Read The Zero for Free Online

T-shirt, and tennis shoes. The older she got, it seemed, the younger her clothes became. They sat on the couch next to Steve, across from Remy.
    “Sorry,” Carla said. “He was in the middle of a video game.”
    Edgar wore a black armband over his gray T-shirt. He smiled patiently at his mother. “It’s not a video game.” He looked up at Remy. “It’s called Empire. It’s a communal computer experience…like an alternate world. It’s character-driven and action-reaction oriented. Just like the real world.”
    Yes, Remy thought, the real world is action-reaction oriented. He needed to remember that.
    Carla smiled. “More coffee, Brian?”
    “No,” Remy said. “Thanks, though.”
    “So…would you like to start?” she asked.
    “Uh…why don’t you,” Remy said.
    Irritation broke on Carla’s face. As if she’d grown hot, Steve removed his arm from her shoulder. “I’m gonna get another beer.” He winked at Remy. “Let you-all talk.”
    Carla took a breath. “Well…apparently…this is another important issue your father would like me to handle…so, Edgar…it has come to our attention…” She looked at Remy again, as if to see if this were the right way to start.
    Remy nodded. He felt sick. What had come to their attention? Drugs? A pregnant girl? Honestly, he’d prefer drugs. He wasn’t ready to be a grandfather, to be responsible for another person. Suddenly, he felt guilty for not worrying more about the boy. Edgar had been only nine when Remy realized that his son was smarter than he, and from that moment they had started growing apart, as if Edgar had reached his father’s height and had begun growing out, in directions that Remycouldn’t comprehend. And, honestly, Remy had simply stopped worrying about him then. There didn’t seem to be anything more Remy could do to help him. And now…whatever this was, he hoped it wasn’t permanent. He hoped this problem was something manageable. An F. Or a messy room.
    But surely he wouldn’t have been summoned to Jericho for a messy room.
    “It has come to our attention that…well…” Carla searched for the words: “Brian, are you sure you don’t want to do this? It really has more to do with you.”
    “Uh…no. I think it’d be better coming from you.”
    Carla turned back to Edgar. She took a breath, looked once more at Remy and then back at their son. “Edgar. Honey. Your physics teacher called yesterday…and…said…” She seemed to hit a dead end, and tried reshaping her point into a question. “Apparently you’ve been telling everyone at school that your father died the other day, in the…well…in the events of the other day?”
    Edgar nodded as if his mother had just proposed a math problem. “Mmm,” he said. “Ri-i-ight. I had a feeling that’s what this was about.”
    Remy slumped forward with a mixture of relief and something a few miles south of relief.
    “Well…you do realize…your father isn’t dead. He’s right here.”
    Edgar looked up at his dad, brushed the hair out of his eyes, and nodded again. “Ri-i-ight.”
    Carla looked over at Remy for help. He offered none. But Steve had come back into the room with another beer, and he leaned on the arm of the couch and jumped in. “Edgar, why would you go around telling people that your old man was dead?”
    “Well.” Edgar took a deep breath. “Let me start by saying that I appreciate your concern.” He smiled warmly at Remy. “Obviously, I know my father’s not dead. I’m not delusional, and I certainly don’t wish hewere dead.” He cocked his head. “I haven’t told anyone that he’s dead. I simply haven’t corrected that impression.”
    He shrugged as if that covered it, but when no one said anything, Edgar laughed impatiently. “Look. What if I’d written a story for a class about a boy who lost his father? We’d be talking about my A paper, instead of everyone looking at me like I’m sick.” Edgar laughed again, as if this cleared it all