Part 10: Eucalyptus Pie

The three former coworkers set their things down on the floor. Marcus immediately collapsed on the bed, as Wing Guy bolted towards the shower. The panda was hopped up on painkillers from the hospital and bandaged up. He moved slowly, being careful not to tear one of his fifty-eight stitches.

Oliver sat on the floor, processing everything that had unfolded in the past day. His head was killing him as well, and he felt like he couldn’t think straight whatsoever. It all felt like a weird fever dream, like time zoned in and out, and any minute now he’d wake up in his bed covered in sweat, to the clock reminding him to drink his medicine, but that minute never came. He was just happy to be alive.

Oliver glanced over at Marcus, speaking in a weary voice. “He keeps talking about getting his finger regenerated.”

“Yeah?” Marcus replied.

“…He knows we can’t really do that here, right?” Marcus let out a tired chuckle.

“I kinda figured.” A brief silence followed. Oliver stood up.

“I’ve got to go make some calls.”

“Yeah, I should probably text Zixuan. Tell him I’m not… y’know… dead. Hope he’s not too pissed about all this considering I pay half the rent.”

The koala opened the door, stepping outside as the hot, Sydney sun cooled with the evening. Tomorrow was supposed to be brutal. He’d just started to get used to Mobius’ days, which was kept at a nice cool twenty-one degrees celsius at all times, except for certain days where a heat wave or snow day was commercially viable.

It was just sinking in how much he’d been forced to leave behind. Mobius was his golden ticket, he’d sacrificed so much to get there. He’d risked his life so many times as a pizza delivery driver, and all to wind up right back where he started. All for this. He clutched the wooden box in his pocket, running his finger over the scratch in the wood, having felt like a failure. He sighed, sitting on the little, wooden steps as he unlocked his phone to make a few calls.

After several minutes, Oliver walked back in. The wing guy sat on his bed, as the beebo hopped up with him and curled up next to him, like it was his pet and not some wild animal he’d found. He looked better already, now that he’d gotten cleaned up and had some food in his system. The wing guy smiled, spreading out and bouncing on the mattress. It was the first time he’d seen anything but the floor of a giant animal cage in nearly two weeks.

“Mum’s able to put us up for a bit. Figured we could leave early tomorrow morning.”

“Sweet.” Marcus’ voice emanated from the pillow. Oliver draped the blanket over the floor and curled up. Marcus groggily looked over. “What’re you doing, man?” Oliver glanced up at him.

“We agreed you two would get the two beds.”

“BS, we said the wing guy gets his own bed. Come on up.” He inched over, leaving a large, Marcus shaped indentation in the mattress. Oliver looked hesitantly at the bed. His ears grew hot as Marcus jokingly flashed him a suggestive grin. “The water’s fine.”

“I- er, you need the space, mate.”

“You’re not sleeping on the floor, man.” Oliver relented, climbing up onto the bed and getting in. The panda chuckled. “Watch, the kid’s probably gonna have a nightmare and ask to sleep in our bed.” Oliver started laughing as the wing guy flipped them off before curling up to go to sleep.

“If you roll over and smother me to death, I’ll come back and haunt you.”

“Yeah yeah. Night, stepstool.” Marcus plugged his phone into the wall with a grunt and turned off the light.

The following day was a slog. The trio piled into the rental car at the crack of dawn, as they embarked on the grueling thirteen hour drive from Sydney to Maryborough. Oliver frequently glanced behind them as they drove, paranoid that something was going to start chasing after them again. He was so focused at one point that he blew through a red light. The car’s horn blared as he slammed on the brakes, nearly getting T-boned. Oliver braced, expecting to be shot at, before coming back to reality. He waved apologetically at the glaring driver.

“Sorry.”

“Nice.” Wing guy scoffed. The small, furry creature in the back squeaked and stirred. “Hey, can we stop somewhere?” Marcus turned around and looked at the kid.

“We’ve been on the road for like twenty minutes. You can’t wait?”

“I’m hungry.”

“Eat the snacks!”

“I think Naruto’s also about to take a dump.”

“Naruto?” Marcus raised his eyebrows with disbelief.

“Yeah.” Marcus sighed and shook his head. The bickering made Oliver’s already aching head throb.

