Parts & Labor (22 page)

After
dinner, we all said good-night. While Mom and Mr. Nordstrom were talking,
Norbert pulled Scarlett aside.

"Scarlett,
I do not think it would have worked with us. First, I am much too old for
you. And second, you are much too big for me."

She
laughed then bent down and kissed him on his forehead.

"I'll
never forget you, Norbert."

Mr.
Nordstrom said, "Max, would you like to walk us home? So you may say
goodbye to Norbert."

"Sure."

I
walked outside with them and across the yard to their front porch. I expected
Mr. Nordstrom to go inside but he didn't. Instead, he sat on the front steps.

"Please
sit, Max."

I
sat.

"Max,
why did you risk your own existence in order to preserve Norbert's?"

"You
mean, why did I save his life?"

"Yes."

"Because
he's my friend. I didn't want him to get hurt."

"But
your existence could have been terminated."

"But
I care about him."

Mr.
Nordstrom nodded. "And he cares about you."

He
stared for a moment at the stars in the black sky as if longing for home. Then
he turned to me.

"Max,
are you crying?"

"Uh,
allergies."

He
nodded.

"Max,
you saved my son's existence. And by so doing, you have saved your world. For
now. We will not conquer Earth and enslave Earthlings … at least not for
twenty of your years. Then Norbert and I will return and see what humans have
done with their planet. And what kind of man Max Dugan has become."

I
wiped my eyes.

"I'll
be a good man. Like my father."

"I
know you will be.

"I'm
going to miss you, Norbert."

"And
I shall miss you." He smiled. "I had an awesome time on Earth,
dude. You taught me how to have fun, how to enjoy my existence, how to love."

Not
my sister again.

"You're
really coming back?"

"Yo,
dog. I'll be back."

He
gave me a fist-bump and said, "CUATU, dude."

"What?"

"See
you around the universe."

"May
the force be with you."

"Max,"
Mr. Nordstrom said, "if there is ever anything I can do for you—"

"Well
…"

"Max,"
Mom said, "what are we doing?"

I
had asked everyone to come with me to the Nordstrom's house. We knocked on the
door. Norbert answered and invited us in. Mom looked around and said,
"Different."

"My
father is in the communications room."

We
followed Norbert into the room with the big TV screen. His father was
speaking static to the machines. When he saw Mom, he spoke to her in English.

"Ah,
Mrs. Dugan. Please, sit down. I almost have access."

"What
language was that?"

"Ours."

"Ours
who?"

We
all sat down on the couch. Mom, Scarlett, Maddy, and me.

"Mom," I said, "remember how Dad was supposed to call us that night on the video link?"

She
nodded. "He never called."

"He
did."

"What?"

"He
called. The call didn't come through to us, but it was recorded by the
government."

"NSA,"
Mr. Nordstrom said.

"Do
you work for the NSA?" Mom asked, kind of suspicious like.

Mr.
Nordstrom smiled. "Not exactly."

"You're
saying …?"

"The
call was in the NSA's computers," Mr. Nordstrom said.

"And
you …?"

"Accessed
it."

Mom's face changed. "You really are … from …?"

She
pointed up.

"Yes,
Kate. We really are."

Mr.
Nordstrom spoke again in his language, then the screen suddenly flashed to
life, first with static then clear. Brown mountains. Dirt. A bleak
landscape. Helicopters landing and taking off. Soldiers. An Army base. In Afghanistan. Mom suddenly gasped; her hands shot to her face.

"Daddy's
on TV!" Maddy screamed.

She
ran to the screen, stood on a chair, and kissed his image. Which filled the
screen. We all stared at his face. He was so handsome. So manly. So alive.
Scarlett stood and stepped over to the screen. She reached her hand out slowly
and touched Dad's face. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Scarlett Dugan sat down
on the floor and finally had her big cry. We were all crying now.

A
voice from off-screen: "Captain Dugan!"

Dad
was in full battle gear. He faced the camera and smiled. Manly voices and the
WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP sound of helicopters filled the background. Dad's voice was
loud. I loved his voice.

"Kate,
Scarlett, Max, Maddy—I don't have much time. We've got some guys in an ambush,
we've gotta go get them. But I'll call you tomorrow night, okay?"

From
off-screen: "Captain, the chopper's ready to lift off!"

"I
gotta go, guys."

He
turned to leave then turned back. His face was different now.

"Maddy,
you're my little doll, the sweetest person I know.

"Scarlett,
you're a beautiful young woman. I'm so proud of you.

"Max,
I believe in you. Believe in yourself.

"Kate
… I know it's tough, but you're tough. You can make it. You have to, for
them. I'll always love you. I'll always love all of you."

