Page 18 of Hold On

“It seems crazy that you’ve not been online for sixteen years,” Theo said.

Col pressed a button and the Google screen came up. Dominic swallowed hard. If only he’d had access to this while he’d been inside.

“Give me something to look for. Anything you like.”

Will I ever be happy again?“What’s the most poisonous snake in the world.”

“You type it in.” Col pushed the laptop in front of him.

Dominic typed it in so fast, they both gaped at him, though Dominic was amazed by the speed of the search engine, the list of sites, the number of pages to look at. “I was allowed a word processor to write essays. I taught myself to touch type. Oh look, the Inland Taipan. Hopefully none of us will ever meet one of those.”

“Look up what to you do if you’re seized by a gorilla,” Theo said.

Col groaned. Dominic tapped the question in.

“Do you think that’s right?” Theo asked. “If a gorilla grabs you, go limp and purr and he’ll think you’re a female and…oh.”

“What?” Col moved so he could read the screen. “He’ll roll you over, fuck you and fall asleep. Then you can escape.” He laughed. “No, I don’t think that’s right.”

“Oh God, I need to know now. Keep scrolling,” Theo said.

“Lie down and be submissive,” Dominic said. “If it’s got one of your hands use the other to groom its arm. Pick off bits of leaves and dirt, and don’t look him in the eyes.”

“Then let him fuck you?” Theo asked.

They all laughed.

Gradually, Dominic began to unwind. The more he looked at, the more he felt he’d missed for the last sixteen years. But he didn’t let himself mourn for long. It was his now.

Theo clicked onto Amazon. Dominic had read about it, seen it on TV but he was staggered when he saw how much could be bought and how easily and how fast it could be delivered.

“Look what I found the other day.” Theo tapped into the search bar and a moment later, they were looking at a sit-on bouncy ball with a dildo.

“What the hell?” Col winced.

“Obviously I found it by accident,” Theo said. “I looked for fun times with a bouncy ball.”

Col laughed. “Lunatic.”

“Does it come in any other colour?” Dominic asked. “Or different sizes?”

That he was able to make a joke somehow thrilled him.

“Now I know what to get everyone for Christmas,” Theo announced. “We can have a race.”

“No,” Col said. “Don’t you dare.”

Col explained how Amazon worked, how to try Prime for free, and once he’d helped Dominic set up an email account, he also set him up with an account on Amazon too.

“It’s not always cheaper,” Col said. “You have to be careful. But it is convenient. I mean, if we needed ink for the printer, we could get it delivered within twenty-four hours.”

“Along with a bouncy ball with a dildo,” Theo whispered.

Col handed him his phone and showed him how to use it. The iPhone was another wonder, though Dominic’s fingers were not so quick on such a small keyboard. It seemed incredible that tomorrow, he’d have a phone and laptop of his own.

“What’s an average day like for the pair of you?” Dominic asked.

“We get up around seven-thirty,” Col said. “Theo works in the garden, or in the shop or the office. He wanders around talking to visitors, drops in on the guided tours and drags people over to watch me work. He does a good job of persuading people to buy my stone carvings, though if I’m not famous in a few years as he’s told everyone, I wonder if they’re going to ask for their money back.”

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