“They’re all right.” Kanut perked up, apparently taking for granted that a stranger would be interested in his domestic harmony. “I got two boys, eight and ten. They’re good kids, but a handful, you know? Probably driving Karen crazy, but she says having her mom there helps. Here, I’ll wash these out.” He picked up the used food packets but groaned when he stood up.
He’s not a bad guy, Luis thought again. “You must be sore. There’s some ibuprofen in the first aid kit.”
“Better save that in case the crash victims need it.” Kanut paused. “Actually, I found something else that might ease the pain.”
He pulled from his pocket a plastic baggie full of dried cannabis buds. “The pot growers left this in their plane. But since they got away, I guess there’s no sense me keeping it as evidence. Would you happen to have a pipe on you?”
CHAPTER 29
Everybody needs family
Luis didn’t have a pipe, but he found a pack of rolling papers in the stuff Brandon had left behind. The buds were a little raw but good enough for mellowing out after a hard day.
Not a bad guy at all, Luis thought.
Kanut took another hit off the lumpy joint. “I can’t imagine what Karen’s going to say when I show up at home in clothes I’ve worn for days. She’ll probably make me strip in the backyard and just burn the lot.” He looked up. “What about you? Have you called Bran, to make sure he got home all right?”
Luis hadn’t even considered calling Brandon. “I’m not worried. By now, he’s probably got a new boyfriend to mooch off.” With my laptop.
Kanut winced. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize it was a breakup.”
Luis waved away his concern. “Just a recognition of the inevitable. Brandon’s like a friendly puppy—ready to follow anyone who throws him a bone.” He took the joint from Kanut. “I got him this job, you know? He’s from Wyoming or Montana, someplace like that. Knew all about horses, but I had to teach him how to handle mammoths. Much more intelligent than horses.”
“Is that right?”
“S’true. Humans could learn a lot from elephants. The females? They get along. Hang out together like teenage girls, but when the matriarch says move, they move. They look out for each other, too, y’know? Cooperate. If there’s danger, the whole herd pulls together to protect the kids.” Certainly, it was a far cry from the possessiveness and ambition-by-proxy Luis’s own mother had inflicted on him.
“What about the males?” Kanut asked. “That one that chased the pot growers didn’t look too cooperative.”
Luis tapped his head. “Musth.” He took another hit.
“Must what?”
“Musss-ttth,” Luis pronounced carefully. “Like a bull in rut. Adult males hang around near the herd but stay out of the way. But when the musth comes on, watch out. Very driven. Very aggressive.” He passed over the j.
Kanut took the nub carefully. “So, if Bran’s a friendly puppy, what does that make you?”
“Lone wolf,” Luis said. “Tomcat. Solitary. Not suited for family life.”
“I’ve had tomcats that were pretty friendly,” Kanut said.
“Neutered,” Luis sneered. “Pets.”
“Everybody needs family.” The joint was down to nothing but paper and Kanut snuffed it out. “You must have parents.”
“They split when I was three. My mother’s maternal instincts pretty much ended at weaning. She’s a cat, too. All the time I lived at home, she and I hissed and spit at each other.” He pawed the air like a snarling panther.
Hell, he was talking too much. Pot did that to him.
“Did your dad help out?”
Luis shook his head. “He used to call me on my birthday.” Or the same month maybe. “He hasn’t even bothered to do that since I turned sixteen and came out as gay.”
“That’s terrible.”
Luis sniffed. “Mother’s taste in men was always exacra-, excarab- . . . it sucked. I asked her once what criteria she used when choosing a man to date. She said she liked to have a good time. Apparently, that didn’t require the man to have intelligence, culture, or simple kindness.”
Kanut shook his head. “What a shame. Family’s the most important thing in life.”
“You’re an Inupiaq, right?” Luis said. “I guess family’s important . . .”
“Don’t do that,” Kanut snapped. “Don’t interpret whatever you don’t relate to as part of my native heritage. I don’t care what people you belong to—family is important.”
Luis held up a hand. “Hey, I didn’t . . .”
“Yes, you did. I may think you’re an entitled piece of shit, but do I say it’s because you’re gay or Latino?” He stabbed a finger for emphasis. “No, I do not. I do you the courtesy of assuming that you have chosen, as an individual, to be an entitled piece of shit.” He paused. “No offense.”
No offense?
After a moment of silence, Luis quirked a smile. “I know what you are!”
Kanut narrowed his eyes.
“A lion,” Luis said. “The only kind of cat that lives in a family. That’s what you are—plenty of roaring and ready to fight to protect the pride.”
Kanut nodded, looking pleased.
“Of course,” Luis added maliciously, “among lions, that’s all the males do: posture and fight. It’s the lionesses who rule the family.” He paused with a grin. “No offense.”
Estelle had lost track of time. After another two calls, the satphone had run down, and Sera’s cellphone had long since died. The clouds kept the sky a uniform gray, hiding all clues as to what quadrant the sun was in.
From now on, I’m wearing a watch, no matter how old-fashioned it makes me look.
“It must be tomorrow by now,” Sera said. “They’ll come soon.”
The
