And now he was desperately trying to get through the morning routine before Connor arrived to pick them up, and Reg still refused to get out of bed.

Zephyr placed Reg's shirt on the nightstand and then tried to force him into a sitting position. But before he could even get his hands on Reg's shoulders, Reg's hands flew up and latched onto his wrists. Zephyr froze in fear, feeling ridiculous for doing so. Reg wasn't going to hurt him. Reg knew who he was and what he was trying to do... didn't he?

"Quiet," Reg whispered, and let him go. Zephyr could only stare as he pulled the covers over his head with a degree of finality. Reg was not going to work.

Zephyr hated to leave him at home alone. What if he needed help? Especially these days, when he never did much of anything on his own. But what other choice was there? They couldn't both miss work, what if this continued? Zephyr decided he'd call their primary care physician while he was at work. Maybe the doctor would at least have some advice. In the meantime, he still had himself to get ready.

He fed the cat, inhaled a bowl of cereal, brushed his teeth, battled his hair into a ponytail, and hastily picked up as much as he could around the house. He left a box of crackers and a jug of water on the kitchen table where Reg should have trouble missing them, and then returned to the bedroom to say goodbye to Reg. "I'm going to work now, man. If you get hungry, there's some food for you in the kitchen. Are you going to be all right? I'll be home around 6 PM. Take care of yourself."

The long thin lump in the bed shifted ever so slightly and said, "Zephyr."

Well, thought Zephyr, it was a better response than what he'd been getting lately. He turned to leave, and at the door he turned back and whispered, "I love you."

He heard a car pull into the driveway and hurried out to meet it.

****

Reginald's world was very small. It contained himself, 3, the little boy in the back of his head, and a distant entity he called Zephyr. It contained a warm bed, and he suspected that if he left the bed, he would find more space and more objects. But moving himself required a complex set of actions involving his body, and he wasn't entirely confident that he could do it. He considered asking the little boy for help, but it seemed to be very busy. Reg didn't know what it was doing, but its actions sent occasional impulses coursing through his awareness.

As time progressed, his awareness improved. That helped. Now he found it easier to manipulate his body. He quickly got reacquainted with it and discovered that one part of him was empty, and another part was full. He found his glasses and put them on. He put his feet on the floor and they instructed him how to place the rest of his weight on them. Then he walked to the bathroom, got rid of the feeling of fullness first, and set about determining how to fill the emptiness.

3 was there. She was happy to see him. Zephyr was not there. But 3 was there. Reginald thought the world was loud, so he looked for the sources of the noises so he could quiet them. He located several sources of that annoying humming sound and unplugged them. Much better. He sat on the couch and tried to think, but he wasn't sure how to go about it. 3 jumped onto the couch beside him and curled up on his lap. Instead of thinking, he touched her gently. That seemed to make her happy.

I'm done! the Other Voice announced. It danced out of the shadows in Reg's mind, its bright red sneakers bobbing and flashing.

Reginald took a look. There were so many words! They were linked to their definitions and to each other and to their usages. There did seem to be a lot of links, but Reg supposed they must have all been necessary, if the Other Voice had created them.

Not only that, but his world expanded tremendously, and he now recalled that the smallness of it had only been temporary. He looked around and let everything become familiar to him again. He got a sense of the structure and proportions of the cat on his lap, and recognized the layout of his house. He became aware that the empty feeling was hunger, and the solution occurred to him: food. Where did food come from? He remembered - it came from Zephyr.

He remembered Zephyr.

Where was Zephyr?

Zephyr must be around somewhere, the Other Voice said. He's always around somewhere.

Reginald drew 3 up in his arms to keep her with him. He stood up and looked for Zephyr. It was difficult, because when he entered the kitchen and didn't see Zephyr, he could no longer see the entire living room and had to go back and look for Zephyr there. There were also the bedroom, bathroom, and den. He looked for Zephyr, and then he looked for Zephyr again, and then again.

He pointed out to the Other Voice that he'd been searching for a very long time and still hadn't found Zephyr.

Keep looking, the Other Voice advised. Zephyr is always somewhere. We just have to find out where.

