Chapter 37
Vincent
Ari is mad at me.
She’s trying to pretend like she’s not, but there ain’t no danger of her winning no Oscars.
I left before she woke up, because in my mind, I was thinking she won’t miss me if she don’t even know I ain’t there.
That’s what I get for thinking.
When I showed back up with a backpack full of fruit, she was sitting up in the shelter with her arms folded like she was in timeout. I didn’t say shit, I just dumped the fruit out and got to investigating.
There’s big ones, small ones, fat ones, skinny ones, and all of ‘em in different colors. And it’s just my luck that not one of them bitches is a coconut. That’s a fruit I know when I see it.
She finally waltzes over to where I am and sits across from me, watching and being nosy.
I pick up a round yellow one with a green patch near the top, slicing it open with my knife. The flesh is juicy and pale. The smell is tart.
“Looks okay,” I mutter to myself, then set it aside.
Ari leans closer, eyes narrowing. “Now how are we supposed to know if it’s poisonous or not?”
“I got a plan,” I say. “I told you, let me worry about that.”
She sighs loud and dramatic, but I keep igging her.
After I’ve cut each of the fruits in half, I carry them out to the beach and line them up in the sand a ways away from the area we use. Ari’s following close on my heels, but she’s still quiet.
The sand is damp and cool under my feet. I’m getting used to walking around out here without my slides on.
“Alright, what is this?” she finally asks.
“My system.”
“For what?”
I turn to face her. “When I come check on these tomorrow, I’ll see what got ate and what didn’t. I figure the birds and animals been livin’ in this muhfucka long enough to know what’s poisonous and what’s not.”
“And if none of them get eaten?”
“Then I got some good exercise today.”
Finally, she smiles. “Well that’s…pretty clever.”
“I know this.” I slap her ass. “That’s what you get for doubtin’ a nigga.”
“Whatever.”
I take a minute to memorize the order of the fruit, then I realize there’s an easier way and rearrange them in alphabetical order according to their colors. Then I grab Ari’s hand in mine and we walk back slowly.
“You know what I noticed today?” I say.
“What?”
“I don’t look up anymore.”
She glances over at me. “What do you mean?”
“I used to look up. Every day. All day. Looking for planes. But I don’t now. My head is always down. Lookin’ for food, or wood, or shit that’ll keep us alive.”
She’s quiet for a moment. “I still look up.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. But only to see the clouds move. I think it reminds me that time is still passing.”
Her words hang there between us.
I think about telling her what I suspect. It’s been sitting heavy on my mind the last few days. But I keep it close. I don’t wanna scare her.
So I clear my throat and say, “I got a weird question.”
“Hmm?”
“You ever had your period out here?”
She looks at me, surprised. “No. But that’s because I’ve been taking my pills every day. No placebos. That keeps it from coming.”
I nod slowly like any of that made sense to me. “Yeah. I can see that.”
She smiles faintly, like she’s amused by my awkwardness. “Why do you ask?”
“Just curious. I was wondering what it might be like for you without your lady things.”
“Tampons?”
“Yeah. All that.”
She laughs, squeezing my hand tighter. “Your mind wanders over the weirdest things.”
“Guess so.”
We pass the HELP sign just before we get to the tree line. Ari stops for a second, frowning over the lines. They’re jagged now, probably from the wind. She usually fixes it, but today, she just…keeps on walking.