The Hiccups

Datura

After she moved out, Gower used what money he had left to buy a plant. The house was quiet and full of stale air. All the other plants were dead. He had tried to save the ficus in the kitchen. He had watered it, gave it vitamins. He tried to talk to it, to give it a name, but nothing suitable ever came to him. It was a good plant, though. Gower thought it missed him when he left. He would put the radio on whenever he was out of the house for a few hours. The plant started to grow. Mostly it squirmed and withered at Gower's touch. It breathed. Its bulb was frothy. Gower tried to think of things to say to it. Instead, he moved it to the foyer and put it the window so it could at least see the trees, or the clouds and when the sun was out. By the end of the week, the plant had grown almost as tall as Gower.

One hot afternoon, the plant leaked purple ooze onto the expensive rug by the front door. Gower brought the sludge to his lips and he tasted someone else's tongue. Gower tried to take the plant back to the flower shop four more times but the doors were always locked. He didn't want to just ditch it. He put an ad out in the paper. He made a flyer. No one was looking for a plant. He called his brother and no one answered. He called his best friend and no one was ever home. He called this girl her used to know and who he had recently broken up with and the line said her number had been changed.

Gower took the plant and dumped it in his backyard. The foyer smelled like hell for days.

After the plant, Gower used what money he had left to buy a pet. He picked the dog because of her colouring. She was white and kind of gleamed. The puppy was fat. Other dogs would not go near her. Still she didn't seem to want to leave. She hunched and twitched when Gower tried to touch her. The woman who worked at the shelter said that was normal and took his money. She helped him stuff her into the car.

In the backseat the puppy sat in the crumbs and change and looked confused and never barked. On the way home, Gower stopped for fast food. He spoke into a neon sign. He asked for a burger with poutine. A girl in a window passed him his order. The cheese was hot and made the plastic steamy. He took the lid off and the food on the seat beside the puppy. She hesitated, then she ate. She got it all over her snout, and the car. She looked happy, finally. Gower felt glad he'd bought the plant. He looked in the rearview mirror and grinned as he took the long way home and pointed out everything puppy would need to know about the area—the school and park where they'd walk and watch kids; a hiking trail for the weekends; the lake made of sludge.

They passed the crumbling house where Gower grew up. The house was small and square and yellow with storm shutters painted orange. A mold had infested the roof. Mounds of dirt were piled in the yard. Through the window, Gower saw the family that lived there. They were standing around together in the living room—a large man, a small woman, and three young girls. Just standing, holding hands. Their eyes were closed. The puppy huffed and barked into the glass. The family in their house did not flinch.

At home Gower put the puppy down in the front yard. She stood and cowered in the grass. There were whiter patches where dogs had pissed and greener ones where they had shit. He tried to call the dog. But she didn't have a name. He called her his mother's name and she whimpered. He called her her name and she bit. He clapped his hands. A car passed by and honked at them. Gower shouted at the passing car. He lifted the puppy up like a human baby and carried her inside.

In the living room Gower put the puppy down. She stood with her eyes dropped and her legs shaking. Gower found a high heel shoe that had once belonged to her. He showed it to the puppy and she did not blink. Gower pushed the shoe against the dog's nose. He got down on his knees and shoved the pointy heel into her mouth.

Gower checked his email with his cell phone. She had thrown his laptop through the kitchen window a week before. The backyard was full of stuff that had failed him. Gower had one new message in his inbox: Hi, my name is Kayla and I'm 25 and lonely. I saw your pic and think you're cute. We should meet online and chat on messenger. Gower read the email three more times until it was inside him. He closed the phone and held it to his forehead.