They're All Silent

The possibilities had been endless. With a boyfriend who had been the CEO of a major airline company, Phillip had been poised to spend his summer gallivanting all over the world. From Boston where he’d lived, he could have flown to Iceland to visit Thingvellir National Park. After, he’d have hopped on the next flight to England to see all the historical places in London. True, he would have been alone for most of the journey as Roland was a very important man whose free time was limited. Still, he would have been able to join Phillip for part of the trip, and he would have had no problem funding the whole thing too.

In the end, those summer dreams evaporated as soon as Phillip had caught a plane to Red Lodge, Montana, during the spring. Now, he found himself seated in a lounge chair in his ex-wife’s living room poring over help wanted ads in the newspaper and dreading the moment he had to give that up to send out resumes online. It was still early in the morning so his ex-wife, Wanda, banged around in the kitchen as she prepared for her day of work. Their daughter slept peacefully in her upstairs bedroom, enjoying the easy summer days without school.

Frowning, Phillip turned the page on yesterday’s paper. So far, the only jobs he could find listings for were part time summer work more suited to teenagers. He’d tried to tell Wanda that having him stay home over the summer would be free childcare and that any living he’d earn from getting a job right then would amount to only enough to pay for childcare. But Wanda hadn’t been hearing of it.

Thuds resounded on the ceiling above Phillip. Camille must’ve gotten up early. With a sigh, Phillip set the useless paper down and picked up the next one from the day before yesterday. Most of the help wanted advertisements were much of the same though there were a few unique entries. Phillip focused in on those while his mind wandered back to the summer he could have been having.

Maybe Roland would have joined him in London, and they would have together flown to Venice, Italy. Phillip had heard that Venice was sinking into the sea and wanted to see the city of waterways before it was too late. It seemed like the perfect place to have a romantic rendezvous with Roland before Roland would depart for destinations unknown and Phillip would fly over to Greece to take in the ancient wonders there.

Voices drifted to Phillip from the kitchen. The high-pitched tone Camille was using made her sound distressed. Wanda responded calmly. Wanda’s home was cozy, but it was not an open floor plan so Phillip could make out the idea of words rather than words themselves. He turned the page on his newspaper.

Before any of the new words in front of him were able to register in his mind, Camille charged into the room with Wanda on her heels. Camille was tall and gangly for a fourth-going-on-fifth grader. This was more a trait she’d gained from Wanda as Phillip himself was quite short.

“Dad!” Camille called, head visible over the edge of his paper.

Phillip folded the page down to look directly at her. “What is it?”

“I can’t find Cami,” Camille said. “I think he ran away.”

Phillip smiled, going for a reassuring expression. Based on Camille’s frown, it didn’t quite land. “Silly girl, a stuffed toy can’t run away.”

“But he’s gone!”

Phillip met Wanda’s gaze over Camille’s head. Wanda held her sacked lunch and her purse, ready to run out the door to her office job downtown. Not that Red Lodge had much of a downtown. Still, the sentiment was there. Wanda didn’t have the time to help out. “I’ll help you look for him this afternoon,” Phillip said, unfolding the paper to resume browsing.

“Why don’t you just take Camille to the store to get her a new stuffed animal?” Wanda suggested. She rifled through her purse a moment before offering Phillip a folded twenty dollar bill.

Not about to argue with his ex-wife, Phillip closed up the newspaper and placed it on the end table next to the recliner. “Sure.” He accepted the money with a nod.

“I will home late today so maybe you can get something to eat out as well.” Wanda hugged Camille good-bye before waving to Phillip. She was gone before he could respond, engine of her old pickup truck rumbling down the street.

Thankfully, Wanda’s little bungalow was just off the main drag of the town so Phillip’s lack of a vehicle would not impede this unexpected outing. Camille’s hand was sweaty in his as he guided her down the block. The whole way, she looked down every alleyway they passed and inside every trash can. He could only imagine what she thought she might find.

Just like Phillip could only imagine that after Greece, his airplane would touchdown in Morocco. He’d be one of the first ones off, having been booked in first class for the whole trip. He’d spend some time traveling around Morocco by taxi, visiting the old-world medinas and putting his hand on the famous Chefchaouen blue. After, Phillip would board his next flight to sightsee at the pyramids of Egypt.

Finally, the local bargain store reared up across the street. Phillip paused on the edge of the sidewalk, checking the intersection for passing cars before hurrying across with Camille in tow. Inside, the aisles were perfectly straight. Several other mid-morning shoppers pushed rickety shopping carts across the flecked linoleum floors. The store was filled with a low din of chatter, but Camille remained taciturn at his side. Usually, Phillip had trouble keeping up with her tirading monologue, so he could only hope that buying a new stuffed toy would cheer her up.

“Look, sweetie, the toy aisle,” Phillip announced when they reached the back of the store.

Several aisles were filled with bright plastic toys and games designed to catch the eye of kids of all ages. The wall behind those stretched for several feet in each direction, each shelf loaded to the brim with plush animals. Phillip directed his daughter to this section. Camille glanced up at him briefly with hooded eyes before approaching the menagerie.

While Camille browsed through the toys for a potential new companion, Phillip’s mind turned back to Egypt. It would be midsummer by the time he was leaving the Nile River behind. His next destination would be Turkey on his way to Russia. Then, he’d dip down into China and India. The final leg of his around the world journey would be through South Korea and Japan before he flew down to Australia. By the time the summer ended, Phillip would be re-entering the United States from the west coast on his way back to the home he shared with Roland in Boston.

Phillip’s eyes refocused on Camille as she passed by dogs and giraffes near the end of the plushie section. She stopped in front of a shelf full of alligators and dolphins. Phillip had the brief notion that perhaps Camille was too old for stuffed animals. He started toward her, intent on taking her from the store and finding something more age appropriate to buy her. Maybe makeup? Was a fifth grader too young for makeup?

Right before his hand closed on her shoulder, he heard Camille speaking to the scaley animals.

“I’m Camille,” she said. “And I had a friend named Cami, but he ran away. My mom and dad said I could take one of you home with me now.” She paused, turning her head to survey the entire shelf. “So, what are your names? Who wants to come home with me?”

With a sigh, Phillip moved a little farther away to inspect a rack labeled clearance. A few heartbeats later, Camille returned to his side and tugged on his sleeve.

“Let’s go, Dad,” she said. Her arms were empty.

“You don’t want one?” Phillip’s eyes darted back over to the display of stuffed animals. The black beady eyes of an eagle glared back.

Camille shook her head. “They’re all silent.”