“It’s fine, I’ll stop at the servo and get him some brekkie.” Marcus laughed.

“What does that even mean, man?” Oliver glanced at the rear view mirror at Naruto frantically pacing back and forth, searching for the perfect spot in the back seat of the rental car to destroy, and the wing guy popping a large whitehead on his cheek and wiping his fingers on the fussing beebo’s soft, white fur.

“‘Means it’s gonna be a long drive up.” Oliver mumbled.

As Oliver drove, the roads began to blend together over the course of the day. The paracetamol began to kick in, as his persistent headache began to ease up. Realistically, Oliver didn’t feel safe to drive for this entire trip with this worsening concussion, but the car was already fitted to accommodate his small legs, and he figured he might as well just suck it up and do it.

The intense sun shone in through the car windows, beating down on the vehicle. The three initially tried making conversation to keep themselves busy. When the conversations would trail off, Marcus and the wing guy stayed busy on their phones as Oliver drove. When their phones died, they would try and fail to take a nap in the car seats, jolted awake by sudden movements in the car and/or random aches and pains from their recovering injuries, or the need to pull over and pee. Oliver eventually pulled off onto the side of the road and put on some podcasts, and when those ended, he put on a playlist he’d been adding to for years.

He couldn’t help but let his mind wander the entire drive down, deep in silent thought about… well, about everything. On one hand, it wrecked him to have to leave Mobius, and he couldn’t imagine what Marcus and the wing guy were feeling right now. As it sunk in, he could tell the two were coping with the situation in their various ways. On the other hand… all he wanted to do was go home as well. He felt bad, like it was selfish of him, despite them not having much of a choice in the matter. He was just thankful that, for the time being, he was able to make arrangements.

Despite the situation, he grew excited at the thought of seeing those he’d left behind when he moved to Mobius. He’d get to see Iris, not through a screen with a delay but in the flesh, hugging her and feeling her warmth. He’d get to catch up with his mum before the holidays. Where one door closed, perhaps another would open. He held onto these silver linings as he drove through New South Wales and into Queensland, growing closer and closer to home by the hour.

Eventually, as the day grew old, and after many, many stops, he got off at the exit, the anticipation in his stomach growing. The warm, sepia and red columns of the rows of colonial-looking buildings passed them by as the car slowed down through the rush hour streets. The car passed by the Mary Poppins statue, which stood outside the Story Bank museum, whose doors had closed for the day. Oliver switched off the GPS. He knew the way home from here.

If this were Mobius, it would’ve been quicker to turn around and drive in the opposite direction rather than drive that long, given that the hub was shaped like a giant loop. It was funny. Oliver realized that, in the time it took to travel across the continent, he could’ve warped back and forth across the sprawling and infinite multiverse and visited so many different universes by now. A few months in Mobius had completely screwed up his perception of distance, time, and effort.

Oliver took a left turn into his old neighborhood, as rows of green trees and bungalows passed him, as he pulled up in front of his old house. It stood where it always had in the balmy heat, the familiar cars in the driveway. Oliver sighed through his nose, a mix of comfort and wistfulness in his small, brown eyes. They grabbed their plastic bags full of clothes and toiletries, which they had picked up at a store about 15 minutes away.

One by one, they got out of the car and stretched, their joints cracking and popping, as Marcus groaned, careful not to tear a stitch or pull an already sore muscle. The top heavy bear bent at an awkward position, trying not to tumble over, as Naruto sniffed the ground for the perfect spot to mark its territory in this fresh new land, and Wing Guy yawned. Marcus looked the beige, one-story house up and down.

“This is the place, huh?”

“Yeah.” Oliver began to lead them up the driveway.

“It’s nice.” It surely wasn’t on par with the gaudy, futuristic architecture and crammed apartments of Mobius, but it was a nice change of pace, to say the least. As Oliver went to open the door, the knob turned, as the door opened, as another koala stood in the doorway.

“There he is!” She stepped outside and hugged Oliver, who hugged her back.

“Hey, mum. Missed you lots.” They gripped each other, as she nuzzled the top of his head.

“You always squirm away when I try to hug you.”

“I can’t help it.” She rolled her eyes, as she turned towards Marcus and the wing guy.

