Undone at the Seams

“Pass me that eyeball.” 

“No, the one on your left, the hazel ones not the green ones.” 

“I don’t know. Do you really want the creature to look identical to Perry?” 

“What’s the point of defying the laws of nature if we’re not getting the real deal back?” 

“If it were the real deal–here’s your goddamn eye, Roger–why are we using the torso of a random man we found in the river last week, the arms of a recently deceased Leonard from next door, and the legs–ugh, I don’t even want to talk about the legs. The only thing this monster shares with Perry is his face–and one of his eyes.” 

“You could’ve said no when I asked you to help me. I wouldn’t have held it against you.” 

“God, Roger, you think I don’t miss him too?”

“I never said you didn’t. Now help me sew these legs to the torso.” 

“It’s just–do you think he’d want this?” 

“You’re saying this, yet you’re helping me.” 

“Well, if you did it by your lonesome, the cross-stitching would be atrocious. This thing wouldn’t be able to take its first steps without being a pile of corpse parts and unspooling thread.”

“It’s not my fault I got into chemistry rather than sewing like you and Perry did.” 

“He had the steadiest hand I ever knew. He’s the one who taught me what I know.”

“Heh. That’s sweet. It makes you think Perry was preparing you for this day.” 

“You think Perry knew he was going to get flattened by a lorry?”

“Don’t look at me like that! I was trying to be nice.” 

“You were being morbid. Perry didn’t teach me to sew so I could stitch him back together using pieces of corpses you looted from.”

“It’s funny. Perry’s body was squished to hell. It was all infected and gross…Terry couldn’t even look at him for long without ralphing. Yet…his face was strangely okay. It made me feel like I was still looking at him, but this time, it was me who was the big brother, and he was tiny and small, looking up at me, awaiting my help.” 

“Do you remember a lot from when you were small? Perry basically raised you.” 

“Of course I remember that. Why the fuck do you think I’m doing this? Do you think I like defying the laws of nature! Do you think I’m just a sick fuck–I miss my fucking brother, Caroline!” 

“How do you think I feel, Roger! He was my brother too! It was the two of us for nearly seven years before Dad remarried, and suddenly you were in the picture, and Dad and our Stepmom couldn’t be bothered. Perry was there for me, all those years. He was there for me until you took him away. He spent so much time looking after you that our weekly sewing lessons became monthly. Then once every three months. Then once every six. I got less and less time the more you grew up and demanded more and more. He was taking you to science fairs, carting you everywhere and anywhere so you could go to your gifted kid programs–

“They were scholarship programs for kids gifted in the STEM field! Was I supposed to just not go so you could sew with Perry! At least you had other people besides Perry! You were popular, every kid in the neighborhood liked you. He was the only one I ever had. He was the only person who didn’t make me feel like a fucking freak for liking the things I did. He never thought my ideas or my experiments were strange…he just…he wanted me to be happy. And I was. As long as he was there.” 

“I was there too.”

“Barely. You hate me. The only reason you even agreed to this was because you love Perry. And so do I. And that’s all we ever were to each other. Two people who loved their brother.”

“I went to your science fairs too, Roger. Don’t you remember? I was there when your study on postmortem heart activity among frogs won an honorable mention. I sewed you–” 

“A plush frog. I remember. I…I named him Gregor.” 

“After the pea-plant guy, right?”

“Yes.”

“Roger, I know we never talked as much as we should’ve when we were younger. I just…I was jealous of you. You had all these great things and Perry bragged about you…and who am I? I’m just the middle kid. The sister who has friends, but nothing of her own. I’m not even as good a sewer as Perry, who owned his own embroidery shop for fuck’s sake. I’m not going to be able to keep up with him. It’s going to shut down and it’ll all be my fault because I can’t be as good as him. I was always hesitant with you…I resented you for taking his time because I needed him too.”

“Caroline…I…I still have Gregor, you know. And Avogadro the crochet owl. And Rosalind the stuffed raccoon. After every fair…you made me a present. Even when you didn’t go because of school events or…you didn’t talk to me but you showed me. I…I asked you here for a reason. I could try and put Perry together again, but I knew only one person could stitch him up right. I was never good at sewing like you or Perry. But you are good. I…I wish I thanked you more. I wish I tried more too. I thought I could just hide behind Perry my whole life…you just seemed so far in your own world.” 

“Perry had his own world too. Before Dad remarried he had friends and played varsity ball–but then…he took care of you and I. No one else seemed to want to do it. But he did it anyway. He just…he gave everything up for us, did you know that?” 

“No. I never–I just was glad he was there at all. Perry…why’d you have to leave? I can’t go off to college without knowing you’re here too!” 

“Roger, you upset my stitches–hey, what’re you doing?! Don’t throw the lever, we aren’t ready to–”

“He’s not moving. I’m doing it again!”

“Roger…the stitching is coming undone. It’s unspooling and frayed–if you keep trying to shock this thing it’ll come undone–”

“--NO! It HAS to work! C’mon, Perry! Please, don’t fall apart!” 

“Roger. It’s fraying, and the seams will never hold. It’s still dead…it’s over–”

“--One last try! I can’t lose him! This is the only way I could think–he did everything for me, I have to help him! Please, c’mon!”

“Roger. Stop. It’s over. Please. For Perry’s sake.”

“It’s not going to work. Hehehe. Of course not. I just…I just created a pile of barely-connected corpse parts in the garage. This isn’t Frankenstein and the frog study I did never lead anywhere…I just…I need him, Caroline!”

“Roger…c’mere.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I just want him to come back. I thought I could help him like he helped me. All I did was rob graves and make you waste your thread…and I made you upset. I made you do this horrible thing with me.” 

“You didn’t make me do anything, I came here on my own. We’re family. And…maybe…I wanted to see if it’d work. I miss him more than I can say. The shop–” 

“It’ll run. You’ll manage it well. You’re good with people. Everyone loves you. I love you.” 

“I love you too, Roger. And I know that Perry loved us both…despite the way it felt sometimes…he still would sew with me. Even if he had less time. He wanted to do it. He loved both of us–he sacrificed everything to make sure we’d never feel alone.”

“Yeah…I just wish…he could’ve led the life he deserved. I wanted to give that to him.” 

“I know. You did what you know how to do…and it was a sweet thing. Now…we just have to unstitch and return these corpse parts by tonight. Then, you pack for college.”

“O-okay…you’ll help me, right? And when I go to college…you’ll write to me, right? A-and send updates on the shop?” 

“Of course.”