Plus, I no longer have to go through my first day alone.
My Pia is back.
CHAPTER THREE – TOMAS
I allow Pell his pouting time after Pie leaves us behind for her first big day on the job. I even sit with him, contemplative and, most importantly, quiet.
The sanctuary comes alive around us as the morning gets started. Monsters, monsters everywhere.
I play with an errant scale on my leg, which is a beautiful shade of fire. Orange, and yellow, and red. With some blues and greens if I turn the right way.
But eventually, I get bored. So after three minutes, I say, “So. Should I drive?”
“What?” Pell is all growly this morning. “Drive? What the fuck are you talking about?”
“We need to buy hay, remember?”
He lets out a long sigh. Clearly he did not remember. “You’re not driving, Tomas. Don’t be ridiculous.”
“But shouldn’t I learn? Shouldn’t this be something I do?”
Pell looks at me, baring his teeth. “No.”
“Surely you have more to say about it than just no.”
“Actually, no. I don’t. Driving…” He sighs again. “It’s not as easy as it looks.”
“Well, you can do it. And you’re not exactly an intellectual, now are you?”
“I have been driving for a hundred years, Tomas. I was there when Granite Springs got their very first automobile in 1908.” His shoulders droop a little. “That was kind of a fun day.”
“Are you taking a trip down Memory Lane? Should we go up in the hallways and look for that day?”
He turns his head in my direction and squints his yellow eyes at me. “Why are you bothering me? Can’t you see I’m in need of some alone time?”
“I understand. You’re one of those broody satyrs. Dark, and grumpy, and mercurial. But monsters are starving, Pell. We don’t have time for your self-pity this morning. Maybe we can fit it in later, around lunchtime?”
He sighs. “Why can’t I find a way into the tombs? I mean, what the fuck? What is the point now?” He looks me in the eyes. “What the hell are we doing?”
I contemplate this for a moment, then offer, “We’re being moody?”
“No, you idiot. Not what are we doing right now. What are we doing as in… the big picture?”
“Big picture? I’m not following.”
“Of course you’re not. You have no idea about anything. You’ve spent your entire lifetime locked behind a magic gate in that animalistic dragon state.”
I ponder this, wondering if I should let it go. Or should I correct him?
But before I can decide, Pell continues. “The world, Tomas. The world is big and twisted. And that’s bad enough, but look! Look around? All these tombs could be other worlds. Take that big black one, for instance.”
I find the big black tomb with my eyeballs. “What about it?”
“It’s new. How did it get here? Why is it here? What is it doing? Who is inside of it?”
“I’m pretty sure it’s the statue guy in there, don’t you think?”
“Of course the statue guy is inside there. But who is he? And where has he been for the last two thousand years? What has he been doing? And why now? Why appear now when things are changing?”