The Ups and Downs of Being Dead (40 page)

“Sorry about that,” Robbie said. “I thought I’d gotten rid
of all that rage. Sometimes it sneaks back on me.”

“You’ve got a lot to be angry about.”

Robbie shook his head. “Let’s not go there. Why don’t you
tell me why you’re here?”

“I’m going to be revived.”

“I saw that on the news.”

“I was afraid…” Robert debated how honest he should be. “I
was afraid you might not still be here when I come back.”

“Yeah,” Robbie said, massaging an aching knuckle. “I
probably won’t be.”

“Plus, when I’m reanimated, I won’t remember this visit
today. I’ll be back to the man I was the day I died.”

“Huh.”

“What I’m saying is, I’ll feel the same way about you that I
did then.”

“So basically, you’ll hate my guts.”

The intensity of Robbie’s pain, combined with the brutality
of the truth, forced Robert out for a moment. He stood next to his son,
relieved to be out of that misery, and away from the stench of that hellhole.
But then he chastised himself for his cowardice and pressed back inside.

“You’re right. I don’t know if I truly hated you, but I’m
sure if you’re still alive, I won’t come to visit like Rachel and her family
does. I want you to know that I’m really sorry—for a lot of things.”

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up. I made my peace with this
whole fucked up mess years ago.”

He crept over to the chair beside the reception desk and
eased himself down. Relief from Robbie’s throbbing leg was immediate. Robert
slowly blew out a breath, hoping to quiet the pulsing ache in his back. He
wondered again how his son dealt with the pain.

Robbie felt the relief as well. With a sigh, he asked, “Do
you do this…visiting…with Rachel, too?”

“No, that would be kind of complicated, what with Min and
kids and grandkids. I think I’ll just wait and meet them all when I come back.”

“As the jerk.”

Robert chuckled. “Yeah, as the jerk.”

“So, what’s it like?” Robbie asked. “Being dead?”

“It’s got its ups and downs.”

Settling back in the chair, Robert told his son about
Suzanne, how they met after her accident, and how she had overridden the system
to stay with her injured daughter.

“She came with me a few times when I visited you. And she
saw that program on television, where you talked about prison. We were at
Rachel and Min’s place. I was so proud of you.”

“Sounds like you and this Suzanne are pretty tight. When you
come back, I guess you two will hook up?”

“I wish.”

Robert explained that she hadn’t contracted to be frozen, so
once he was reanimated, they would no longer be together.

“That sucks,” Robbie said. “And you’re saying that when you
wake up, you won’t remember anything? Not even her?”

“Yeah. We’re trying to make the most of the time we have
left.”

“So why are you hanging around here?’

“Come on, this is important to me,” Robert said. “Tell me
about your friend Frank.”

“Ah, Frankie.” Robbie shook his head. “He was my best
friend. You know, he’s the one who sliced open my leg.”

“Yeah.”

“Weird, huh? But at the time, he was just a scared punk like
me. He had to choose sides, and he went with the toughs. Believe me, that was
much easier, and less painful, than trying to go up against bullies like Del.”

“I was there, at the prison, the day you came to Frankie’s
defense. That was a real shocker, wasn’t it?”

“No shit? You were there?”

“Yeah. I started hanging around a lot more after the attack.
Or after Rachel got you pointed in the right direction. I have to tell you,”
Robert added. “I don’t see how you endured all that punishment.”

“I got real good at tuning out all the shit that got heaped
on me in prison. That concentration has come in handy.”

Robbie absent-mindedly rubbed his leg, and Robert realized
they’d been so busy talking that he’d forgotten about the pain.

One of the other men came shuffling out of the living area,
and cocked his head to one side.

“Who you talking to, Robbie?”

“My dad.”

The poor old guy looked despairingly at Robbie.

“Get this,” Robbie said with a grin. “He thinks I’m crazy
because I’m talking to you.”

“Maybe I should go,” Robert said.

“You don’t want to stick around for dinner?”

“No thanks. I’ve seen it,” Robert snorted. “I’ll come back
by tomorrow, if that’s okay.”

“Sure.”

Robbie stood, like he was going to walk Robert to the door.

