Lou spotted Philip hovering over layers of journals, monographs, and textbooks at a table on the second floor of the university library. He set his knapsack on an empty corner of the table.
“Hi.”
“Hang on.” Philip held open a journal to his left and scribbled some notes onto a pad. Then he craned his head over to a textbook on his right and flipped through some pages. He repeated this motion several times, elbows raised as he stretched left and right. To Lou he resembled a highly literate pterodactyl. Philip scratched his head, then crossed out the notes he had just written. He sat back in the wooden chair, inhaled deeply, closed his eyes, and let out a breath so long it could have started in his feet.
“Looks like you’ve been at it a while.”
“I forgot to eat lunch again.”
“Do you want to get something?”
“No, I have everything organized here.”
Lou regarded the disconnected litter of materials on the table. He took Philip at his word.
“Anyway, I have a candy bar. Somewhere.”
“Is this still a good time? I mean, to help me with that research?”
Philip opened his eyes and let his shoulders sag. Lou noted how different he appeared from his usual good-natured brainiac.
“Yeah, it’s probably for the best. I’m supposed to take a break every few hours. The Student Health Center says I have dissertation depression. I guess it’s a thing.” Philip rolled his shoulders around, then swiveled his head in a slow circle. His neck released an unnerving sequence of pops and crackles.
“Right. Sure. So, where do I start?”
Philip rubbed his lower back, then reached to a distant stack on the table. “With these.” He lifted the periodical on top and dropped it in front of Lou.
“The DOGAMI Bulletin? Isn’t that a Japanese thing?”
“The what now?” asked Philip.
“You know…paperfolding?”
Philip grinned with as much amusement as his weariness allowed. “Ha. That’s a good one. No, that’s origami. This is DOGAMI. Oregon’s Department of Geology and Mineral Industries.”
“Oh, right.”
“I also pulled some issues of The Ore Bin. That’s the name of the bulletin of The Journal of Geophysical Research.”
“Okay, great.” Lou’s eyes were already glazing over.
“You can look through them here. Or you can check them out. Or both. That’s the good news. The bad news is one of the DOGAMI issues I looked for was checked out. It includes a paper you might find helpful. ‘Environmental geology of the coastal region of Tillamook and Clatsop Counties.’” Philip leaned back with a pleased expression. “Can you believe it? A third person interested in geology. I guess that’s good news, too.”
Lou opened the DOGAMI Bulletin. “Um, any tips on what to look for?”
“Start with the table of contents. Look for the words earthquake, landslide, or volcano.” Philip rose from his chair, stretching up first his neck, then his back, finally his legs.
“Volcanoes? Around here?”
“You bet. We’re in the Ring of Fire.” He lifted his hands as high as he could. Lou cringed at the clatter of Philip’s spine realigning.
“But it’s not like any volcanoes are gonna erupt around here. Are there?”
“Oh, no way.” Philip curved his body forward, extending his lower back. “But probably.” He rose again, elbows out, resembling a dried-out saguaro cactus.
Lou was not reassured by Philip’s knack for replying to a question with two contradictory answers. He fished a pen and pad out of his knapsack and wrote down earthquakes landslides volcanoes.
Philip sat still and wide-eyed, like a giraffe in the headlights.
Philip twisted to his left as more bones announced their displeasure. He froze, eyes wide, staring over Lou’s head. “Oh, I’m so sorry. Was I making a scene?”
“Yes, thank you. May I watch?”
Lou twisted around in his seat, surprised to see Tomoko. Coming up behind her was Nobody, holding a thick newspaper.
“Oh, hey guys. What’s up?”
Tomoko raised her eyebrows in surprise. “The man in front of you is very up. Didn’t you see him?” She gazed at Philip, standing above them all.
As was often the case, Lou didn’t know how to respond to Tomoko. He looked to Nobody for a clue.
“Just go with it, Lou.” Nobody sat down and set a copy of the New York Times on the table.
“Right. Well, this is Philip. Researching, uh, something in geology. And these are my roommates Tomoko and Nobody.”
“Excuse me?” replied Philip.