He
stared at the camera a long moment, then turned and jogged off. The camera
turned and caught him running to a helicopter and jumping in. The chopper
lifted off the ground and flew away into the blue sky.

 

 

Norbert
and his father left that night. I don't know when they left, but when I woke
the next morning they were gone. I walked over into their backyard. The
swings hung limp. I peeked in the back windows. The house was vacant, as if
they had never even been there.

I
went back inside our house and found Mom having her morning coffee at the
kitchen table. A stack of white envelopes sat in front of her.
Uh-oh.
Bills. Mom stared at them like she had a mountain to climb then took a deep
breath and opened the first envelope. She removed the papers and unfolded them
and stared at them. But she didn't slump in her chair. She sat up. She
opened the second envelope and removed the bill. She blinked hard then opened
the third … and the fourth … and the fifth … and all of them until
the bills covered the table.

"They're
all marked 'PAID IN FULL.' How?"

I
smiled now. "Mr. Nordstrom, I bet. They always had lots of cash."

"Did
they really print their own money?"

I
shrugged. Mom's face looked like someone had taken a big weight off her head. First
Dad last night, now her bills paid. She would be better now. We would all be
better now.

Things
were better at school, too. Vic disbanded his posse and spent most of his time
in the music room. I no longer sought solace in food. I got an 82 on my
fractions quiz. I wasn't as mad now, and I'm seeing that therapist again. And
I walked home each day.

Like
that day.

I
strolled down South Congress and waved at everyone until I came to Floyd T. and
Rex sitting on the stoop outside Ramon's tattoo parlor. Floyd T. had finished
the window. The red paint looked good.

"Hi,
Floyd T."

"Max,
my boy, how's the world treating you today?"

"No
complaints."

"Good.
Sit down. Something I want to talk to you about."

I
sat.

"What?"

Floyd
T. sniffed the air. "Old Spice."

"You
want to talk about Old Spice?"

"You
using your dad's aftershave?"

"Yep.
But I'm not shaving yet."

Floyd
T. nodded. "I like it. Smells good on you."

"Thanks."

"Do
you like Rex?"

"Sure."

"Good.
I want you to have him."

"But
he belongs to you."

"Rex
don't belong to no one, Max. But he's a good dog, and he needs a good home.
And I'm … well, I'm homeless."

"But
Floyd T.…"

"You
show him the way to your school and he'll be waiting there each afternoon.
Those bullies won't bother you if Rex is around."

"They
don't bully me anymore. Norbert took care of that. And Rex belongs with you.
But I've got a better idea. We only live a few blocks from here, and we need a
lot of work done on our house, stuff my dad was doing … anyway, maybe you
want to do that work and you and Rex could live in the man cave. Then both of
you would have a home."

"A
cave?"

"Well,
it's not really a cave. It's the garage apartment. My dad called it our man
cave. But it'd be a nice home for you and Rex."

"That's
your daddy's place."

"A
hero deserves a home. He'd want you there."

"Been
a long time since I had a home."

"Might
be a nice change of pace."

"Max,
that's a mighty tempting offer, but I reckon you need to talk to your mom about
that."

"It
was her idea."

"Really?"

"Yep.
We had a family discussion last night over dinner. The vote was unanimous. Course,
Maddy's going to want you to cook breakfast for her on weekends."

"I
like cooking."

"We
need a man around the house, Floyd T., and I'm just a kid. And I want to be a
kid for a while longer."

Floyd
T. nodded. "Thing is, Max, I've never been a man around anyone's house.
What's the man of the house do?"

"Fix
stuff."

"I
can fix stuff."

"I'll
introduce you to Mrs. Cushing down the street. She's got a nice garden. She's
a horticulturalist who likes old guys. But you'd probably have to shave and
take a shower every day."

"I
could do that."

"And
brush your teeth and maybe get some of those whitening strips, like Mom uses."

"And
that."

I
stood. "Let's go home, Floyd T."

He
stood and whistled to Rex. We walked down Congress Avenue, me and Floyd T. and
his grocery cart. And our dog.

"Floyd
T., do you like to play Scrabble?"

Coming soon

The Adventures of Max Dugan

- Book Two -

In
fourth grade, Max Dugan saved the world from aliens intent on taking over Earth
and humans for parts and labor. Fifth grade would prove a bit more difficult.

And
a lot more dangerous.

Two
million Mexican free-tailed bats hang out under the Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin, Texas. But Max Dugan discovers that something else is hanging out under
the bridge: vampires. And not the kind of vampires his older sister,
Scarlett, reads about in those silly teen romance novels. These vampires are
real.

And
they're not very nice.

Max
Dugan definitely has his work cut out for him this school year—vampires and
long division.

Learn more at
www.markgimenez.com