“Look,” he said as he slowed to a stop. “That night at the
house…when mom was shot—”

His voice wavered, and he swallowed hard against the
tightness in his throat. Grief added a new layer to all the pain. Robert felt
tears pool in his eyes.

“I know,” he said softly. “I was there.”

* * *

Robert fully intended to go back to Virginia the next
morning, right after a couple sips of Melinda’s fresh-brewed coffee and a
nibble of Dan’s bagel. Hopefully, by the time he arrived, Robbie would have
already chugged his sludge.

But then Maggie showed up, a little agitated.

“You’ve got to come out to the center. Sam wants to talk to
all of us.”

She didn’t even wait for a reply; she just whooshed away.

Most of the other temps were already there when Robert and
Suzanne arrived. The halls were as packed as a New York sidewalk at quitting
time. Sam was wandering up and down the hallway, asking everyone to go outside
to the parking lot for a meeting.

Once everyone had gathered, Sam climbed up on a car in the
middle of the throng.

“The reanimation schedule continues to get moved up almost
every day,” he said. “The Germans came up with an even faster technique which
we’re using in the States now. Doctors are actually waiting for clones to
mature. You
must
stick around.”

Brian Campbell, from the emo group, jumped up onto the car
in the next parking slot over from Sam.

“This is bullshit,” he yelled. “We’ve had it with you
assholes telling us what to do.”

His little band of angst-ridden teens cheered and shook
their fists in the air.

“We are NOT coming back,” Brian screamed at the crowd. “We
intend to be as far away from the center as possible. Our group has pledged to
do whatever we can to keep Sheila Raney from returning to her body.”

“Who’s Sheila Raney?” Robert asked Maggie.

“I guess she’s the last of the emos to be frozen,” she said.
“It’s been so long since we’ve gotten an emotionally disturbed kid, I don’t
really remember what she looks like.”

“So what do you think?” he asked. “Can they actually prevent
her from coming back?”

“I don’t know. Sounds like they’re pretty desperate.”

“Yeah, well so am I,” Robert said. “I think it’s worth
checking out.”

Brian announced that his group was splitting. Half of their
band was going to Afghanistan with Sheila. Their intention was to hide out in
the caves that Osama bin Laden had used way back in the early part of the
twenty-first century. The band of misfits thought the mountains, halfway around
the world, would act as a shield.

If that didn’t work, the other half of the group would stay
at the center to try one last effort to keep Sheila from returning to her body.

Robert and Suzanne volunteered to go with the emos. Maggie
and Joe would stay to see what happened at center.

Once Brian came down off the roof of the car, Maggie pulled
him aside.

“What if you try a little experiment,” she said. “The group
that stays here needs to find a squatter for Sheila’s clone. If you succeed in
preventing Sheila from returning, it seems to me that someone is going to have
to claim that body. If it remains uninhabited, that clone could act like a
giant magnet, just waiting for Sheila.”

For the first time ever, Robert watched the glower on
Brian’s face fade.

“That’s not a bad idea,” he said. “For an old bag like you.”

* * *

The trip to Afghanistan was a bust. After spending fifteen
hours on a flight to Kabul, Robert and Suzanne followed Brian and his ragtag
team for another two days through the barren Hindu Kush Mountains. Obviously,
Brian had no idea where he was going. He’d seen a story in National Geographic
and evidently thought there would be road signs pointing the way.

They’d still be wandering aimlessly if Sheila hadn’t just
disappeared. One minute she was complaining about one of her high school
teachers, and the next minute she was just gone. There was no yelp, no trailing
vapor, nothing.

Robert and Suzanne even zipped back to the center to see if
a squatter might have staked a claim on Sheila. Once again, their hopes were
dashed.

* * *

“I guess I’ll go see Robbie,” Robert lamented as he slouched
in the hallway of the center. “He’s probably wondering what happened to me.”

Suzanne nodded. “Maybe I’ll go see Angie for a couple days.
Now that Mark is no longer around, I can enjoy my daughter again.”

“Why don’t we meet in Dayton on Friday?” Robert said. “Maybe
it will rain this weekend and Dan will talk Melinda into hanging around in bed
Sunday morning.”

