This must be the place.
The place being Costa Rica. My home for the next five years.
The palm trees sway and whisper “hello,” my morning coffee is always perfection, my heart soars with joy, and outside my window, a domesticated T-Rex named Larry Sprinkles Smith the Fourth (the “Fourth” is a joke, as he’s the first of his kind) awaits his morning belly scratches.
Yes, you read that right. Domesticated T-Rex. My boyfriend, Andre Petty, a brilliant mind with a habit for defying expectations, secured a grant to breed T-Rexes. He has the ambitious goal of helping humans understand them more than movie portrayals. We’re learning more and more, T-Rexes can be quite friendly and follow commands. While success won’t come quickly or easily, I have no doubt he’ll achieve it. And I’m incredibly fortunate to be by his side on this extraordinary journey.
My name is Nora Garner, a former doctoral student at UC Davis who now calls San Jose, Costa Rica, home. I dropped out to pursue this opportunity. I met Andre in a biology class, instantly captivated by his shoulder-length red hair, dazzling smile, and unwavering determination to pursue his dreams, a stark contrast to my own tendency to doubt myself.
Despite our differences, I knew I was meant to be with him. Andre is my everything. He calls me “Sweetness,” constantly wears a black leather jacket with punk rock badges, and never leaves home without his Glock (a detail that makes me feel incredibly safe, given my own troubled past).
My childhood was far from peaceful. My mother often assures me that “time heals all wounds,” but the trauma lingers, and I find myself echoing the lyrics of a song: “Time itself could not heal.” But enough of my depressing side story. You’re likely more interested in the T-Rex and I don’t blame you.
This incredible adventure began in the dead of night at the university library, just hours before our first behavioral biology exam. While passionately kissing in a secluded corner, we overheard an intriguing conversation.
Tyler, a classmate sporting his white lab coat, was attempting to impress a Creative Writing graduate student. With his dimpled smile, he beamed with pride, “Heather, my beautiful girl, there’s something I haven’t told you. My dad knows where to get T-Rex DNA. The FBI has some in D.C. He’s the head of the department that stores it.”
The girl, unimpressed, rolled her eyes and muttered, “Whatever, weirdo. Can’t you tell I’m studying?”
Fascinated, we continued to listen, but Andre’s kisses proved too stimulating.
Later that day, I encountered Tyler at the coffee shop outside of our classroom. After ordering my usual vanilla latte, I attempted to casually bring up his earlier conversation, my heart pounding with glee.
I looked down at my feet, “Hey, Tyler. How are you doing?”
He squints his eyes, “I’m sorry, I don’t think I know you.”
He slowly started to walk away and before I could say anything else, Andre walked up. He grabbed my hand, “Nora, is this guy giving you problems?”
I laughed because Tyler looks as dangerous as a monarch butterfly. “No, it’s fine. This is Tyler. Ya know, from last night? At the library?”
Tyler’s jaw locked in anxiety, “Are you guys following me or something? How’d you know I was at the library?”
Andre grabbed his shoulder and Tyler jumped. “Calm down, my dude. We just wanted to know about the T-Rex stuff you were talking about last night.”
His face reddened. “You heard that? No one is supposed to know. It’s a government secret.”
Andre laughed. “Well, you should’ve thought of that before the entire library heard you last night. Now, you have to tell us.”
Tyler shivered like an autumn leaf with fear. “Please, don’t hurt me. I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone. Heather, the girl from last night, is someone I’ve been trying to impress for weeks…”
Andre cut him off, flashing his glock. “Listen, I don’t want to have to use this, but you’re beginning to give me no other choice.”
Stumbling over my words, I said, “Babe, don’t hurt him. Tyler hasn’t done anything wrong. If he can’t tell us, we need to accept it and move on. There’s way more research we can do.”
Tyler gave in. We learned all the details. We met his dad, money driven Richard Wellington, in D.C., and his perfectly ironed pinstripe suit. Richard kept a poker face all week, only smiling after his third vodka and soda. He was proud of Tyler, but as the week progressed, he ended up beaming with more pride over Andre.
I knew two things for sure about Andre after that fiasco: he could sell ice to an Eskimo and nothing could stop the pursuit of his dreams.
#
Six months later, I float on cloud nine in Costa Rica, typically without Andre. He’s always on the move, trying to find more grants. I miss him, but I know his hard work will pay off. I help when I can. Behavioral science will always be my number one passion.
You’re probably wondering how the T-Rex is domesticated, right? I usually get that question immediately. To keep it simple, some beyond smart people, even more than Albert Einstein intelligent, found a way to extract dog DNA. The dog DNA has parts of it that show where they can be domesticated. The scientists miraculously found it and the work has been operating ever since. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t intimidated by their brains.
What I do know is Larry Sprinkles Smith the Fourth is catching on very quickly with the tricks I’ve been teaching him. Tyler is on the island with me, so he can see my skills from time to time. When he’s not in the laboratory freaking out over double helixes or whatever.
Tyler is one of the scientists who extracted the DNA, so his brain isn’t particularly wired for compliments, but he does what he can. Yesterday, he tried to explain the difference between golden retriever and border collie protein structures. He always thinks I understand what he means. To be fair, I nodded, so I’m at fault for seemingly agreeing.