“These must be your friends.” She smiled, waving somewhat awkwardly, as she looked up at Marcus. She looked just like an older, female Oliver. “God, you’re a tall one.”

“This here’s Marcus and… er… him.” Oliver gestured towards the duo

“It’s a, uhh, pleasure to meet you, Mrs. H.” Marcus smiled his trademark grin, as the wing guy stood idly, looking around.

“Oh, please, call me Candace.” She eyed the white creature, sniffing the steps. “What’ve you got there? Looks almost like a possum.”

“That’s, er… that’s Naruto. He’s a beebo. He’s… he’s shy.”

“He’s so bloody cute. Hi. Never seen one of you before.” She bent down as it took a few steps back, arching in a defensive position. She took the hint and gave it some space. “Sorry.”

“Don’t worry mum, he’ll be wearing a nappy and on a leash.” Oliver looked at the wing guy intensely, who barely even registered him in turn. He didn’t care if he got bit, or scratched, or inked. If this actual wild animal was going to be staying with them, Oliver would make damn sure it wasn’t wrecking his mum’s house.

“Come on in! Sit down. You all must be tired from the drive. I can’t wait to hear all about Mobius.” As they all filed in though the doorway, suddenly they heard a thud, undoubtedly from someone very small doing a prat fall in the other room. “Sounds like someone’s very excited to see you, Ollie.”

Before Oliver could even get his bearings, the energetic little quokka ran into the room and jumped on Oliver, nearly tackling him with a hug and giggling.

“Ollie’s hooome!!!”

“Oy, Brett!” He pried the child off of him, who stood at not even half a meter. “Look how much you’ve grown! Last I saw you, you were up to here!” Oliver put his hand up to his foster brother’s shoulder.

“No, I was up to here!” He reached his tiny paw way above his head.

“So what, you’ve shrunk? You’re an old bloke!” The child giggled, looking at the Marcus. He ran towards the big, goofy panda as Candace grabbed him by the scruff in the nick of time.

“Woah, hey bud!”

“Easy, Brett. Look at me. We’re not gonna tackle our new friends.” Brett looked down.

“Okay.” The towering wing guy looked down at the little creature, exhaling a half-chuckle through his nose at the rambunctious marsupial. Just as quickly as he entered, the quokka bounced out of the room with another audible thud.

“Sorry. He’s a handful, that one.”

“It’s fine, people try to tackle me all the time.” He chuckled as she went to the fridge, opening up a can of sparkling water, preemptively grabbing one for Oliver. She’d gotten hooked on the damn things after she cut out soda.

“Want one?” The panda sat down.

“Sure, I’ll have one.” The wing guy shook his head, as she passed the small, chilly can over to Marcus. He took a sip, as his face scrunched up with a forced smile at the sensation. “Thanks again for putting us up. Jeez, I, uh, I really can’t thank you enough.”

“Oh, don’t mention it. I’m happy to help out. Any friend of Oliver is a friend of ours.” Marcus flashed a sheepish grin, gesturing to the wing guy.

“Heh, I can’t speak for this guy, but I promise I’m not a serial killer or anything.”

“Sounds like something a killer would say,” Oliver replied. He paused for a moment. “Where’s Mabel?”

“Oh, she’s in her room.” Candace sat down in the chair, her smile warm and inviting. “Make yourselves at home. I’ve got some fresh eucalyptus in the fridge. Your rooms are all set up.”

Oliver helped get the pair set up in the guest bedroom before putting his stuff down, as he passed by Mabel’s room. She poked her head out and waved at them.

“Hey.” The voices of her online group chat echoed from her room. Oliver walked over and gave her a quick side hug.

“Good to see you,” he said in a quiet tone, as she shut the door, leaving it open a creak. The beebo curiously sniffed around, overwhelmed by its new surroundings. It would likely take a while for him to get his surroundings. Marcus and the wing guy set down their stuff, as Marcus laid on the bed, grunting in pain. The wing guy sat down on the air mattress that Candace had blown up for him.

“So this is Australia… well, your Australia. Pretty cool as far as Australias go.” Oliver smiled.

“Well, it’s not much compared to Mobius, but it’s home.”

“Don’t be mad, man, but I almost stepped on your brother on the way in.” Marcus chuckled.