3 got impatient and demanded to be let down, so Reginald let her down. He continued to fail to find Zephyr. But he did find some food on the table, and he discovered something else. The magnets on the refrigerator had words, and if he looked at the words, he could read them. Now he remembered that he'd been able to read only a short while ago, and the skill had returned to him. Reg was pleased. He wanted to read. He wanted to eat. He wanted to find Zephyr and tell him the good news.

The Other Voice thought he should eat first, so he sat at the kitchen table and grabbed the box of food. The box had words on it. He read them. He discovered that he could speak the words aloud and hear them while he saw them. So he did.

"Saltines. Unsalted Tops. 4 individually wrapped packets. Net weight 16 ounces (1 pound) 454 grams."

Reg was pleased. He reached into the box for one of the four individually wrapped packets (there were only two, actually, and one of those had already been torn open so he chose it) and found Saltines inside the packet. He ate some. That made his body feel better. He felt dehydrated, and the Other Voice pointed him toward the jug of water. He drank some and ate more Saltines and felt considerably better. Now he wanted to read and find Zephyr.

Zephyr still didn't seem to be here. He listened, because he remembered that Zephyr made noise while he was moving around. But he didn't hear Zephyr; not even his heartbeat. So he decided to read instead. He found a magazine and sat on the couch with it and read it. The words came very easily. Reg was pleased. 3 was pleased too. She stretched out on the couch next to him. He noticed that 3 wasn't looking at the magazine, so he read the words aloud for her to share. Reginald read to 3 about the people in Iraq and about California's water supply and about car theft and about one person accusing other people of having a conspiracy theory.

Reginald was startled by a ringing sound. It stopped. But then it started again! He traced it to the telephone and then remembered about telephones. He stood over the telephone, waiting for the Other Voice to tell him what to do. But the Other Voice had no suggestions.

Then he heard Zephyr's voice. Zephyr said, "Hi, this is Zephyr. Leave a message."

"Zephyr," Reg said.

He was answered by a beep. And then Zephyr spoke again. "Hey, Reg? Are you there? Hi, this is Zephyr. I just wanted to let you know that I'm all right and I'll be home soon. In case you're worried."

"Zephyr," Reg repeated, but Zephyr didn't stop talking. Zephyr didn't seem to be able to hear him.

Push a button, the Other Voice suggested. When Zephyr uses the phone, he pushes the buttons.

Reg examined the buttons. One had the word 'talk' on it, so he pressed it. Zephyr was still speaking, but a loud beep interrupted him.

"Hello?" Zephyr's voice said. "I think I got disconnected. I--"

"Zephyr," said Reg.

Zephyr's voice said, "Reg? Man, is that you?"

Reg was pretty sure it was him. He thought the question was very strange. But then it occurred to him that Zephyr was having trouble finding him, too, and that was why only his voice was here.

"Zephyr," Reg said. "I looked for you. I ate Saltines and I read with 3." He told Zephyr about some of the things he and 3 had read. Zephyr started to talk in the middle of Reg's description, but Reg continued because he wanted to finish his thought. At the end, he told Zephyr, "I will look for you again."

Zephyr said, "No, Reg, don't look for me. I'm okay. I'm at work."

Reginald remembered work. He built things when he was at work. He wanted to go to work. Reginald remembered the Buick, and that he drove the Buick when he wanted to get to work.

"Buick," he said.

"No," Zephyr said. "Stay there. Don't drive the Buick. Just stay there, man, and I'll be home at six o'clock PM. Okay? Wait, I mean within a half hour of six o'clock. I can't get too specific, or he holds me to it. Reg? Are you all right with that? Just stay where you are. You have enough food, right?"

"I have Saltines," Reg confirmed.

"Good," Zephyr said. "I'm so glad you're feeling better. I'll see you in about four hours, okay? Four or five hours."

"Four or five hours," Reg repeated as he processed this information.

"Yeah. I have to go. Love you."

"Zephyr, I will stay here," Reg said, but there was a click and he didn't hear Zephyr's voice anymore. The phone made a weird whining sound which annoyed him, so he reached behind it and unplugged it. Much better.

Zephyr wanted him to stay here. That was acceptable. 3 was pleased that he was here and she seemed to enjoy being read to. His body thought it needed more Saltines and water, so he returned to the kitchen to eat. And there were other magazines he could read for four or five hours. When Zephyr came home, he was sure Zephyr would give him more food. To be honest, he hoped Zephyr would give him something that was not Saltines.