“Oh,” Ali said. “I was thinking that maybe it was like when you’re dreaming and time seems like it goes on forever, but scientists studying your brain say you’re only dreaming for three to eight minutes. Does that make sense?”
That woke me up for good, and I looked down at my son and wondered what he would become. I’d told all my kids that they could be anything their hearts desired as long as they were willing to work for it. But at that moment, Ali seemed limitless.
“Dad? Does that make sense?”
“I’ve never heard Einstein’s theory of relativity explained that way, and I honestly can’t tell you if it makes sense, but you certainly showed imagination coming up with that idea.”
Ali smiled and then chewed on his lip. “You think Neil deGrasse Tyson would know if that’s how dreams work? You know, at the speed of light and bending time?”
“I would imagine that if anyone knows, it would be Neil deGrasse Tyson.”
“He’s not here,” Ali said. “At the Smithsonian, I mean.”
“No, he’s in New York. At the Natural History Museum, I believe.”
“Think I could call him up and ask him?”
I laughed. “You want to call Dr. Tyson up and tell him about your theory?”
“That’s right. Can I, Dad?”
“I don’t have his number.”
“Oh,” Ali said. “Who would?”
Jannie appeared in the doorway. “Dad, do you even have your shoes on?”
“They’re on, just not tied,” I said, giving Ali a nudge.
He got off my lap grudgingly and said, “Dad?”
“I’ll look into it and get back to you. Okay?”
Ali brightened, said, “I’m going to watch Origins until Nana Mama gets up to make breakfast.”
“An excellent idea.” I grunted and tied my shoes.
CHAPTER
30
“FINALLY,” JANNIE SAID when I walked out onto the front porch and found her stretching.
“Your brother had lots of questions.”
“As usual,” Jannie said, sounding slightly miffed. “Where does he come up with that stuff? Dreams and time and, I don’t know, the universe?”
“Those shows he watches,” I said, trying to stretch my hips and failing miserably. “And the Internet.”
“He’s the only kid I know who thinks like that,” she said.
“It’s a good thing.”
“I guess,” she said. “But it’s like guaranteed now he’s going to be a nerd.”
“Nerds rule the world these days, or hadn’t you noticed?”
Jannie thought about that, said, “Well, I guess it would be okay if my little brother grew up to rule the world.”
“In a manner of speaking.”
“Right.” She grinned. “Now, are we going to run or not?”
“To be honest, I would vote for not.”
“Do I need to remind you about the ten pounds you need to lose?”
“Ouch,” I said. “And it’s five.”
Jannie crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow skeptically.
“Okay, seven,” I said. “And let’s go before I decide to get doughnuts.”
Jannie turned, started to move, and became someone else. It was a very strange thing, I thought as she started to lope down the sidewalk with me puffing already. There was my daughter, Jannie, who had to struggle to sit still and succeed in school. And there was Jannie Cross, who ran so effortlessly.
She picked up her pace all the way to the end of the block and then glided back to me.
“Show-off,” I said.
“You’re breaking a sweat,” she said. “This is good.”
“How far are we going?” I asked.
“Three miles,” she said.
“Thank you for being merciful.”
“The idea is to make you want to show up again tomorrow.”
“Right,” I said without enthusiasm.
We ran past the Marine barracks and heard them doing PT. We ran past Chung Sun Chung’s convenience store, the best around. It was doing a brisk business, as usual. In the window, the Powerball sign said the pot was nearing fifty million dollars.
“Remind me to stop and get Nana Mama’s tickets on the way back,” I said.
“You ever won anything?”
“No.”
“Nana Mama?”
“Twice. Once ten thousand dollars and once twenty-five thousand.”
“When was that?”
“Before I went to college.”
“So a long time ago.”
“Paleolithic era,” I said.
“Must be why you run like a mastodon.”
She laughed and took off in a burst of speed, ran all the way to the end of the block, then jogged back to me again.
“Mastodon?” I said, trying to act offended.
“Saber-toothed tiger trying to get back in shape?”
“Much better.”
We ran on for several minutes before Jannie said, “So why were you and Bree fighting last night?”
“We weren’t fighting,” I said. “We were arguing.”
“Loud argument.”
“Passionate subject,” I said. “And Bree’s under a lot of pressure from the top brass to make something happen, something that shows the public that DC Metro is still on top of things.”
“Like what?” Jannie asked as we ran past the armory.
“Like clearing a major murder case. The Tommy McGrath murder case.”
“Are you close to making an arrest?”
“No, because the prime suspect shot himself yesterday.”
Jannie shook her head. “I don’t know how you deal with that kind of stuff.”