Page 17 of After the Fall

The sun had started to dip behind the peaks in the west. I didn’t want either of us to be this deep in Stirling County alone. I felt like a pussy. We were solitary creatures, but neither of us had ever seen anything like Joe Davis in our entire lives. “We can come back tomorrow. Let’s get back to the city before String Bean here wakes up.” It was at least a three hour drive back to the mansion, depending on traffic, and I wasn’t sure just how hard Atticus had hit the guy on the head.

“Well then, let’s get moving.” Atticus must have sensed the urgency and took off jogging through the woods. I followed close behind.

EIGHT

HARPER

My father,a scientist, taught me that there are over 435,000 different plant species. That number changes as new plants get discovered, and we lose others to habitat loss and climate change.

Wyatt’s greenhouse must have contained at least half of the world’s known species, and now that I had a chance to fully explore his paradise on my own, I saw just how vast it was. If it wasn’t for the sun shining through the full glass panels, and the UV lights illuminating the path from above, I’d worry about getting lost in the lush jungle.

I strolled through the aisles in awe and felt a strange nostalgia that I couldn’t put my finger on – for a past memory, or for my old job at the plant nursery. I wasn’t sure. But as I walked toward what I knew to be the laboratory, I couldn’t dodge the feeling. It settled around me, growing heavier, like Michelle Carder’s obnoxious-smelling perfume, and I tried not to choke on the fear.

It was just a feeling.

The tall, silver-haired chemist was where I’d expected to find him, bent over at his station. He was busy stirring a bright yellowliquid into a beaker and I watched him carefully add a sprinkle of a green powder. The explosion of blue was immediate, and he smiled contently at the beaker, like a proud father.

I gently cleared my throat, to let him know he had a visitor. When that didn’t work, I spoke quietly. “Excuse me.”

His eyes shot up and met mine. “Ah, Miss Davis. You’ve returned.” His smile seemed genuine, and I felt my posture relax. “Please, have a seat.” He gestured to the tall metal stool across from him. “Just… give… me… a… minute…” He scribbled something onto a sheet of paper, then nodded once, satisfied, before labeling the beaker with masking tape. With a sharpie, he wrote the number thirty six.

My eyebrow raised. “Thirty six?”

“Believe it or not, thirty six is a record. My last remedy took two hundred tries to perfect.” He carefully placed the beaker into the small fridge that sat atop his counter, then wiped his brow with the back of his hand. “Just give me a second to tidy up here.”

As Tim cleaned his station, I thought back to the first time we’d met. Wyatt had asked his scientist to try out a new memory potion on me, but it hadn’t worked. My memories of Wyatt had never returned, other than a few small glimmers here and there. Yet against all odds, we had still found our way back to each other. Was that true love?

“It’s nice to have you on the estate full time.” Like Fiona earlier in the kitchen, Tim’s words surprised me. I didn’t think any of the sasquatches liked me. I knew it wasn’t personal, but it still hurt.

As if he could read my mind, he added, “I understand this might be frowned upon, but the researcher in me is thrilled to have a human around.”

I laughed. “Just as long as you don’t need me to test any stinky lotions.”

He raised both hands, palms facing upward, and shrugged his shoulders. “Only the ones you agree to.” He winked. “Say, I promised you a tour of this place, didn’t I?”

“You did. And that’s actually why I’m here. Thanks, Tim.” I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment over calling the scientist by his first name. The man appeared close to Gloria’s age. “Or, uh, Mister…”

“Tim is fine,” he laughed. “I’m not my grandfather. Although, if you get the chance to meet him one day, you’ll see the resemblance.”

My jaw dropped. “Your grandfather? He’s… alive?”

The scientist beamed. “Of course he is. In fact, he’s never been healthier at the ripe old age of 220.”

My jaw dropped even further, my eyes wide as saucers.

“Oh dear.” His eyes shone brightly. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but… has Wyatt not taught you much about our biology?”

Lips closed, I nodded in reply. Wyatt had made a few comments in passing, but whenever I brought up our future together, he shut down. I’d chalked it up to him being unable to handle human emotion, but now I knew there was more to it.

His forever was a lot longer than mine.

With a sigh, I realized that our relationship had suddenly become even more complicated. As if my dad returning, only to disappear again, wasn’t enough.

“How about that tour, then. And feel free to ask me any questions as they come up.”

He removed his lab coat, revealing a thick gray flannel button-up. Was wearing flannel in some kind of sasquatch guidebook?How to Disguise Yourself in Seattle, I thought with a snicker, covering my mouth with my hand to not seem rude.

As I trailed the scientist down the narrow aisles, the overhead mister doused our heads with a soft aromatic spray. “Eucalyptus,” he explained, pointing up at the misters, beforepausing in front of a strange-looking fern. He brushed his fingertips over the large fronds.

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