Page 111 of Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming

“Come on, sweetheart. Say ‘hi.’How about ‘Pa-pa’?Can you saypa-pa?”

Bridget comes back to the car, carrying two Gatorades and some snacks. She opens a bag of chips.

Summer smiles into the camera, and Silas angles it so Bridget can see the little one.

“Come on, cutie, say‘Pa-pa.’”

Summer says something that sounds a lot like, “Ba-ba.”

“Good job, Sum-sum!”

Silas pauses the video and turns to Bridget. “Did you hear that? She said papa. My little angel said hi to me.” Silas beams.

Bridget boops her nose through the phone. “She is so cute. I want to nibble her cheeks so bad. I miss that. You know, sometimes, I really miss when they were little. I was LJ’s and Tanya’s whole universe. That girl used to make me tell her story after story during bedtime. And she was one of those kids who always asked, ‘And then what happened?’ even after the book was done.”

Silas laughs. “Yeah, that sounds like Tiffany.”

“You ready to get back to our travels?”

“Let’s do it.”

They enterthe outdoor flea market and look around, talking and joking. As usual, they talk about a range of topics.

After an hour, they get lemonades and take a seat on a bench.

“Okay, I have another topic for you, Mr. Magrady,” Bridget says.

“Hit me,” Silas encourages.

“Okay, now, I’ll admit the ladies and I had some edibles before this lively discussion took place. So, fair warning.”

Silas chuckles. “Your warning has been heeded, go ahead.”

“First, do you believe in aliens?”

“I don’t think we’re alone in the universe.”

“Okay, so with that in mind, do you think aliens know who Michael Jackson was?” Bridget asks, then sips her lemonade.

“Hell yeah, they do. I mean, how could they not? If they’ve heard of humans, then they definitely know who he is.”

“We all agreed that Martians probably listen to theThrilleralbum on the regular. This led to many discussions, includingcelebrities who we think have alien DNA. But the big question became, why do you think aliens haven’t come to Earth, yet?”

“How do we know they haven’t?”

“Point taken, but why haven’t they announced themselves if they’re already here?”

“Would you? Look at how humans behave. Hell, parasocial relationships alone would be enough for me not to want to fuck with humans. That shit’s weird.”

“I know, right! Imagine having a whole one-sided relationship with someone that’s completely in your head. That’s what it boils down to. Folks thinking that because they interact with someone’s art or content or whatever, that they know them.”

“What’s the worst thing you’ve experienced from someone thinking they know you because of your books?”

“A woman showed up at a signing at a bookstore when I was in Oregon. She shouted in my face that I needed to kill King Rodrick and that she couldn’t understand why I was being ‘such a bitch about it.’ She learned that day that I’m not the one or the two.”

Silas laughs. “I want to know the thought process. What do they think yelling at a stranger will accomplish?”

Bridget laughs with him.