Flora & Ulysses

They were sitting in Tootie’s office. Tootie was on the couch with a package of frozen peas on her head. She had fainted.

Unfortunately, she had hit her head on the edge of the desk on the way down.

Fortunately, Flora had remembered an issue of TERRIBLE THINGS CAN HAPPEN TO YOU! advising that a bag of frozen peas made an excellent cold compress to “provide comfort and reduce swelling.”

“Read it one more time,” said William Spiver to Flora.

Flora read Ulysses’s words aloud again.

“The squirrel wrote poetry,” said Tootie in a voice filled with wonder.

“Keep those peas on your head,” said Flora.

“I don’t get the last part,” said William Spiver, “the part about hunger. What does that mean?”

Flora turned away from the computer and looked at William Spiver’s dark glasses and saw, again, her round-headed pajama-ed self reflected there. “It means he’s hungry,” she said. “He hasn’t had any breakfast.”

“Oh,” said William Spiver. “I see. It’s literal.”

Ulysses was sitting on his hind legs beside the computer. He nodded hopefully.

“It’s poetry,” said Tootie from the couch.

Ulysses puffed out his chest the tiniest bit.

“Well, it might be poetry,” said William Spiver, “but it’s not great poetry. It’s not even good poetry.”

“But what does this all mean?” said Tootie.

“Why does it have to mean something?” said William Spiver. “The universe is a random place.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, William,” said Tootie.

Flora felt something well up inside of her. What was it? Pride in the squirrel? Annoyance at William Spiver? Wonder? Hope?

Suddenly, she remembered the words that appeared over Alfred T. Slipper’s head when he was submerged in the vat of Incandesto!

“Do you doubt him?” said Flora.

“Of course I doubt him!” said William Spiver.

“Do not,” said Flora.

“Why?” said William Spiver.

She stared at him.

“Take off your glasses,” she said. “I want to see your eyes.”

“No,” said William Spiver.

“Take them off.”

“I won’t.”

“Children,” said Tootie. “Please.”

Who was William Spiver really?

Yes, yes, he was the great-nephew of Tootie Tickham suddenly (suspiciously) come to stay the summer. But who was he really? What if he was some kind of comic-book character himself? What if he was a villain whose powers were depleted as soon as the light of the world hit his eyes?

Incandesto was forever being attacked by his arch-nemesis, the Darkness of 10,000 Hands.

Every superhero had an arch-nemesis.

What if Ulysses’s arch-nemesis was William Spiver?

“The truth must be known!” said Flora. She stepped forward. She reached out her hand to remove William Spiver’s glasses.

And then she heard her name. “Floooooorrrrrrraaaaaaa Belllllllle, your father is here!”

“Flora Belle,” said William Spiver in a gentle voice.

Ulysses was still sitting on his hind legs. His ears were pricked. He looked back and forth between Flora and William Spiver.

“We have to go,” said Flora.

“Wait,” said William Spiver.

Flora picked Ulysses up by the scruff of his neck. She put him under her pajama top.

“Will I ever see you again?” said William Spiver.

“The universe is a random place, William Spiver,” said Flora. “Who can say whether we will meet again or not?”