Boxing the Octopus by Tim Maleeny

Author:Tim Maleeny
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2019-09-24T16:00:00+00:00

42

“I don’t want to break your heart, but I fucking love calamari.”

The Doctor gestured at the cylindrical tank and smiled apologetically at Cragg. A school of squid, each no longer than six inches, swam around frantically. They moved as a single, sentient mass as if trying to generate enough force to shatter the sides of the tank.

Cragg sighed in exasperation. “Calamari is just a fancy word the Italians invented to get squeamish Americans to eat squid without thinking about what they’re eating.”

“People eat octopus, too, though. Like your friend Oscar. Don’t they?”

“You want to eat octopus, you have to order octopus.”

“Isn’t octopus big in Spain?”

“And Italy,” replied Cragg. “Here in the city, visit North Beach and you’ll find it on plenty of menus, served with pasta.”

“Black pasta?”

“That’s squid again.” Cragg waved a hand dismissively. “Pasta dyed black with squid ink.”

“I had that once,” said the Doctor. “Didn’t taste any different. I’ve eaten a lot of weird shit, traveling in Asia, but I don’t think I’ve ever had octopus.”

“Octopus can be fried, like calamari, or simply cooked in oil.” Cragg waited until the Doctor turned away from the tank. The aquarium was closed and deserted, save for the two of them, but the tanks were lit from below. The indirect lighting threw long, squid-shaped shadows onto the walls. “I personally would not recommend eating octopus, but it’s considered a good source of B-vitamins and potassium.”

“Like bananas.”

“I can assure you, octopus tastes nothing like bananas.”

“I meant potassium,” said the Doctor. “Bananas are a good source of potassium.” He turned back to the tank and tried to track one of the squid, maybe make eye contact, but they were moving too fast. “They serve any on the pier?”

“Bananas?”

“Octopus.”

“Bananas can also be fried,” said Cragg. “They sell them at the far end of the pier, just past the candy store.”

“Are you fucking with me?”

“Am I?” Cragg’s expression didn’t change.

The Doctor gave him a flat stare. “Do…they…serve…octopus…here?”

“On the pier?” Cragg frowned. “No…they…do…not.”

“How come?”

“Because I won’t let them.”

The Doctor smiled, impressed. “A fisherman who likes fish. But you don’t care about squid?”

“You can eat all the calamari you like,” muttered Cragg. “Vicious bastards, squid. They hunt in packs, the jackals of the sea. Tiny hooks on their suckers can strip the flesh from their prey in seconds. If a fisherman falls into a net of frenzied squid, you’ll find nothing but the man’s bones by the time you haul the catch onto the deck.”

The Doctor made a mental note to chew his calamari thoroughly next time, wondering what those little suckers would do to his small intestine if he didn’t. “An octopus is different?”

“They are solitary creatures,” said Cragg. “Mind their own business, unless another creature trespasses or tries to steal from them. You must admire that, eh?”

“I admire their physiology.” The Doctor continued past the tanks, distorted squid shadows reaching for him plaintively as he moved down the long corridor. “And the ones you catch are worth much more to me alive than as an appetizer.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.