nine-foot,
baby-blue holographic beast.
"A
buffalo, Bird? You brought a BUFFALO?"
"She's a
beauty, isn't she? Say hello, Bluebell!" The buffalo shook her head and
strewed Max's face with holographic drool.
"Biirrrdd!
Turn her off!"
"Hey, I
can tell she likes you, Max. She doesn't give the drool bath to just anybody,
you know."
"Bird!"
"It's an
old Native American blessing! Trust me on this! I'll tell you all about it on
our way to dinner." He dragged Max by the arm and out the door of the motel
room. "Then we'll find that store – The Void or The Gap, no, The
Gorge! That's it!"
Chapter 10
Planetary Earth Date: 14.7.2015
She really has
a beautiful neck, thought Max. He stared at a tiny tendril of golden red curls
that escaped from Nickie's ponytail. He imagined how soft it would feel.
"Okay,
Max? Max?" said Nickie.
"Uh,
what?" he said. Nickie and Bird were staring at him.
"I said,
Mr. Bird can stay here and input donations and you can go out with me to pick
up some things. Okay?"
"Yeah,
good. Real good," said Max. Cool, Max. Very cool, he thought. Now she's
going to think you're a real dizbecile.
A painfully
thin woman in silvery spike heels tip-tapped to the entry of their cubicle. "Nickie,
dear," she said, "have you written the online press release for your
little treasure hunt, yet?"
"It's a
time capsule ceremony, Gloria. And no, I haven't done it yet. Powers just asked
me to do it this morning."
Max noticed
that Nickie's neck became noticeably pinker.
"I know
you're inexperienced, Nickie. If you can't handle it, I'll do it for you."
Red, thought
Max. Now her neck is definitely red.
"I can
handle it, Gloria! You just worry about those overdrafts the bank called about."
"I've
already looked into it, dear. Your father just forgot to transfer funds again
last month," said Gloria.
Max raised his
eyebrows to Bird at this news. Bird raised his eyebrows in imitation, as if Max
were playing a game.
"But Dad
said you took over paying the vendors," said Nickie.
"Now
where would he get an idea like that?" said Gloria. She shifted her weight
onto one tiny spike heel and swiveling to leave, noticed the two detectives for
the first time. She eyed them curiously through ice blue, half-closed lids.
Max thought
she was the strangest-looking woman he'd ever seen. Eight-five
pounds of bone and sinew forced into a glittery silver minidress. All
topped with a long, platinum bouffant hairdo that was incredibly wide and high
at the sides and top, but completely flat at the back. She reminded Max of
those illustrations in Grandma's antique Mother Goose books. The
one with the dish that ran away with the spoon. She looks like the
spoon, thought Max.
"And
Nickie, dear, I'm going to need completed insurance forms for these workers by
five tonight, so if you can't do it…" Gloria said, taking in the detectives'
identical blue and white checked pajama bottoms, orange t-shirts emblazoned
with the words The Gap , and Mets
baseball caps.
Max squirmed
under her gaze. I wish Bird hadn't insisted on wearing the same clothes as me,
he thought. At least he didn't wear the cap with the beer cans and attached
straws.
"I said I'll
do it, Gloria!" said Nickie.
"No need
to get into a snit, dear. I'm just doing my job," she said tip-tapping out
of the cubicle.
Nickie opened
her mouth with a ready reply when Ted called, "Nickie, come over here! We're
ready to drink a toast!"
"Our
millionth order just shipped today," she explained to Max and Bird. The
two watched from the doorway as she joined her father, Gloria, and a man
dressed in white trousers, a navy blue blazer and a captain's hat. The Captain's
right hand was bandaged in bulky white gauze.
Max watched
Ted hug Nickie. "So how old would you say she is?" he asked Bird.
"I don't
know. Eighteen. Nineteen."
"Oh. She
looks younger."
They watched
Ted grapple with a plastic champagne glass. He tried to force the stem of the
glass
baby-blue holographic beast.
