In Bloom (Creature Feature collection) by Paul Tremblay

Author:Paul Tremblay [Tremblay, Paul]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Amazon Original Stories
Published: 2023-09-25T16:00:00+00:00

Jimmy gavels the table with an open palm and says, “I don’t know if it will help the piece you’re working on, but that’s my story.” He sighs, smiles, chuckles softly to himself, and adds, “And I’m sticking to it.”

Heidi says that she doesn’t know if it’ll help either. Jimmy laughs his big laugh, and she joins him, while checking the voice-memo app; it’s still recording. Her head buzzes with his story, and she can’t help but think of his tall tale as a saltwater marsh that, if she could somehow navigate it, might lead to the wide, open ocean. She asks if he knows anyone else who has seen or heard about a creature like the one he encountered.

Jimmy tells her that he has not, and not from a lack of due diligence. Then, without being asked, he speculates that the creature is a kind of jellyfish, from an unknown branch of scyphozoa, or maybe a type of cephalopod, or some weird missing-link hybrid of the two. He doesn’t think it was the blue-green algae suddenly spurred to rampaging, multicellular life, musing that perhaps the creature has a symbiotic, mutualistic relationship with the blue-green algae, not dissimilar to the relationship between some corals and algae. Reef corals get their colors from algae and feed on sugars the algae produce. The algae get shelter and nutrients from the coral as part of the deal. When the algae die, usually killed off by pollutants and excess heat, the coral dies too.

Of all the things Jimmy has told Heidi, she senses this attempt to classify the creature scientifically is him at his least confident, and maybe his least honest.

Jimmy ends his speculation abruptly, as though acknowledging that saying more would unravel his tale. “We should probably go. They’re trying to close.”

They leave the table and groan as they step out of the café and into the furnace of the midday heat. They shake hands.

Jimmy says, “Feel free to reach out if you need clarification, or even if you’re in the area and want to have lunch again. I’ll bring Frances next time. And I truly hope that your”—he pauses and stirs a hand in the air—“situation with your roommate, Ty, works out the way you want it to.”

“Thank you,” Heidi says, with a question mark hidden inside. Had she told him about Ty? Then she remembers she did. That part of their introductory conversation seems like it occurred a week ago, instead of ninety minutes. An initial wave of embarrassment swells at her having mentioned something so personal to an interview subject, but the wave recedes into relief. Jimmy is the only person she has talked to about her potential relationship complications with Ty, and to have Jimmy simply wish her well, wish her what she wants, even if she isn’t quite sure what that is yet, feels like an exhalation.

Jimmy and Heidi walk through the lot together. Their cars are parked near each other, with one empty space between them. Jimmy

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.