beau. The realization
jolted me and put me on guard.
“ Oh! Sure! I’m sorry … do you live
here?”
He snorted and chuckled. “Do I look like I
live here? Actually, I’m just visiting. Hey, what’s with the uni?
You animal control?”
“ Nah. Mosquito
abatement.”
“ Abatement, huh? That’s a fancy word
for bug spraying.”
“ I’m not spraying. I’m just …
dumping fish in pools.”
“ Fish in pools! Hoho! Buster’s gonna
love getting him some fish. He doesn’t seem to go for French
fries.”
“ The gator? You’ve been feeding
him?”
“ Kinda. Not burgers, though. He
ain’t getting my burgers. So, you ain’t here to take him
away?”
“ Well, technically I’m supposed to
remove the little ones when I see them. I tried once. It didn’t go
well.”
“ Oh yeah? Why, what
happened?”
“ Took me half an hour to get the
noose around its head. Once I got it cinched, the damn thing near
exploded. It was like wrestling a fucking demon.”
“ So you’re not even gonna
try?”
“ Nope.”
“ Aw, too bad. That would have been
fun to watch.” He came over and looked in my bucket. “Holy cow. You
ain’t kidding. You’ve got a bunch of fishies in there. Look at them
swim!” He giggled all high-pitched and giddy, like a little girl.
There had to be more than beer in him, the way he was
acting.
I took the bucket and dumped the whole load
into the deep end—more than I was supposed to for this size pool,
but I figured the extra would make up for whatever Buster
ate.
“ Hoho! Will you look at that! We got
ourselves a fucking ecosystem.”
I looked down at the scummy water. A slew of
MacDonald’s cups and wrappers and soggy, bloated French fries
smeared with ketchup floated on the surface. The little gator was
already going after the guppies.
“ I’d better be on my way,” I said.
“Good seeing you.”
He grabbed my arm and his face went all
serious. “Uh, one thing, James buddy. Forget that ‘good seeing you’
shit. Okay? You didn’t see me here. Got it? And I’ve got some
advice for you. Don’t come around here no more, bro. I don’t care
what your job says. There’s stuff going down here that you don’t
want to get involved in. I’m just saying.”
“ Cool,” I said. “Not a problem.” I
slipped away, slinking back through the jungle and back to the
truck where I was supposed to meet up with Charlie, the senior
field tech.
The encounter left a taint in my psyche. It
ruffled my brain, like a squall disturbing a previously glassy sea.
I wondered what Jenny had seen in such a loser.
Chapter 10: Default
Notice
Wayne, my supervisor, was already waiting for
me back at the truck. He was an enormous dude in every dimension,
but surprisingly nimble when it came to hopping fences and
squeezing through underbrush.
He made me think of an orangutan ballet
dancer. He certainly had enough red hair on his back and
arms.
Wayne was a pain in the butt to work with,
always complaining about how I did things and ranting about
politics I couldn’t care any less about. Thankfully, the only time
we spent together was riding to and from job sites.
“ What the fuck took you? You only
had five pools to do.”
“ Yeah, well … just moving slow
today.”
No way was I telling him about Jared or the
gator. Wayne was licensed to carry and had a penchant for plugging
reptiles with his Glock. I shuddered to think what Jared might be
packing.
I set my bucket into the rubber-lined tank in
the bed of the truck. The extra guppies were cowering on the shady
side. Wayne peeked over my shoulder. “Christ, that water’s low.
Let’s get ‘em back before they fry.”
***
I biked home on the ten-speed Trek mom and dad
got me for my twelfth birthday. To save on gas, I only took dad’s
pickup out on rainy days. The rest of the time,
boy. What was your name again?”
“ Um, James.”
“ Oh yeah! Hey, remember me? From the
park?”
This was Jared—Jenny’s beau. The realization
jolted me and put me on guard.
“ Oh! Sure! I’m sorry … do you live
here?”
He snorted and chuckled. “Do I look like I
live here? Actually, I’m just visiting. Hey, what’s with the uni?
You animal control?”
“ Nah. Mosquito
abatement.”
“ Abatement, huh? That’s a fancy word
for bug spraying.”
“ I’m not spraying. I’m just …
dumping fish in pools.”
“ Fish in pools! Hoho! Buster’s gonna
love getting him some fish. He doesn’t seem to go for French
fries.”
“ The gator? You’ve been feeding
him?”
“ Kinda. Not burgers, though. He
ain’t getting my burgers. So, you ain’t here to take him
away?”
“ Well, technically I’m supposed to
remove the little ones when I see them. I tried once. It didn’t go
well.”
“ Oh yeah? Why, what
happened?”
“ Took me half an hour to get the
noose around its head. Once I got it cinched, the damn thing near
exploded. It was like wrestling a fucking demon.”
“ So you’re not even gonna
try?”
“ Nope.”
“ Aw, too bad. That would have been
fun to watch.” He came over and looked in my bucket. “Holy cow. You
ain’t kidding. You’ve got a bunch of fishies in there. Look at them
swim!” He giggled all high-pitched and giddy, like a little girl.
There had to be more than beer in him, the way he was
acting.
I took the bucket and dumped the whole load
into the deep end—more than I was supposed to for this size pool,
but I figured the extra would make up for whatever Buster
ate.
“ Hoho! Will you look at that! We got
ourselves a fucking ecosystem.”
I looked down at the scummy water. A slew of
MacDonald’s cups and wrappers and soggy, bloated French fries
smeared with ketchup floated on the surface. The little gator was
already going after the guppies.
“ I’d better be on my way,” I said.
“Good seeing you.”
He grabbed my arm and his face went all
serious. “Uh, one thing, James buddy. Forget that ‘good seeing you’
shit. Okay? You didn’t see me here. Got it? And I’ve got some
advice for you. Don’t come around here no more, bro. I don’t care
what your job says. There’s stuff going down here that you don’t
want to get involved in. I’m just saying.”
“ Cool,” I said. “Not a problem.” I
slipped away, slinking back through the jungle and back to the
truck where I was supposed to meet up with Charlie, the senior
field tech.
The encounter left a taint in my psyche. It
ruffled my brain, like a squall disturbing a previously glassy sea.
I wondered what Jenny had seen in such a loser.
Chapter 10: Default
Notice
Wayne, my supervisor, was already waiting for
me back at the truck. He was an enormous dude in every dimension,
but surprisingly nimble when it came to hopping fences and
squeezing through underbrush.
He made me think of an orangutan ballet
dancer. He certainly had enough red hair on his back and
arms.
Wayne was a pain in the butt to work with,
always complaining about how I did things and ranting about
politics I couldn’t care any less about. Thankfully, the only time
we spent together was riding to and from job sites.
“ What the fuck took you? You only
had five pools to do.”
“ Yeah, well … just moving slow
today.”
No way was I telling him about Jared or the
gator. Wayne was licensed to carry and had a penchant for plugging
reptiles with his Glock. I shuddered to think what Jared might be
packing.
I set my bucket into the rubber-lined tank in
the bed of the truck. The extra guppies were cowering on the shady
side. Wayne peeked over my shoulder. “Christ, that water’s low.
Let’s get ‘em back before they fry.”
***
I biked home on the ten-speed Trek mom and dad
got me for my twelfth birthday. To save on gas, I only took dad’s
pickup out on rainy days. The rest of the time,
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