The Technically True Story
Contains spoilersOverview
Tova restores her recovered key, lets a cat slip through a torn screen, and chooses to leave the gap. At the aquarium, she deepens her bond with Marcellus, sharing the painful details of Erik’s death before falling from a stool and injuring her ankle. Marcellus briefly escapes to retrieve a missing screw, demonstrating awareness and care. Tova schedules medical help and calls out of work for the first time, signaling her vulnerability and their growing connection.
Summary
Tova cleans corrosion from her recovered key, confirms it still works, and replaces her unreliable spare. A cat slips through a loose flap in her screen door, prompting Tova to leave the tear unrepaired—an acceptance of the small gaps that have appeared since Will’s death.
That evening at the aquarium, Tova completes her routine and checks on Marcellus. With the tank unclamped, she opens the lid and reaches in; Marcellus greets her, exploring her arm. The contact leads Tova to confide in him: memories of friends, her birthmark, and, most painfully, Erik’s drowning at eighteen, with an anchor line cut and authorities assuming suicide after a minor argument and a forced summer job. Compulsively cleaning as she talks, she overreaches on a stool, which wobbles and sends her crashing to the floor.
Unhurt apart from a tender ankle and a broken stool rung, Tova worries about facing Terry. Then Marcellus slips through a narrow gap, vanishes under a cabinet, and returns to drop the missing screw at her shoe before climbing back into his tank, effectively enabling the repair and astonishing Tova.
The next morning her ankle has swollen and bruised. Tova calls Dr. Remy’s office; Gretchen schedules an early appointment and orders her to avoid mopping. Tova then informs Terry—giving the technically true account that she fell while cleaning—and, for the first time in her life, calls out of work.
Who Appears
- Tova Sullivan
Aquarium cleaner who restores her key, bonds with Marcellus, reveals Erik’s death, falls from a stool, injures her ankle, and calls out of work.
- Marcellus
Giant Pacific octopus who engages with Tova, briefly escapes his tank, and returns a missing screw to help fix the stool.
- Erik Sullivan
Tova’s son; remembered as having drowned at eighteen with a cut anchor line, presumed suicide after a household argument.
- Terry
Aquarium supervisor; Tova worries about the broken stool and informs him she cannot work.
- Gretchen
Dr. Remy’s receptionist who schedules Tova’s appointment and insists she avoid mopping.
- Dr. Remy
Physician who will see Tova for her swollen, bruised ankle the next morning.
- Cat
Feline that slips through Tova’s torn screen, prompting her to leave the gap as is.