“Oh, Brett’s always underfoot. We’re trying to get better about it.”

Oliver went and sat his stuff down in his old room. It had only been a few months, but his room waited for him, like an old friend, just the way he’d left it. He sat down on his small, cozy, twin bed, taking a deep breath. Back to square one. 

He gently set the little, wooden box on the nightstand, before setting up his things. He was beat from being on the road all day, as he scrolled through his phone. Oliver realized he should probably check and see if someone messaged the professor about their situation. He hoped Professor Pizza could forgive him for ditching him. Hopefully the enforcers hadn’t done anything to him because of their actions- after all, they were all his employees. The thought of just leaving him to run Professor Pizza’s Pizzas all alone weighed on Oliver’s heart. Another bridge burnt. Another ‘friend’ lost. There was a gentle knock at Oliver’s door. It creaked open, as Candace stepped in. She smiled at Oliver in the doorway.

“I’ve missed you.” She looked up and down at the koala. “You look like you’ve lost some weight.”

“Maybe a little.” The constant physical activity of delivering pizzas mixed with the synthetic diet he’d been living on probably caused him to drop a kilo or two. The sound of Brett playing with something in the other room echoed throughout the hallway.

“How’s Mobius been treating you?” She looked at him with a mix of interest, joy, and concern in her eyes.

“It’s… heh, it’s a lot.” She sat down on the bed.

“I can imagine. Gosh, I was looking into it after you left, this place is fascinating!” She pulled out her phone and zoomed in on a picture of the levitating twin temples in the sky, with the faint Lotus Tower in the background. “It’s so beautiful.” Oliver had once thought the same, but now all he saw was the reminder. All he thought about was the very real cost it took to build such a city.

“Thanks again for letting us stay here… It’s only for a little bit, until we can find somewhere else and figure things out-”

“You don’t have to thank me, it’s your home. You’re always welcome here anytime.”

“Sorry. Still.” Candace glanced over towards the other room.

“You said you three worked together?” Oliver thought for a moment.

“Yeah, they worked with me over at Professor Pizza’s.” Oliver’s ears lowered. “There was a bit of an incident on the job, and er, Marcus got hurt pretty bad, long story short all of us got fired, and kicked out of our apartment…”

“My goodness.”

“Yeah, it was great but it was kinda just… one thing after another.” Oliver felt horrible lying to his own mother, but what was he supposed to do? Tell her that they were wanted criminals running for their lives, that one of them got kidnapped, and that they’d very nearly gotten killed trying to rescue him? What good would that do? Why put her through all of that stress?

“I know what you mean. It’s frustrating picking up all the pieces.” Oliver said nothing. She smiled. “You’re young. Not that there’s a good time for this sort of thing, but now’s the time to do it. You’ll bounce back.”

“Heh, er, I guess you’re right. I don’t know.” Oliver closed up, yet his eyes spoke for him.

“For now, just relax and make yourself at home.” Her round face beamed at Oliver with pride and warmth, who gave her a weary smile in return.

“Thanks. Dining room looks nice by the way.”

“You like it? I took a couple of days off and painted and did the tiling not long after you left, moved some things around. Royal pain that was, but it turned out nice.”

Oliver hadn’t fully realized how long he’d been gone, how much the time had flown by him since before he’d even left, but the more he looked around, the more little things such as the dining room stuck out to remind him. He’d never noticed just how much gray his mum had in her mousy hair. She looked… older. Not to mention Brett was growing like a weed.

Suddenly, their ears both stood up as there was a knock at the front door.

“You’re quite the popular lad tonight. Sounds like someone’s here to see you.” Oliver made his way to the front door as he reached up and opened up the door, as a tall, excited kangaroo stood in the doorway.

“Babe!” She excitedly picked up Oliver off the ground and hugged him, squealing with excitement. Her “I missed you so much!”

“Iris!” The koala hadn’t expected to get to see her tonight. He was going to surprise her at work tomorrow morning, but someone must’ve let slip that he was home. Still, he was absolutely thrilled to see her. He nuzzled her cheek, as her soft hair brushed up against his face. Her purple, wavy hair had been dyed a burgundy red.

“Ooh, I love the red.”

“Thanks, just got it done!” She flipped it over her shoulder, smiling with excitement. She giggled to herself. “You’re back!”