He wagged an eyebrow to make sure Suzanne got his drift. She
did.

* * *

Robbie was watching a game show with his buddies when Robert
arrived. Steeling himself for the pain, Robert slipped inside and gently made
his presence known. Then he asked if Robbie wanted to go talk in the hallway.

“Nah,” Robbie said. “I’m comfortable here.”

He stretched his tired body up out of his armchair a
fraction to look around the room. “Besides, it’ll be funny to watch these guys
get all riled up again. Last time you were here, they thought I’d snapped.”

“Sorry I didn’t get back sooner.”

“Look at ‘em,” Robbie cackled. “They’re freaking out
already.”

The man sitting next to Robbie actually got up and moved
away. He tapped another man’s shoulder and they both stared at Robbie.

“They care about you.”

“You sound down in the dumps,” Robbie said. “What’s up?”

He told Robbie about the wasted trip to Afghanistan.

“It was stupid,” Robert said. “I can’t believe we thought it
would work.”

“We were watching a program about you guys last week,”
Robbie said. They’re thawing out folks who’ve been frozen for fifty years or
more. And because you don’t remember anything, the fine folks at that center
are re-educating the newly revived. They hook you up to a computer and just
feed your brain all the stuff you don’t know.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“Sounds like 1984 to me. Who decided what was important and
what wasn’t?” Robbie tittered his head at the arrogance. “Oh, and there’s a fee
involved in this ‘education’.”

“Of course.”

A man sitting in front of Robbie turned in his chair to peer
around the back. His eyebrows connected as he scowled.

“Hey, did you know you’re expected to work for that company
for three years? It’s to pay for your clone.”

“I figure three years is reasonable,” Robert said.
“Especially when you consider how little I paid way back then. Besides, it will
probably take me three years to get acclimated to all the new technology. All
this time, we thought we’d be prepared for all these changes.”

“The way they talked on that show, they want to have
everyone brought back by the end of next month.”

“I know. They’re going to get to me pretty soon. That’s why
I’m here. I want to do something for you.”

“What can you do for me?”

“I feel terrible that you live with this pain everyday. It’s
a shame you can’t get back outside just once more. Live a day as a pain-free
man.”

Robbie snorted in disbelief, and all the men’s heads jerked
up, like he’d just taken his last breath.

“Of course, you wouldn’t actually be able to smell the
roses,” Robert said.

“What are you talking about?” Robbie asked.

Robert lowered his voice, as though by whispering his idea,
it wouldn’t sound as ridiculous.

“What if we could trade places? I’d take your place here,
and you would be free to…I don’t know…take a holiday for a day or two.”

“You’re full of shit,” Robbie said.

“It might not work,” Robert said. “But I pop in and out of
your head now. Why can’t we switch places?”

“And what would I do on this holiday?”

“Anything you want! Go to a park, visit a museum. Heck, they
have flights to New York every hour. You could fly up and spend the day and
still be back tomorrow.”

Robbie’s voice cracked with emotion. “You would do that for
me?”

“I actually thought about trying to give you my body,”
Robert said. “ But then I realized how pompous that was. Why would you want to
wake up and be me?”

“Hell, that would be a whole lot better than being
me
for another lifetime? I can’t even
remember most of went on between the time I was twelve until I was in my
forties.”

Another man shuffled over. He bent and touched Robbie’s hand
while he gazed into Robbie’s eyes. “You gotta stop this, man.”

Robbie waved him away. “I’m fine. My dad’s just feeding me a
bunch of bullshit.”

“It’s not bullshit. Would you like to trade places for a
day? Just to see if we can do it?” Robert asked.

“Hell, yeah, I’d like to try trading,” Robbie said. “I just
don’t think it will work. I mean, how would we do it?”

“It’s hard to explain. But remember when I told you about
getting into a fight with that guy on the cruise? And how Suzanne and I
connected on the beach in Cayman?”

“Yeah, but you could see them,” Robbie said. “I can’t see
you. I just hear you. How are we going to connect? Meet at my medulla oblongata
in ten minutes?”