The lightening cracked and for one moment the entire town was illuminated. The bright light consumed the living room and shadows jumped around frantically. The white light vanished, and before my eyes could adjust I was shaken by booming thunder. I tugged harder on the blanket I had wrapped around me. I pulled my knees closer to my chest and shrank down in between the couch and coffee table. This was the third night in a row I couldn’t sleep. Luckily for me the other two didn’t involved earth-shaking thunderstorms. Usually when I was up all night I could curl up at dawn for a couple of hours, but this close to a show, when the sun was up, I was up. I snuck across the cold hardwood floor and into Mark’s narrow bed. He didn’t even stir. I lied awake trying to match my own breath with his sporadic snoring. In the morning Mark handed me a hot cup of tea.
He pouted his lower lip as he asked, “Next time, can I be the little spoon?”
“Grow up!” I said, laughing, as I pushed him back.
“Good morning, Karen,” I called over a pile of wrapping paper rolls and card-filled boxes. She appeared from beneath them with a pair of scissors between her teeth. Karen reached up and removed them, revealing her everlasting smile.
“Oh, indeed it is, Artie! Just look at all this new inventory! Business is really picking up. I was nervous at first, but now it seems that people do really enjoy the finer things.” Karen bubbled as she tore through boxes restocking mugs, ribbons, and cards. I found myself reaching for a bright red “#1 Grandpa” mug when Karen turned around.
“Can I ring that up for you?” She smiled eagerly and excitedly.
“It is awfully tempting, but I’m actually just here for some medicine.”
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Everett had spent the entirety of his morning running his usual errands: the diner, the post office, the pharmacy. He ran into many of his fellow inhabitants of Thallow Flats and it had occurred to him after he saw the young teenage girl and that Roots fellow that he was of an entirely different generation. He was no longer as immersed in the current culture that he lived in but in an extension of another culture. He was open but he would never quite understand the practice of healing roots or fortune telling functioning in his everday life. Hands in his pockets, Everett laughed to himself thinking that he was just as angsty as most of the young people he lived with.
Once he had returned to his apartment, Everett remember that it was the night of the poker game. He sat down in one of his leather chairs to rest before the game and realized that he was far more tired than he had realized. Deciding not to go to the poker game he went to bed instead.
He quickly fell asleep but the night was filled with dreams and he woke up multiple times, disoriented and dazed. One of the most vivid dreams he had had was one that he had quite often. In the dream he would wake up, believing it to be an average day only to find that Connie, his Iguana was dead. In the dream, he never knew what to do next and always felt overcome with grief. Once Everett was awake he felt heavy and dazed. It was later than he usually woke up which was strange as he had always been an early riser. Drinking his coffee, he read parts of the newspaper but simply couldn't focus.
After pondering over his dream from the night before, Everett walked over to visit Connie only to find that she had died. Stunned, Everett went and got a shoe box, placed Connie inside, wrote her name on the top of it. He slowly left his apartment and went to knock on Artie's door. She answered the door mid-laugh but looking down at the box, her expression changed.
"Oh no. Did it happen last night?" Artie asked, wrinkling her nose and forehead.
"It did. I just thought you might want to pay your respects seeing as the two of you were friends." Everett looked somber but what was different from the dream was that he wasn't so paralyzed with sadness. He was sad of course, but no more than any person would be about losing a pet reptile.
Letting out a sigh Artie said, "So where are you going to have the service?"
"What?"
"The service. You have to have some kind of ceremony. Let's bury her in the vacant lot. We'll say a few words. Have you never lost a pet?! You have to have closure!" Everett nodded in agreement and the two headed downstairs together. Outside, it was a gorgeous day but very cold. Everett and Artie went to the community garden to borrow a shovel and headed back to the vacant lot. They chose a spot in the corner which was unpaved. Everett took the shovel and started digging.
When Everett was almost ready to put the shoebox in the hole, Eros walked past the lot and did a double take. His eyes wide, he walked towards Artie and Everett looking puzzled and anxious.
"Digging for treasure?" Eros asked trying not to look so uneasy.
"Everett's iguana, Connie passed last night. We're holding a service." Artie said matter-of-factly.
"Well then I guess I should pay my respects as well," said Eros, his expression looking serious.
Once they had put the shoe box in the ground the three stood over it. Artie said a few things about Connie's dazzling personality and good looks and the two men nodded occassionally. Once it became too cold for anyone to bear, the three left together to return to Thallow Flats.
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