“What about my back?” He looked over his shoulder as Iris did a fake vomiting motion in the doorway.

“Awful. Bloody awful.” She stepped in, waving at Oliver’s mum. “Oy, Candace.”

“Hi, love!” Iris hopped into the hallway, taking off her giant tennis shoes.

“So, how’s things out in ‘Singapore times fifty’?” Oliver sighed.

“It’s a long story.”

“Yeah?” Her and Oliver went to the living room, where he sat on the couch. She plopped down in the recliner, stretching. She sniffed the air. “Do I smell popcorn?” She sniffed the air and found a white strand of fur on the rug.

“Yeah, I’ve brought some friends with me. They’re both pretty knackered, though. I think they’re both done for the night.”

“Ah, bummer. I can’t wait to meet them!” Oliver reached into his bag, as his expression fell. Right. The gift he’d picked up for her and had been waiting to give her had gotten left behind. It wasn’t anything too special; just a magnet which read I Went to Dimension 94G-917τ And All I Got Was This Stupid Magnet, but he knew she would’ve gotten a kick out of it. Probably. It was most likely confiscated at this point, along with the rest of his things.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.” They sat across the room from each other, with only a coffee table now standing between them.

“Anything new with the whole world-hopping gig?”

“It’s done with. Again, long story.”

“Ah. Gotcha.” The kangaroo’s gaze shifted down. She picked up on his signal and decided not to keep pressing. There was actually so much he wanted to catch her up on, and so much she wanted to know, but he didn’t bother going into too much detail. He figured it was easiest for both of them that way. Her large ears fell. “Nadine’s boyfriend didn’t make it.”

“Huh?” Oliver didn’t know what she was talking about.

“Remember? Mad cow disease. I told you a while back.”

“Oh, right. I’m sorry to hear that.” He barely knew Nadine, and had never even met her boyfriend, but it was still unfortunate.

“Yeah, they just did a thing for him.” A brief pause ensued. “On a lighter note, I saw someone at work.” Oliver chuckled to himself. She had a habit of throwing out “fishing lines”, as his mum once called them; little attention-grabbers meant to get you started in a convo. ‘Rough day’, ‘Nadine’s boyfriend didn’t make it’, ‘I saw someone at work’, etc.

“Who’s that?”

“Jeremy. Remember him, the DJ? Kangaroo? Marcie’s friend?”

“Oh. Yeah. That’s crazy.” Oliver never liked that guy, he couldn’t explain it. Just came across as a jerk.

“He’s doing a live set next week if you want to go see him, he’s got a new mix he’s been putting together.

“Eh, I’ll have to see...” Iris rolled her eyes.

“Look at you puffing up your chest.” She giggled.

“I’m not puffing up my chest.”

“Whatever you say, mate.” She gave him a teasing glance as he flicked his ear in annoyance. “Speaking of live shows, it’s only a few days away!”

“What’s th- oh right! Hervey Bay!” Oliver had forgotten about the concert in all of the ensuing chaos. His face lightened up. “And I get to actually hear it!”

“Oh my gosh, you’re right! You’ll get to see me perform!”

“I’d love it, babe!” Iris excitedly bounced in her chair as Oliver perked up. Never did he think he’d be able to actually make it. “Trust me, you’re gonna do fantastic.”

“Thanks. She looked down nervously and softly chuckled. Suddenly, a door down the hall opened, as a large, familiar figure lumbered in.

“Hey man, I can’t find the- oh, hey!”

“Hi there!” Iris got up. “You must be Marcus, Ollie’s told me a bit about you!”

“All bad things, probably.”

“I mean, I wasn’t gonna be the one to say it.” Marcus chuckled. Oliver got up.

“Marcus, this is my girlfriend, Iris. Iris, this is Marcus, obviously.” Marcus gently shook her hand with his giant paw.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Pleasure.”

“Dude, I didn’t know you had a girlfriend.” Iris glanced over at the koala, slightly surprised.

“Oh, he doesn’t talk about me because he hates me.”

“I swear I’ve told you about her.” Regardless, the two fed off of each other’s energy as they spoke. Oliver knew they would get along well, what with Marcus’ carefree personality and Iris’ love of fun.

