Chapter 17

  SIZZLE

  Jillian and her mother were in the kitchen, preparing dinner. Jillian was busy cooking the spinach and peeling the cooked potatoes while Maji patted and stretched the dough for the Naan. There was something missing. He realized immediately that the delicious smells of Maji’s cooking, the meats, vegetables, and spices, were missing. He could smell nothing. Deke was surprised at how much this bothered him. He missed the wonderful smell of this kitchen. His mind wandered a little as he wondered why spices projected their visual image but not their smells. Maybe they don’t know what they smell like? The sound of Jillian humming brought his attention back to the kitchen.

  Deke liked being here. It was a happy place for him. Deke had been very worried about meeting Jillian’s parents. He was afraid they weren’t going to like the Irish boy with red hair who was going to marry their daughter. He didn’t have to worry. They got along wonderfully from the very first meeting. Her father had encouraged Deke to call him by his first name, Debasis or Dev. Her mother insisted that Deke call her Maa. Deke learned later from Jillian that Maa meant exactly what it sounded like: mother. Jillian suggested that he could score some points with her mother if he modified Maa to Maji. She explained that adding the “ji” would communicate more love and respect. Her mother was delighted the first time he called her Maji, so he had called her Maji ever since.

  Deke smiled, remembering the joke that Dev had told him at dinner that first night. “Do you know what they call Indian food in Mumbai?” Not waiting for a response, Dev laughed. “They call it food!”

  Kelton listened for a few minutes as Jillian and Maji talked about the garden and the weather.

  “I miss you, Rani,” Deke whispered.

  Jillian’s face clouded. “Oh, Maa. Why hasn’t he called? I haven’t gotten a message since Saturday. Has something happened to him?”

  “Have you tried to call him, Mitti?”

  “Yes. It goes right to voicemail. I have already left three messages. But he hasn’t called back. I don’t know if he is angry or in the hospital. He still has that bandage on his neck. Did he tear his stitches? Did his experiment finally kill him? Is he dead? I should never have left him.”

  “What about that nice ..uh.. person who works for Deke.”

  “Oh, Beta? That’s a good idea. I can call Beta.”

  “I’m OK,” said Deke.” I’m OK. Everything is going to be OK.”

  Jillian left the kitchen and walked out on the back porch, dialing her phone. She talked for a few minutes while Deke watched. She came back into the kitchen.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “They haven’t seen Deke since the day I walked out on him. Beta is worried about him, too. Beta told me that he is required to attend a hearing tomorrow. He may be fired, and any claims to his work may be revoked. Beta said Deke was very upset when he received the hearing notice. It has been five days today since he has been seen or talked to by anybody. I’m more worried than ever.”

  “What time is the hearing? Your Deke will have to be there. Maybe you can see him and talk to him then.”

  “Late tomorrow afternoon.”

  They talked some more and decided that they would enjoy a nice Saag Aloo dinner, and Jillian would drive home early in the morning.

  Deke sat in the room with Jillian and Maji for the rest of the evening, watched television with them, and listened with interest to their conversations about family, friends, and the weather. It really wasn’t much different from any other night at home. Deke rarely contributed to a conversation, but he enjoyed participating as a listener. The connections were precious to him.

  After a few hours, Gillian said goodnight to her mother and went to her bedroom. Deke followed behind, wanting to put his arms around her waist and nuzzle her neck.

  Jillian put on her pajamas and laid down on her side of the bed. Deke lay down on his side of the bed. Deke stared at the ceiling. His heart was breaking for Jillian. He had been unable to come up with a plan to get out of the Box. He had no idea when he would be able to be with her physically again. Or even if he could be with her again. Deke was unsure whether Jacob was telling the truth about his silver thread getting weaker. How long could he stay out of his body? This was all new territory for him. “I’m sorry.” He tried to tell Jillian.” I’m sorry I got back in the box again. I’m sorry I didn’t stop you from driving off. I’m sorry we’re not at the dinner table tonight eating leftovers and figuring out how we were going to pay for everything. I want things like they were. This is so hard.” He heard a sniff from the other side of the bed. He saw Jillian wiping tears from her eyes.

  I’m just making things worse by being here, he thought. She’s picking up something from my presence, some kind of vibration, but it’s not comforting her. A new thought occurred to him.

  “Rani, go to your parents’ cabin,” Deke whispered into her ear. “That’s where you’ll find me. I’m in the garage, I’m in the Box. Next to the boat. You just have to unplug the power supply and wait about 15 minutes. Then we can be together again.” Deke repeated the message at least three times. Jillian continued to cry. Her sobs gradually diminished.

  A voice came from outside the door. “Mitti, are you ok?”

  “I’m OK, Maa. Just a little sad.”

  “Try and get some sleep,” her mother said softly.

  Within a few minutes, Jillian had already cried herself to sleep. Deke wanted to let her sleep, so he gave up trying to talk to her.

  He lay at her side for a few more minutes. I can’t do any good here, he thought. I’m probably upsetting her, just like her dad did.

  “I have the entire world just a step away. Where are the answers?” He thought of his parents and grandparents. They were practicing Catholics. He thought of Dev and Maji’s Islamic roots. They weren’t very religious but still took part in the traditions and customs of Islam. Deke and Jillian were both scientists and had no interest in religion - until just a few days ago when his worldview changed. His experience of the last few days was pretty convincing that there were flaws in his philosophy. “Mike Tyson was right when he said, ‘Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.’ I took a pretty good punch. I need a new plan.”

  Maybe Jerusalem might be a good place to look? His people, Jillian’s people, and even Dr Cohen’s people had ties there. He thought about it for a few seconds, nodded his head, and rolled off the bed. Jillian continued to sleep.