Page 52 of Satisfied By the Slime
We stay out for forty minutes.
He samples the wind from six different orientations.
He maps the subsurface moisture gradient across my entire property by standing in four spots and going still.
He finds a colony of harvester ants and lies flat against the ground to feel their collective vibration.
At one point he just stands in the open, arms spread, face tipped back, every inch of his surface cycling through every color he has, drinking the sky.
I sit on my step and watch and let the quiet fill in around us.
When I finally say “We should go in,” he turns toward me, and the colors slow to something deep and settled.
He flows back across the yard and stops at the bottom of the step, his face level with mine.
“Maisie,” he says.
Just my name.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for bringing me outside.”
I reach out and press my palm flat against his chest. The surface gives under my hand, warm and yielding, and I feel his pulse move through my fingers and up into my wrist.
The gold brightens where I touch him, spreading outward like ripples.
“Tomorrow night too,” I say. “If you want.”
He covers my hand with his.
Then I hear a faint ringing.
At first I’m not sure what it is, until I remember thelandline.
The actual corded phone mounted on the kitchen wall that I keep because cell service drops out twice a week and because Gram refuses to call a number she can’t find in a phone book.
“Hold on,” I say, and push myself up off the step.
The screen door squeaks behind me, and I catch it before it slams and cross the kitchen in four steps.
I answer, knowing exactly who it is. “Hey, Gram.”
“Maisie Louise, I hope your affairs are in order, because I’m returning early.”
“Y-you are? It’s not even October yet, Gram.”
“And here I thought you’d be excited to have some extra quality time with your grandmother.”
There’s a teasing tone in her voice, but also a hint of suspicion. Not good. “Of course!” I say a little too quickly. “It’s just… My place is a total mess right now.”
“Oh, you know I never mind that. Anyway, I’ll be back in town and settled in by the weekend, then I’ll come by and visit. Should only be a few days.”
“A… A few days. Great, I can’t wait.”
There’s an amused huff of air on the other line. “All right, I know you’re busy. Love you, Maze.”
“Love you too, Gram.”