Their conversation was cut short by Iris’ buzzing phone. “Ope, hang on. I’ve got to take this. Sorry babe.” She mouthed the word ‘Nadine’ before she quickly turned to Marcus. “Nice meeting you!” The perky roo swiped her phone screen and walked into the other room to take the call, as her tone shifted slightly.

The panda glanced back at her as she bounced away, looking her up and down, before looking back at Oliver with a grin.

“Dang, dude.” Marcus patted Oliver on the back and went back to bed, as the koala’s chest started to puff up again.

“What’s with all the framed pictures of spoons?”

Oliver sat curled up on the couch with Iris, as the movie played in the background.

“Huh? Oh yeah. That’s bloody weird.” Their hobby, which Iris had gotten him into, had long been finding various so-bad-they’re-good films and watching the disaster unfold together. They called it Dud Night. Oliver took his usual spot as the little spoon, given his size, as Marcus and the wing guy sat in chairs, watching on. The wing guy glanced up from time to time, getting very into the film, as Marcus crunched a stick of bamboo. Naruto stirred and chewed on the uncomfortable diaper which had been shackled onto him. Iris snorted as the main character, played by the low budget film’s lead actor-writer-director-producer, delivered a garbled and stilted line.

“Oh gosh, the dialogue. It hurts.”

“It’s like an alien who’s never been around anyone from Earth tried to write a movie about how people from Earth act.”

“Oh come on, man, there’s no way a guy wearing that many belts at once can be an alien.” Marcus pointed at the screen as it cut back to him. Oliver glanced over at the panda.

“You’re right, he’s probably on something.”

“He probably needs to be on something,” the wing guy chimed in, sipping from the 2-liter of coke he’d bought entirely for himself.

Oliver couldn’t help but smile. This was the first Dud Night in ages. Once upon a time, it felt like him and Iris would hang out and do Dud Night every week. Sure, he’d brought some new friends along, but it was just like old times. Even before he left, he felt like he got to spend less and less time with Iris. The late shifts, the loads of laundry to do, the ‘I’m going to beds’, they seemed like they were more and more these days. Life had a funny way of getting in the way sometimes.

“You know there’s this great film with this rubber tire with psychic powers that rolls around the desert and explodes people’s heads,” Marcus chimed in. “Oh, and there’s this other one from Dimension 88R-333η with this pair of twins-”

“Oh the really awful one with the government hacker guy, and the weird stone thingy?”

“No, but the same guy! Iris, you’d love it too! Trust me. We gotta get you a hub box, dude, so you can stream across parallel universes.”

“Imagine how many awful films there are in the multiverse, it’s gotta be infinite-”

“Hang on babe, I wanna hear this.” Iris paused the movie, rewinding it backwards about fifteen seconds too far. Oliver glanced over his shoulder.

“Really? This?”

“I mean yeah, I still wanna watch it.”

“Sorry.” The oven timer beeped from the other room, as Oliver got up and climbed down from the couch. “Hang on, I’ve got to take it out to cool. Keep playing, I’ll be right there.”

As Oliver passed by the dining room, Candace sat with Uncle Dave.

“…and so they’re doing a follow-up to see if they’ve got to take the leg. I told them they’re gonna hold off as long as bloody possible.” The large koala fiddled with his metal cane as he sat in the chair.

“I mean, if it’s what they’ve got to do…”

“They always say it’s just the follow up, then it’s one thing, then another, then some procedure you don’t need, then some new medication…,”the stubborn old koala grumbled.

Candace poked her head out into the kitchen. “Need any help?”

“I’ve got it, thanks.” He opened up the oven as he slid dinner out and put it on the rack. Uncle Dave leaned in his chair towards the kitchen.

“Your mum told me last time I saw ‘er you’ve got that delivery job, how’s that going?” Oliver slid off the oven mitts.

“Had. It, hm… it didn’t work out. I got fired.”

“Good on ya, mate.” He took a sip from his icy glass. “That’s a bummer, sorry to hear it.”

“Heh, thanks. Dinner’ll be ready in five.” Uncle Dave scooted his chair closer to the doorway.

“You’ve got a degree, haven’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“International studies,” Candace added.

“‘Sure there’s something you could do with that. You’ll figure it out. You’re a smart kid. You’ve got potential.”

