Alfonzo arrived. He picked Vivi out from the crowd right away. He was surprised by the atmosphere. There were a few cats and dogs, a couple of beavers, a deer chatting with a turkey, and an osprey in a baseball hat sitting alone with a newspaper and a beer. There was also the elephant beside Vivi. As he made his way through the long room, he passed a circle of seals and sea lions curled around a table in one of the dim recesses. Alfonzo didn’t stare, but he did steal a few glances. The sea creatures were so large and sleek. They almost disappeared into the dark, but then the light would catch on their oiled fur. Was it fur? Alfonzo wasn’t sure. He felt both puffy and bony in comparison to their aerodynamic contours. He rarely, if ever, saw seals.

The bar’s decoration was a mix of seafaring golden age, rock-and-roll detritus, and locals-only kitsch. Dark gnarled wood walls curved around like a cave, a burrow, or some seaside-dwelling-creature’s den. Dust coated rope knots, anchors decorated the walls, and the smell of smoke hung ownerless in the air. Tiny stained-glass windows more symbolic than functional sparkled in the walls. Glass fixtures cast weak yellow circles of light on the tables.

By the time he got to Vivi’s table, the elephant had joined the seals and sea lions. He didn’t mention her.

Vivi’s eyelashes were even longer than he remembered.

“It’s you,” he said.

They nuzzled politely. He was careful not to linger.

He’d wanted to tell her so many things, but what came out of his mouth was “So an animal walked into a bar—”

“Alfonzo!”

“And he stayed there my entire childhood.”

Vivi sighed, but he could tell she still thought he was funny.

Alfonzo told her the story of everything up to the present: his sad father, school and the dissertation, the basement, Vinograd, the cats and their wall holes, the mayor and his pipes, Mitchell and his plot.

She nodded. It made more sense to her than to him. The more angst-ridden Alfonzo became, the more she relaxed. He felt shame and relief. Which was the right way to go? he asked. How could he manage? What should he do?

“It’s going to be okay,” Vivi hummed.

“How do you know?” Alfonzo asked. “I mean, do you?”

“How could I?”

“Tell me what’s happened to you,” Alfonzo pleaded.