Page 63 of Darling Beasts

He then suggested I experiment by being more open aboutmy condition, and I suggested (in my head) he should try flying into the sun.

After I hung up, I thought back to the hot-air balloon ride and all the days leading up to it.HadI been more open about my condition? I did bring up the tree goat while we were in the process of crashing. And the wolverine and emu. Even the flamingos.No. I wasn’t letting dos Santos put this on me.

“So, what did Dad have to say about all this?” I asked Ivan, speaking of impending disasters. “Or maybe you shouldn’t tell him.”PBSers tend to be secretive, rang dos Santos’s voice in my brain. I shuddered, shaking him off.

“Too late,” Ivan said. “I find it’s good practice to be up-front with the candidate, even if it’ll piss them off. You want everyone working from the same information, and he would’ve found out eventually. Kyle Sperber interviewed the homeowner about the crash.”

I groaned. “Great. I suppose we can expect a story like ‘Meet the Idiot Kennedys’ or whatever.”

Ivan chuckled and patted my leg. Or he tried to pat my leg but instead landed on a bunched-up part of the blanket. “Don’t worry,” he said. “Your father is just glad everyone’s okay.”

I had a hard time believing this.

“So, are you ready to go?” Ivan asked, standing up.

“Yeah. I guess.” I swung my feet onto the floor. “Thanks for coming. I’m sorry you drew the short stick. Ozzie and Talia shouldn’t have put that on you.”

“There weren’t any sticks involved. The HQ was kind of chaotic, and you texted you were ready, and I had a free moment and here I am.”

“Yeah, but Talia or Ozzie could’ve insisted...”

He winced. “Truthfully? I think everyone’s still shaken up about the balloon thing, and even the best siblings can be unreliable. In my experience, they tend to let you down with the little things but always show up when it matters.”

“Huh. Guess I’m not injured enough,” I said, slipping into my Birks. “So, how many kids were in the Ivan fam?” I could not for the life of me remember his last name.

“I’m the youngest of eight.”

“Eight!” I coughed. “All from the same woman?”

“Same lady,” he confirmed with a grin.

“Good Lord. That is too many children.” Maybe that’s why he was so pale. As the smallest, he probably couldn’t wade through the crowd to reach the outside.

“Perhaps. But we had fun.”

“Yuck. No offense. But I wouldn’t survive the chaos. I prefer to be alone.”

Ivan snorted. “Why would someone who likes to be alone start a theater company?”

“Oh, that has nothing to do with other people. It’s purely chance, and a series of random events.”

I’d been working in theater tech, I explained, when a friend’s troupe lost their performance space. I didn’t mention this friend was a girl named Bailey who I thought was cute.You’re buying a farm because of a girl?Sydney griped at the time.God, you’re the worst at flirting.

“Dad and Ustenya were harping on me to stop renting,” I said. “A farm with a theater went up for sale, and I took the leap. Best thing I ever did. Got me out of the city, and got me away from...” I stopped myself, smiling meekly.

“Got you away from your family?” Ivan smirked.

I slipped into my jacket. “Listen, I love my family, but they have a way of appearing out of nowhere and causing problems. The farm is my way of maintaining some space. Believe me, it’s better for everyone.”

I thought of the Tasmanian devil I’d flared at Dad and Ustenya’s engagement party. When I called the local zoo to check on him the next morning, they informed me the little guy had been put down. He had facial tumor disease, and the tumorsprevented him from eating, so he would’ve died one way or another. It was humane and better for the species overall. The disease was so prevalent that there was a whole conservation movement to keep the endangered devils isolated from one another so they couldn’t get or pass on the cancer.

“Like a Tasmanian devil with face cancer,” I said to Ivan, “it’s best I separate myself to ensure the survival of the species.”

“That’s a very specific analogy.”

“I have a lot of specific references.”

Ivan rolled his eyes. “Come on, you goof. Let’s take off,” he said, and opened the door. “We have a lot of work to do. The convention is in less than three weeks.”

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