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Having recently completed a film of which he was rather proud and having been compensated well for it, Zaizen was enjoying his time, relaxing and lazing around. Or at least, he would have liked to laze around if he wasn’t moving house. Why on earth Kenya couldn’t simply join the family hospital instead of striking out as an independent practitioner in the underserved boonies, Zaizen would never understand. Where were the indie music shows? Not that he could stay up late enough for them nowadays, but it was the principle of the matter! Where was the interesting content for his blog? Was he supposed to become some kind of homesteader, sharing videos of his gardening hauls and pickling recipes? Gods have mercy, he didn’t know how long he could survive before he up and strangled Kenya, and then Zaizen would be responsible for aggravating the shortage of rural medical providers.
Of course, Speedy had to come along with his owner, and Kenya had made a great fuss about getting everything set up right away. The one good thing about that green demon was it was quiet and hypoallergenic. The iguana didn’t bark or shed its wretched fur everywhere, although its tail whipping ability was fearsome and to be avoided whenever shoving food into its enclosure. Zaizen was tempted to ask a variation of the old cliche, “Which is more important to you? Me or the iguana?” but he wouldn’t sink that low. Not yet, anyway.
“Are you sure it’ll be okay here?” Zaizen crammed his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, looking dourly at their new home.
“Hikaru.” Kenya placed his hands on Zaizen’s shoulders with uncharacteristic gravity. “They can’t say anything. Well, not much. They need me here, and I need you with me. If anything happens, we’re leaving.” There was proper logic to this, and Zaizen said nothing.
The next morning they were poking about the yard, deciding what to uproot and what to plant, when the sight of one scraggly bush reminded Kenya that spinach and collard greens were in season and he should get some for Speedy.
He dashed off, made it a few paces, and abruptly spun around to race back. “Forgot my phone.”
“You never learn, do you.”
Kenya’s voice was soft and resigned. “It’s not a matter of learning. You know that.”
Zaizen picked up the forgotten object from its precarious spot on the fence and held it out. “I already sent you the list and updated your calendar this morning.”
“You’re a lifesaver.”
“Says the doctor,” Zaizen scoffed.
“I’ll be back!” Kenya grinned and hurried away to the store.
Kicking at a clump of hardened dirt, Zaizen watched it crumble with mild satisfaction. Maybe, he thought, it would be alright after all. Good thing he’d added pickling jars to the shopping list.