Right now, I’m watching Larry ‘sit’ like a chihuahua on command. His reward being raw steaks with some blood trickling off of them. I’m super grossed out by the meat and have to wear surgeon gloves every time I handle it. I’m vegetarian. My dietary preferences don’t matter because as long as Larry’s happy, I’m happy.
“Sit.” I say in my most enthusiastic voice.
Larry sits. Not once only, but five times without prompting. He’s getting off the walls smart. I’d say I’m worried for the future of his intelligence. However, I remind myself constantly the grant money is for this exact purpose. Without Andre, I wouldn’t be here at all. None of us would.
I’m peeling off a purple glove and my phone rings. Andre’s face shows up on my screen for a video call.
I swipe to answer, “Hey Andre!!! How are you?”
He smiles at me and my heart stops. Every time I see his face, I get butterflies.
“Hi Sweetness! I’m good, just on a break from a meeting. Wanted to check in on my favorite girl.”
I pull the camera away from my face. I want him to see Larry and I’s hard work. “Can I show you something? I’ve been putting your grant money to good use!”
He mutes himself and I see a girl kissing his cheek. On the video. Is he cheating on me? Am I seeing things?
The call drops and so does my heart. I don’t want to jump to conclusions. My anxiety usually does that for me. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. I refuse to call him back, though.
A few minutes later while I rub Larry’s belly, my phone rings again. It’s Andre.
Out of breath, he says, “Hey Sweetness. Sorry! Someone had a question for me.”
“It’s okay, don’t worry about it. When are you coming home?” I ask.
He winks, “I’ll be there tomorrow! My flight leaves tonight!”
The girls’ cherry red lipstick is stamped on his cheek. I want to talk to him about it, but it’s not worth it. He’ll be back tomorrow. I may be blowing things out of proportion; she could be from another country and kissing on the cheek is a custom.
I scream, “YAY!!! I can’t wait to see you baby!!!”
“I gotta go. My break is over! Love you!” he hangs up in a flash.
My brain scrambles all over the place. I have to look good for him tomorrow. I haven’t showered in a few days and have stopped wearing deodorant. I know I know. But, it’s not always necessary, okay? My shyness keeps me from talking to people all the time. Larry is my main focus anyway.
I woke up to a text from Andre.
“Hey babe. It’s Andre from last night. I had so much fun getting to know you and your body. See you next time I’m in New York. ;)”
I read the text at least five times. This definitely wasn’t meant for me. I fight back tears. He’s such an asshole. How did I never notice this before?
While my brain swirls with flashbacks of his neglect, I hear his voice. The deepness echoing through the kitchen. “Sweetness, are you awake?”
I close my eyes pretending to be asleep. I have no desire to see him yet, so if I pretend to be dreaming, I can wait a little longer.
He cracks open the door, letting the sunlight in. I smell his signature scent of vodka and peppermint gum.
Kissing my cheek, I feel a tingle in my stomach. I’m incredibly upset with myself for still having these feelings despite him not caring about me.
I fake a smile, “Hey baby! Welcome home!”
He kisses me repeatedly, “Hi Sweetness. I missed you terribly! Take me to my money maker!”
“Your money maker? What are you talking about?”
He huffs, “Don’t play dumb. Larry, the T-Rex. The reason why I have nearly a billion dollars in my bank account now!”
Is he serious? Larry is more than any amount of money. I don’t do this work for the money or fame.
I laugh. “This is a joke, right? Larry isn’t a source of money. He was created to help people learn about the domestication of dinosaurs.”
“Oh, shut up. You can’t believe that. I see how you look at me when I talk about the millions of dollars we’re getting.”
“I look at you like that because I love you. I love or I thought I loved your vision and passion for Larry. You wanted to change the world.”
I’m having a panic attack. I can’t believe him. I fell in love with his drive and enthusiasm. He was faking the entire time. How could I be this naive?
He grabs my hand and pulls me out of the room. “Take me to him. Now. I want to make sure everything is working. I have to write a report in the morning.”
I feel powerless.
No woman is ever taken seriously in science.
I never thought I’d be betrayed.
Cheated on.
I need to do something.
We approach Larry whose teeth are snarling. He doesn’t see Andre enough to be comfortable around him. That makes two of us.
I devise a plan. I tell Andre to get under Larry and look at his skin. His skin is nearly iridescent and the texture of leather.
I tell Larry, “Sit.”
He complies and Andre is squashed by his weight. Since Larry is only six months old, he doesn’t kill him. Nonetheless there’s definitely going to be some permanent damage.
I know this seems insensitive. I mean, he could’ve died. He hasn’t, though, so I’m not a monster. Anyone would do this in my position. He cheated on me and is stealing money.
A switch has gone off. He’ll never be able to come back to me. I’m done.
He can scream for as long as he wants. He’s not my responsibility anymore. I promise I’m not leaving him alone, there’s a medical team to take care of Andre.
I actually feel free. I know I have a lot of healing and growing to do. The life I’ve always wanted is finally beginning. I get to do anything I want. It’s me and Larry versus the world.
This must be the place.