“Thanks.” Oliver looked down at the cream-colored tiles on the floor. A small knot formed in his stomach. Sometimes it felt like that was all he’d ever amount to. Having had potential. Dave continued.

“There’s also always the mines. Spent years down there with your old man. I could put in a good word for you. Hard yakka, let me tell you, but it’s honest work and it pays well.” He raised his eyebrows from the other room.

“…I’ll definitely think about it.” Dave smiled. As much as Oliver appreciated it, he didn’t think the mines were for him. Strength was not his strong suit, heck he could barely lift a standard pickaxe, he’d never had much in terms of endurance, and he’d seen his dad come home after many long and stressful days, completely worn out.

“Babe, you just missed a gem!” Iris yelled from the other room.

“Better go mate, the wife’s callin’ you.” Oliver hurried off to the other room, nearly forgetting to turn off the oven.

Everyone sat around the wooden dining room table in anticipation, as Oliver sat the two sizzling pizzas onto the table. His family looked at it in confusion.

“I know it’s no eucalyptus salad, but I figured I’d try something different, I think you’re all gonna enjoy this.” Mabel looked at the pizza in confusion.

“What even is it?”

“It’s pizza.” He gestured to the greenish-looking one. “The professor taught me how to make a pizza that’s entirely eucalyptus-based. Took a bit of toying around with the recipe.” He gestured to the other one. “This one’s just a regular cheese pizza, for those who can’t have eucalyptus-”

Uncle Dave blinked. “Is it human food?” Candace looked down.

“It’s not on the branch.”

“I know it’s not on the branch, but just trust me.” Oliver grabbed a green slice and took a bite. The potent, woody flavor of the eucalyptus clashed with the greasiness and the crispy crust of the dough. It was… interesting. Marcus and the wing guy each grabbed a slice of the traditional pizza. Brett looked at the pie with curiosity.

“That place finally turned you mad,” Iris said jokingly. “Never thought I’d see the day.” She hesitantly grabbed a slice of pizza. Candace looked down, attempting to figure out how to put it lightly.

“Honey, we’re koalas. We can’t eat this.”

“I thought so too, but everything is eucalyptus-based. The sauce, the crust, the ‘cheese’…”

“Mate, how’s it eucalyptus if it isn’t even on the branch? This just looks like human food,” Uncle Dave asked. Oliver rubbed his temples.

“I mean, you take the eucalyptus off the branch, for one,” Marcus said, as he ate a slice, knowing it wasn’t gonna agree with him later. “Then you, like, process it-”

“Process it?” Dave laughed in his chair, as Marcus concealed his agitation as best as he could.

“It’s not bad,” Iris said as she grazed at the slice. Mabel took a photo of the pizza, which Oliver knew she was sending to her online friends to take the piss out of him. Candace looked at her son with concern as he took another slice, too far in to swallow his pride.

“Ollie, I don’t think anyone else is going to eat that. We’re literally not made to eat pizza, it’s not even on the branch.” Oliver felt a twinge of annoyance as he silently bit into the salty pizza.

“Yeah, I was gonna make some wings, but, then I, uh, didn’t,” Wing Guy said, with a mouthful of pizza.

“Here, I’ve got some brush in the fridge for us to graze on. Sorry, Ollie.” Candace got up and went to the fridge.

“I thought it was pretty good,” Marcus said, as he and Wing Guy finished off the remaining non-eucalyptus pizza.

“Mate, you don’t have to eat it.”

“Seriously, I like it.”

“Think I’ll order us some Indian.” Dave said with a teasing smirk. He went on his phone as Oliver sunk in his chair. Iris cracked up.

“Throw in an order of chicken makhani for me, will you Dave?”

“Herbivore special, got it.” Marcus got up and walked away from the table without saying a word. Dave turned to Mabel and began asking the young computer engineering major about her studies, and all the online classes she was in, as Iris playfully nudged her boyfriend.

“We’re just teasing you, babe. You know we’ve got to.” Oliver let out a forced chuckle.

“What did you think of it, really?” Iris glanced at the half-eaten slice.

“Honestly? Wasn’t a fan, but glad I tried it.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t. This was… fun.” Iris grinned, as Candace trimmed the eucalyptus branches at the counter. Oliver got up and started helping clear the table. She stood up to help.

