You know Im not allowed to dive.
Sand in your hair says you do.
Conner touched his hair, and sand rained down. He stared guiltily at the mess. Sorry
Forget it. Graham shooed his apology like a fly. Never gets all the way clean in here. So whatve you got?
Its this band here that Rob made. Conner reached into his pocket and pulled out the band. He handed it to Graham. The wires are ripped loose
Graham gave the band a cursory glance. He leaned over his workbench and studied the wires trailing over Conners belt, then looked down at his feet.
Dads boots, Conner explained.
I see that. You got a suit on under there?
No, thats the thing. You know how Rob is, well, I caught him trying to dive with these last night. Wasnt doing too bad a job of it
Diving runs in your family, Graham said. Guild made a mistake not taking you in.
Yeah, well, its just these boots, see? No suit. But I felt what they could do to the sand and I wondered if youd seen anything like this before.
You felt it, Graham said. So how far down did you go?
Conner glanced over his shoulder, made sure they were alone. A meter. Maybe two.
Graham sniffed. He flipped the band inside out and adjusted the long-armed and multi-jointed light affixed to his desk. People have toyed with these before. You can have some fun with a pair of boots. Skate along the sand, dip your toes and what-not. But theyre no good for diving. If you cant keep the pressure off your chest, you cant breathe. And even if you could, youd be in a world of hurt when you came back up. Did Rob do the wiring?
Yeah.
Graham looked up from his study of the band. Hes better than you.
Yeah, I know. Graham didnt mean it with malice. He didnt have a cruel bone in his body. But the power of dry observation sometimes felt the same. He made space on his workbench, setting that long steel barrel aside. He plugged in his soldering iron.
Can I see the boots?
Sure. Conner pulled the wires out at his knees and kicked off his dads boots. He put the power charge in the left sole.
Interesting, Graham said. He grabbed a magnifying glass from his desk and peered into one of the boots, removed the leather insole. He inspected the other one. Looks like he made room inside the right one to stow the wires and the band. A visor too. He glanced up at Conner. A meter, you say?
Conner nodded.
Hmmm. Graham studied the ceiling for a moment. Could you leave these with me awhile?
Conner frowned. Im sorry. I wish I could. I was just hoping you could rewire them for me while I wait. I have a few coin.
Graham grabbed the iron and tested the tip with his tongue. The hiss made Conner cringe and bite his teeth together. Graham began touching the wires back to leads, seeming to see at once how Rob had rigged the band. Youre always eyeing that pair of visors in the case over there. The green ones. He didnt look up from his work. Id trade you those visors and a mostly new suit for these boots.
Conner didnt know what to say. Thats uh I appreciate the offer, but those are my dads boots.
They were his old boots. Even he didnt care about them anymore. He finished his work and blew on the band, smoke curling from the iron. He looked up at Conner expectantly.
Well, Ill think about it, Conner said. He reached for the boots. What do I owe you for the repair?
Reluctantly, Graham returned the boots. Tell you what, promise me you wont barter these to anyone else, and were even. Traders dibs.
Okay, Conner said, knowing it didnt matter. He wasnt going to trade his dads boots, not after what hed felt under the sand. You got dibs.
Graham smiled. Great. You tell Rob to come by and see me when he gets a chance. Been a few weeks since hes stopped by.
Yeah, about that Conner stuffed the band into the sole of one of the boots. He slipped them on, leaving the laces untied. Knowing how useful Rob can be around here, if anything ever happened to me and Palmer wasnt around to watch Rob
I promised your dad Id look after you boys, Graham said. Ive told you that. I mean it. Dont you worry.
Thanks, Conner said. He turned to go, then paused by the door leading back into the shop.
Tomorrows the day, isnt it? Graham asked.
Conner nodded. He didnt turn around. Old Graham was too damn insightful. His rheumy eyes could see further into the deep sand than anyone else. He could tell at a glance how something was wired. If Conner turned to say goodbye, to ask one more question, if he even reached up to wipe the water from his cheek, the old man would know. He would know that tomorrow wasnt just an old anniversary. But the start of a new one.
16 The Long Hike
Im sure he has his reasons. In truth, Conner was tired of sticking up for his older brother. It was a full-time job keeping little Rob from being disappointed with the entire family. And here he was about to contribute to that. Just as the sand seemed to pile higher for each generation, so the youngest siblings ended up with the full brunt of familial mistakes. It was a tiring refrain, but Conner thought it again: Poor Rob.