"A
buffalo, Bird? You brought a BUFFALO?"
"She's a
beauty, isn't she? Say hello, Bluebell!" The buffalo shook her head and
strewed Max's face with holographic drool.
"Biirrrdd!
Turn her off!"
"Hey, I
can tell she likes you, Max. She doesn't give the drool bath to just anybody,
you know."
"Bird!"
"It's an
old Native American blessing! Trust me on this! I'll tell you all about it on
our way to dinner." He dragged Max by the arm and out the door of the motel
room. "Then we'll find that store – The Void or The Gap, no, The
Gorge! That's it!"
Chapter 10
Planetary Earth Date: 14.7.2015
She really has
a beautiful neck, thought Max. He stared at a tiny tendril of golden red curls
that escaped from Nickie's ponytail. He imagined how soft it would feel.
"Okay,
Max? Max?" said Nickie.
"Uh,
what?" he said. Nickie and Bird were staring at him.
"I said,
Mr. Bird can stay here and input donations and you can go out with me to pick
up some things. Okay?"
"Yeah,
good. Real good," said Max. Cool, Max. Very cool, he thought. Now she's
going to think you're a real dizbecile.
A painfully
thin woman in silvery spike heels tip-tapped to the entry of their cubicle. "Nickie,
dear," she said, "have you written the online press release for your
little treasure hunt, yet?"
"It's a
time capsule ceremony, Gloria. And no, I haven't done it yet. Powers just asked
me to do it this morning."
Max noticed
that Nickie's neck became noticeably pinker.
"I know
you're inexperienced, Nickie. If you can't handle it, I'll do it for you."
Red, thought
Max. Now her neck is definitely red.
"I can
handle it, Gloria! You just worry about those overdrafts the bank called about."
"I've
already looked into it, dear. Your father just forgot to transfer funds again
last month," said Gloria.
Max raised his
eyebrows to Bird at this news. Bird raised his eyebrows in imitation, as if Max
were playing a game.
"But Dad
said you took over paying the vendors," said Nickie.
"Now
where would he get an idea like that?" said Gloria. She shifted her weight
onto one tiny spike heel and swiveling to leave, noticed the two detectives for
the first time. She eyed them curiously through ice blue, half-closed lids.
Max thought
she was the strangest-looking woman he'd ever seen. Eight-five
pounds of bone and sinew forced into a glittery silver minidress. All
topped with a long, platinum bouffant hairdo that was incredibly wide and high
at the sides and top, but completely flat at the back. She reminded Max of
those illustrations in Grandma's antique Mother Goose books. The
one with the dish that ran away with the spoon. She looks like the
spoon, thought Max.
"And
Nickie, dear, I'm going to need completed insurance forms for these workers by
five tonight, so if you can't do it…" Gloria said, taking in the detectives'
identical blue and white checked pajama bottoms, orange t-shirts emblazoned
with the words The Gap , and Mets
baseball caps.
Max squirmed
under her gaze. I wish Bird hadn't insisted on wearing the same clothes as me,
he thought. At least he didn't wear the cap with the beer cans and attached
straws.
"I said I'll
do it, Gloria!" said Nickie.
"No need
to get into a snit, dear. I'm just doing my job," she said tip-tapping out
of the cubicle.
Nickie opened
her mouth with a ready reply when Ted called, "Nickie, come over here! We're
ready to drink a toast!"
"Our
millionth order just shipped today," she explained to Max and Bird. The
two watched from the doorway as she joined her father, Gloria, and a man
dressed in white trousers, a navy blue blazer and a captain's hat. The Captain's
right hand was bandaged in bulky white gauze.
Max watched
Ted hug Nickie. "So how old would you say she is?" he asked Bird.
"I don't
know. Eighteen. Nineteen."
"Oh. She
looks younger."
They watched
Ted grapple with a plastic champagne glass. He tried to force the stem of the
glass
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