“I’ve got it, thanks.”

As the evening grew late, Dave grabbed a branch to go.

“I’ve got to get going, or Linda’ll kill me.”

“Tell her we all said hi,” Candace said.

“She would’ve loved to come. Says she’s sorry she couldn’t make it.” Uncle Dave hobbled over to Oliver.

“Fun as always, lad. Good luck with the job.”

“Thanks.” He grabbed Oliver’s paw in a handshake, pulling him in for a hug.

“Oh yeah, Ollie,” Candace called from the other room as Dave made the rounds, “I spoke to Kris recently. Her and Richard both say hello.” Oliver smiled, as a familiar knot formed in his stomach.

“I say hi back.”

“I guess she just got back from Toronto, something to do with work. She asked how you were doing.”

“Nice.” A sense of happiness and guilt swept through him in tandem. He hoped she wasn’t mad about last time. The large kangaroo hopped over and knelt down beside the koala, her hair brushing up against the fur on his cheek.

“I better take off too, I’ve got that gig I told you about tomorrow.”

“Right.” Oliver shook it off. “You don’t want to stay and watch the rest of the movie?”

“You know I’ve got to rehearse.” She stroked his face as they nuzzled each other’s noses, standing in the hallway.

“Seriously, I’m stoked you could make it.”

“Me too.” They silently stood there, embracing each other. He didn’t think he was actually going to be able to show up. It was almost unreal, being here in the moment and seeing the woman he loved in the flesh again, looking deep into the root beer-colored eyes he thought about so much. “Get some sleep.”

“No.”

“I’m serious, you’re not a possum.”

“Wow, rude. Maybe stay up past nine with me for once, you old lady.”

“And I’m the rude one. Figures.” He nuzzled her again, quickly, as she stood up and hopped out of the door. “Text me when you get home,” he called after her. She probably wouldn’t, as he knew she was a notoriously bad texter, but it brought him comfort knowing she got home alright. Oliver made his way to the living room and climbed up onto the couch with Marcus.

“Should I press play?”

“I’d rather wait for Iris to get back, if that’s alright.”

“Sure thing, dude.” The wing guy sat in the recliner, making a whip sound with his mouth, as Naruto gnawed at a piece of crust on the ground. Oliver rolled his eyes. As Marcus closed out of the movie and searched for something else to watch, the wing guy adjusted his posture in the chair and wiped pizza sauce off his face with his sleeve.

“This place is actually pretty cool.”

“Thanks.” Oliver glanced over towards him, being swallowed by the couch.

“Sometimes I wish my family was awesome like yours.”

“I’ve got to tell them you think they’re ‘awesome’,” he said, grinning. Even though Oliver was still feeling a little down over dinner, he felt a peace inside of him as he heard his mum and Mabel talking in the other room, and the sound of a familiar prat fall in the distance. Plus, it was a relief to see the color finally return to the human’s face, to watch him eat a full meal and finally be able to relax for a few days and not be crammed into a cage and tortured.

“Your sister seems chill. She always hide in her room?

“Yeah, she plays a lot of games and such online and is always busy with uni. She’s pretty quiet until you get her talking about one of her hobbies, then you can’t get her to shut up.” Oliver chuckled. Brett ran into the living room, as he crashed a toy fighter jet into the coffee table. Oliver had an idea.

“Oy Brett, hang on a second.” Oliver got up and ran to the fridge. Brett looked at Marcus and the Wing Guy, bouncing up and down.

“I’m Mr. Chanoopi! I fly the plane!”

Marcus turned around and curiously grinned at the youngster.

“Who’s Mr. Chanoopi?”

“No idea, it’s just something he says.” Oliver walked back into the living room with a torn-off bite of eucalyptus pizza, which he handed to the tiny quokka. He lowered his voice. “Try it. Tell me what you think.” Brett looked up, as Oliver nodded with confirmation. He nibbled on the bite of pizza with his large teeth. “You like it, bud?”

“It’s good.” He ran off with his toy plane, as Oliver sat back, satisfied. Marcus searched through the browser for a good few minutes, before clicking on another gem.

“Hey, how about Cop Samurai?”

“Sure.”