“Are you teaching him yoga?” asked Tomoko.
“Yoga?”
Nobody reached up and across the table to shake Philip’s hand as he pleated down onto his chair. “Pleased to meet you.”
“Hello. Yeah.” Philip was perplexed by both of them.
Lou tapped on the newspaper in front of Nobody. “Today’s paper?”
“No. June third.”
“A month ago?”
“1967.”
“You’re reading the New York Times from 1967? Why?”
“I haven't read it yet.”
Lou said nothing. Philip said the same.
Tomoko faced Nobody and spoke plainly. “Lou asks silly questions.”
“It’s all right. The answers are the same.”
Lou jumped back into the conversation. “So, Philip’s helping me with a geology project.”
“Is that right?” Nobody slipped a pair of reading glasses from a shirt pocket.
“Yeah. I’m looking into the site where they built the Apollo nuclear reactor.”
“They poured a lot of money into that thing. Not enough heart.”
“I don’t like nuclear,” said Tomoko. “Too many problems. They should build a love reactor.”
“A what now?” Philip looked from Tomoko to Lou to Nobody and back. “How would that work?”
“I don’t know. I’m not an engineer.”
Philip bobbed his head appearing, if not in agreement, at least agreeable. “Well, it might be a good thing. Anyway, the problems of today are just a blip in time.”
Tomoko frowned. “But this is my blip in time.” Lou and Philip acknowledged her with assorted bits of body language, neither one quite certain what she meant.
Nobody cut in to change the topic, making eye contact with Lou. “Speaking of blips, how are things going with you and your lady friend?”
“My what? Oh…well, we just…I don’t know…it’s sort of…you know what I mean.”
Nobody maintained silent eye contact, not wanting to derail Lou’s train of nonsense.
“We talk. Or did talk. And…I don’t know. You know?” Lou found it easier to discuss geophysics than to figure out his “lady friend.”
“Can I ask something?” Everyone looked at Philip. “You’re talking about Jax, right?” Everyone nodded at Philip. “Because Anne told me that Jax told her that she finds Lou confusing.”
“Me? What…how…”
“Anyway, that’s what she said. So, there you have it.”
“Wait. How come she…?” Lou pushed back from the table and tossed his hands in the air. “I don’t get it.” Before Lou was only confused about Jax. Now he was confused about being confused.
“That clarifies things for me.” Nobody checked with Tomoko and Philip. “Anybody else have questions?”
Tomoko shook her head. Philip sat still and wide-eyed, like a giraffe in the headlights.
“I mean, whenever I’m with her, we start off great. And then all of a sudden everything goes sideways. I don’t understand it. And Jax won’t tell me. What am I supposed to do?”
Tomoko raised her hand to speak. “I would do what Philip does.”
Lou looked to Philip, who had no idea, and back to Tomoko. “What’s that?”
“Yoga.”
“Yoga?” spoke both Philip and Lou.
“Good idea, Tomoko.”
“Thank you, Nobody.”
“One other thing you could do. Try again. Ask her out.”
“Why? For another disaster? To end up feeling like a loser? No thanks.”
“Maybe it’s not about where you end up.”
“Meaning what?” asked Lou.
“Just try,” said Tomoko. “Trying is winning.”
Nobody pointed appreciatively at Tomoko, who always understood. “Right. And if she says ‘no,’ that’s on her.”
Lou considered this advice. He would need time to think it over. Part of him feared saying the wrong thing to Jax, of losing her for good. The other part yearned for that artist with the crimson lips. And he wondered, What’s so confusing about me?
Nobody rose and picked up the newspaper. “What do you say we find a quiet corner where I can read the Times? Have a good day, gentlemen. Enjoy your geology.”
Tomoko got up to follow and offered a final comment. “By ‘geology,’ Nobody really means ‘yoga.’ Bye.” She waved and walked away, leaving the gentlemen to their meaningful work.
I agree with Lee, but I sure want Lou to get his girl… any girl, and live happily ever after.
Lou is confusing and I am confused. But I'm sure it'll all become clear at some point....