“You know, when I was your age, I liked to pretend I was a dinosaur.” He’d spent a whole summer wearing nothing but dinosaur-inspired clothes. “Life is easier when you’re a dinosaur, you know?”
“I know.” Rohan sighed. “Why aren’t you a dinosaur now?”
“It made Rachel uncomfortable when I roared at her all the time.”
Rohan nodded.
They’d added sand to the bottom of the small pool, a terra-cotta tray from a planter he found at Home Depot, and a bunch of rocks all around. The mesh had holes big enough for a toad to slip through, but the holes weren’t so big that Captain Jack would make it in.
Jack figured his namesake would absolutely love to try, since he hadn’t found his family. Kitty had put in all the paperwork to adopt him. Jack figured he’d be a permanent part of the neighborhood, so Rohan’s garden frogs would need a little help to stay out of his clutches.
“Do you think they’ll like these friends?” Rohan asked, moving three of his plastic toy frogs around the edge. Repositioning them for the twentieth time since they’d begun.
Jack didn’t mind. He knew what it was like to need to get something exactly right. Sometimes a guy didn’t know what that was until he kept trying.
“I think so.” Jack picked one up, turned it over in his palm. “Doyouthink so? You’re the amphibian expert.”
Rohan puffed up at that. He nodded. “If they come by themselves, they won’t get lonely.”
“Agreed.” Jack pressed the edge of the final wire to hold it in place.
Rohan adjusted frog number three a touch to the right.
“I was thinking,” Jack said, careful because where he was about to venture could be considered parental territory and not visiting-Jack territory. “Your mom gets a little worried when you speak frog.”
Rohan nodded. “Sometimes I forget.”
“Maybe we can talk to her—in human—and see how she’d feel if you came out here to talk frog with your frogs?” Jack asked. “This could be your frog-talking space.”
Rohan said nothing; he was too busy adjusting toy frog one.
“Just an idea,” Jack added.
“This is where frogs come to talk to each other,” Rohan said, matter-of-fact.
“I think so.” Jack gentled his voice, sounding cautious. He really didn’t want to fuck this up. “People can talk to one another anywhere, but frogs can come here to accomplish frog things in a safe space.”
Rohan didn’t look up from frog number two that had taken all his attention.
“Ribbit,” Rohan said. He flicked his tongue, looked at Jack, and said solemnly, “Banana.”
There was a lot of understanding in that word. Jack had a feeling they understood each other.
He held out his knuckles for the kid. “Banana.”
Rohan bumped them. “You have to go back home soon, huh?”
The question wasn’t really a question. It sounded more like a confirmation. And yes, only a few more days. April didn’t want this to be anything more than what it was. He had to respect that.
“My home is in Los Angeles. Like your home is here.” He nodded toward the house. Jack sat back on his ass, checking out their handiwork. “And the frog home is here.” He gestured to the pool.
“I get that,” Rohan said, like he was a little man instead of a five-year-old kid. He sat back on his heels mirroring Jack.
Jack couldn’t quite put his finger on the feeling seeping into his skin. Talking about Los Angeles didn’t feel right when they were at the frog sanctuary. He shook the cobwebbed thoughts from his brain.
“What do you think is wrong with us?” Rohan asked, pressing his chin to his knees.
Uh. Well… So many things. And also nothing.
