Mark, in a panic after seeing Jim's truck parked at the curb, stormed inside his home only to find Sal seated on the living room sofa, feet propped on the coffee table, while watching television.
“Hola, big guy,” Sal said with a smirk. “Where’s the fire?”
Mark’s hand clutched convulsively around a paper bag. “Sal! How long…uh… when did you get here?”
“Not long. Maybe 10 minutes or so.” Sal grinned at his brother-in-law’s obvious dismay. “I told papi we should call ahead.”
“Jim’s here, too?” Mark’s hand farther crumpled the bag.
Sal nodded and clicked to another channel with the remote.
“Where…where is he?”
Sal shrugged. “Not sure. He’s chasing down some fly.”
Mark cursed, dropped the bag, and ran out of the room. A moment later Sal heard Mark’s bellow. “Jim!”
Jim, standing by the kitchen counter, looked startled when his son-in-law burst into the room and shouted “Stop!”
Mark’s gaze swept the room.
“Sal said there was a fly…”
Jim turned and lowered his face over the counter. “I’m just dealing with it,” he responded.
Mark paled when he saw the glass in Jim’s hand as his father-in-law raised it into the air.
“Don’t!” Mark insisted, momentarily staying the hand of Brad’s father when the older man was bent on finishing off the pest.
“What’s wrong with you?” Jim asked crossly, turning back toward the counter and watching the fly crawling over the countertop. “It’s a fucking fly!”
“It’s not!”
Jim’s frown intensified. “It’s not what?”
“Listen, the fly…it’s Brad. OK!”
Mark heard a shock of laughter… from behind him. Sal had wandered into the room in time to hear Mark’s revelation.
“Alguien está loco por el sol,” Sal whispered to his father.
Jim chuckled and nodded.
“Listen! I’m not crazy.” Mark declared. “I’ll prove it.”
He squeezed past Jim and loomed over the countertop, involuntarily grimacing when he saw the tiny housefly crawling over the surface tiles of the kitchen counter.
“Brad, I’m sorry it took me so long.”
The fly’s wings buzzed. Uncertain what that meant, Mark continued. “Just fly to my hand.”
The fly buzzed some more and did some insect-like partial cartwheels in a struggle to comply with his husband’s request.
“Brad, just do it,” Mark urged.
“Necesita ayuda,” Sal joked, getting a nod from Jim.
Mark stiffened as he felt Sal and Jim close in from behind.
“Papi may have winged the little pest,” Sal said.
“He’s not a pest!” Mark exploded and turned back to the table to retrieve the device. “He used this… this… machine…”
“Is that a Chronivac?”
Mark paused. “How’d you know…”
“I read about those things. Some weird shit, you know. Can get them on the black market for the right price.”
Jim scoffed. “Are you telling me this is real?” Jim looked first to Mark, then back to Sal. “That… that… is Brad?”
The little fly withered beneath his father’s disgusted gaze.
“Why’d you leave him alone?” Jim asked, keeping his eyes fastened on the ugly insect as if trying to push himself to accept that it might actually be his eldest son. Try as he might, he saw only a hideous bug.
Mark had to spill out the story about the dead batteries. “I was just running to the store,” he said, looking down guiltily at the housefly. “I would have been right back but…”
“What are we waiting for?” Jim interrupted. He kept staring at the insect like it might suddenly take flight and attack him. “Oh my god. How was I supposed to know?”
Sal chuckled. “Might want to be more live and let live, Papi.”
“Shut up!” Jim and Mark said at the same time.
Brad buzzed again, successfully achieving some elevation before his wings gave out and he collapsed on the tiles again.
“Do something!” Jim ordered as he watched the insect seem to writhe and struggle on the tiles.
Mark raced to retrieve the bag of batteries.Two minutes later, the reenergized Chronivac began to boot up.
“Where’d Brad get hold of that?” Sal wanted to know.
From the counter, Brad’s whole body tingled with a strange arousal as he watched the three giant men with his strange, emotionless eyes.
“I’m not sure,” Mark admitted. “Communication isn’t exactly a two-way street at the moment.”
Brad just wished Mark would hurry.
Mark must have sensed it. He looked at the screen, before he glowered at the device.
“What is it?” Jim asked.
“I…I’m not sure.”
Sal moved closer, glimpsed the flashing message that had the attention of Mark and Jim.
“Error!” Flashing green letters winked in and out. “Error!”
Brad finally succeeded in taking flight, only to hover near the device held in his husband’s hand. He saw the blinking lights, but even trying, wasn’t able to translate the glowing pixels into letters and words. His acuity just wasn’t there, but he did get a sinking feeling.
He buzzed up to Mark’s face as if to demand… “What’s wrong?”
Of course, Sal had to butt his way in. “That doesn’t look good.”
If his eyes had more mobility, Brad would have rolled them at his sibling’s understatement.