Page 34 of Loud Unspoken Memories

Relieved, I smile. “I think he’ll love that.”

“Why’s that?”

“You mean besides the fact that he won’t have to starve to death?” I chuckle. “Because you’re good for each other. You’ve both been through stuff. He probably understands you like others can’t.”

Dallas stops chewing and stares at me.

My words replay in my head, and I wonder if he’s thinking what I am, thatImight just understand him in a way others can’t.

If he only knew.

He looks away and takes another bite.

I take a sip of water then say, “I was thinking it’s funny how the world works.”

“How so?”

“Well, I’d be dead if Abe hadn’t died.”

He studies me pensively.

“Bex saved me. You wouldn’t have known I’d fallen in the pond if he wasn’t here. And he wouldn’t have been here if Abe hadn’t died.”

“You could also reason that if Abe hadn’t died, Bex wouldn’t be here. Therefore, you wouldn’t have walked on the pond to find a stick for him.”

My brows crash together. “Oh my god, you’re so right. It’s interesting how one thing changing can set off other events you didn’t anticipate.”

“The butterfly effect,” he says.

“What?”

“Chaos theory argues that even the smallest change in one nonlinear system can result in large differences on a broader scale.”

“In English please.”

“So there’s a metaphorical example having something to do with the formation and path of a tornado somehow being influenced by minor perturbations such as a distant butterfly flapping its wings. Today, we use the expression in a context outside of weather, as in one small change to anything anywhere has the potential to influence larger consequences or even a chain of events.”

I shake my head. “And you thinkIwatch too much TV.”

He motions around. “Do you see a television? I read, Marti.”

“Yeah.” I glance at his massive book collection. “I can see that. What else do you do? Besides read, hike, and chop wood?”

He shrugs. “I have hobbies.”

I can’t help but look at the door to his ‘hobby room’ and wonder what lies beyond it. “What kind of hobbies?”

“Languages. I learn them.”

“As in you teach yourself?”

“As in, I buy programs that teach me. And books.”

I laugh. “Of course books. What languages have you learned?”

“French. Russian. Portuguese. I’m learning American Sign Language at the moment.”

My brows shoot up. “Really? That’s interesting. Why would you choose that one?”

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