idea had been to unpack, maybe grab something to eat, and hit a casino. One of the older ones, probably, like the Riviera or Circus Circus. Not one with a shiny glass front and huge glass sculptures hanging inside.
But he stood in the middle of his crappy motel room with a ghost who was looking drawn and anxious. “Are you okay?” Tag asked. Maybe dumping his woes on the poor specter hadn’t been very fair.
Jack nodded slightly and unconvincingly.
Tag kicked an empty box out of the way and collapsed onto the love seat. “What’s the matter?”
“I…. It’s a lot.”
“It’s been quite a day.” He thought for a few minutes. “Tell you what. Why don’t you stay here and rest? I’ll go pick up some groceries and stuff.”
“All right. Can I watch TV?”
“Do whatever you want, as long as you don’t incur the wrath of Buddy.”
“Thanks.” Jack sat on the foot of the bed, pulled a cigarette out of thin air, and lit it.
“That’s a pretty neat trick.”
“Huh?”
“Magic cigarettes.”
Jack examined the cigarette as if he’d never seen one before. “These are easy. It’s everything else that’s hard. Clothes. My body.”
“Oh.” Jack’s naked body flashed quickly through Tag’s imagination, making him blush. “Uh, maybe you want to, um, decorporealize while I’m gone. Have a rest.”
“What if… what if I do and I can’t come back?” Jack looked at him with eyes full of despair. “What if I find myself back in Jasper?”
“Then I’ll drive back there and pick you up again.”
“You’d do that?” Once again, Jack managed to look very young, and lost, and just the tiniest bit hopeful.
“Of course. We’re friends, right?”
Oh, Jesus. When Jack smiled like that he was beautiful. “Yeah,” he said.
Tag hauled himself upright and tossed the remote to Jack. He patted his pockets to make sure he had wallet and keys, and he headed for the door.
“Tag?”
He turned around.
Jack was looking down at the remote in his hands. “I didn’t have a lot of friends. When I was alive, I mean. There were fellows I knew, but… we weren’t close.”
“Me neither. I’ve chased all my friends away by being an asshole.”
They looked at one another, and for a brief moment, perfect understanding passed between them.
Swallowing, Tag turned back to the door. “See you in a while.”
H IS INTENTION had been to find someplace to buy a few basic groceries. A minimarket, maybe. But instead he started walking down the Strip, and before long he found himself outside one of the shopping malls. He went inside. Ah, blessed air-conditioning.
He hated malls. When he was a kid, he rarely went to them, and when he did go, he felt taunted by all the things he couldn’t afford. When he got older, it was the stark display of normality that got to him: families with young children, clumps of teenagers, retired people getting some exercise. But now here he was, bathed in the scent of pretzels and perfume, the sounds of voices echoing off the high ceilings and polished floors.
The Apple Store was on the lower level, near Nordstrom. It was a busy place, with people trying out the gadgets or chatting with salespeople. Fortunately he was able to find an unoccupied iPad right away. Glancing furtively over his shoulder, as if he were going to surf for porn, he opened the browser and went to the Internet Movie Database.
A search for “Jack Dayton” produced three results: a cameraman, a Foley artist who worked on a bunch of movies in the 1980s, and an actor. The actor Jack Dayton appeared in two movies in 1955 and ’56. One was a comedy called Dancing at the Grand , in which Jack Dayton played a bellhop. In the other movie, Central High School , Dayton played Mikey Collins. There was no biography listed for the actor, but IMDb did list years of birth and death: 1934 and 1956, respectively.
“Holy fuck.”
“Yeah, that Retina display is really something, isn’t it?” A salesman had
But he stood in the middle of his crappy motel room with a ghost who was looking drawn and anxious. “Are you okay?” Tag asked. Maybe dumping his woes on the poor specter hadn’t been very fair.
Jack nodded slightly and unconvincingly.
Tag kicked an empty box out of the way and collapsed onto the love seat. “What’s the matter?”
“I…. It’s a lot.”
“It’s been quite a day.” He thought for a few minutes. “Tell you what. Why don’t you stay here and rest? I’ll go pick up some groceries and stuff.”
“All right. Can I watch TV?”
“Do whatever you want, as long as you don’t incur the wrath of Buddy.”
“Thanks.” Jack sat on the foot of the bed, pulled a cigarette out of thin air, and lit it.
“That’s a pretty neat trick.”
“Huh?”
“Magic cigarettes.”
Jack examined the cigarette as if he’d never seen one before. “These are easy. It’s everything else that’s hard. Clothes. My body.”
“Oh.” Jack’s naked body flashed quickly through Tag’s imagination, making him blush. “Uh, maybe you want to, um, decorporealize while I’m gone. Have a rest.”
“What if… what if I do and I can’t come back?” Jack looked at him with eyes full of despair. “What if I find myself back in Jasper?”
“Then I’ll drive back there and pick you up again.”
“You’d do that?” Once again, Jack managed to look very young, and lost, and just the tiniest bit hopeful.
“Of course. We’re friends, right?”
Oh, Jesus. When Jack smiled like that he was beautiful. “Yeah,” he said.
Tag hauled himself upright and tossed the remote to Jack. He patted his pockets to make sure he had wallet and keys, and he headed for the door.
“Tag?”
He turned around.
Jack was looking down at the remote in his hands. “I didn’t have a lot of friends. When I was alive, I mean. There were fellows I knew, but… we weren’t close.”
“Me neither. I’ve chased all my friends away by being an asshole.”
They looked at one another, and for a brief moment, perfect understanding passed between them.
Swallowing, Tag turned back to the door. “See you in a while.”
H IS INTENTION had been to find someplace to buy a few basic groceries. A minimarket, maybe. But instead he started walking down the Strip, and before long he found himself outside one of the shopping malls. He went inside. Ah, blessed air-conditioning.
He hated malls. When he was a kid, he rarely went to them, and when he did go, he felt taunted by all the things he couldn’t afford. When he got older, it was the stark display of normality that got to him: families with young children, clumps of teenagers, retired people getting some exercise. But now here he was, bathed in the scent of pretzels and perfume, the sounds of voices echoing off the high ceilings and polished floors.
The Apple Store was on the lower level, near Nordstrom. It was a busy place, with people trying out the gadgets or chatting with salespeople. Fortunately he was able to find an unoccupied iPad right away. Glancing furtively over his shoulder, as if he were going to surf for porn, he opened the browser and went to the Internet Movie Database.
A search for “Jack Dayton” produced three results: a cameraman, a Foley artist who worked on a bunch of movies in the 1980s, and an actor. The actor Jack Dayton appeared in two movies in 1955 and ’56. One was a comedy called Dancing at the Grand , in which Jack Dayton played a bellhop. In the other movie, Central High School , Dayton played Mikey Collins. There was no biography listed for the actor, but IMDb did list years of birth and death: 1934 and 1956, respectively.
“Holy fuck.”
“Yeah, that Retina display is really something, isn’t it?” A salesman had
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