Angie of the Garden

Part Three-4

"Why did you bury it?"
Angelica hesitated before responding, leading Hollis to believe her answer was not entirely truthful.
"A servant's quarters are not the safest place for one's valuables," she explained. "I put it here so no one would take my diary."
"I recently loaned it to a friend of mine to study. He's an historian, and was very interested in your journey."

Angelica Barton stomped her feet, and walked towards the back of the garden. Many who knew Miss Barton in her lifetime would have recognized that gesture, for she never hesitated to make her displeasure known. Hollis feared for a moment that she would leave Fairhaven forever. Much to his relief, Angelica turned to address him once more.

"I suppose you have read it as well. I can't blame you for doing that, since you did not know to whom it belonged. Please return it at once."

She used a demanding tone of voice, her eyebrows arched in striking crescents.

"The friend I loaned the diary to is traveling abroad at the moment. But I will get it back for you, I promise. In the meantime could you tell me why you left for the west? As I remember you never explained your reason, or reasons, in your writings. And if I may be so bold, what happened to Thomas and William?"

Angelica considered her response for several moments. She was about to reply when Sebastian Simms came running up to the garden. He had escaped the attic through a window, and then climbed down a tree next to the house. This means of exiting his boyhood home was very familiar to him, since he had often used it to defy his father's curfews. Angelica Barton was frightened away by his sudden appearance. To the amazement of Sebastian she walked towards the back of the garden and vanished into the night. Hollis was furious.

"God damn it! She might never come back!"
"Who...or what was that?" Sebastian asked him with an astonished expression on his face.

Hollis Simms turned and walked to the main house without saying a word. Sebastian went after him, following the doctor into his office.
He had rarely seen him angry. Hollis walked to the window and then returned to his desk. Doctor Simms repeated those movements several times. His older brother's agitated state was very disconcerting to Sebastian. The younger Simms was having difficulty coming to terms with what he had seen in the garden. Hollis had always provided a reassuring voice for him on the occasions when something unsettling entered his life. Now the psychiatrist seemed as rattled as his brother was.

"What was that?" Sebastian asked him once more in a bewildered tone.

Hollis sat in the chair behind his desk. He ran his hands through his hair and gathered himself before responding.

"I believe she is the spirit of Angelica Barton. That's the woman who wrote this diary," Hollis explained as he put his hand on it.
Sebastian was momentarily speechless. He fell into a chair, looking at him with an expression of disbelief on his face.
"Are you telling me that she's a ghost?" Hollis nodded.
"I don't believe in ghosts," Sebastian told him, as if his statement would dispel the specter forever.
"Neither did I, until now. But this is the sixth time I've encountered her. I've searched the garden for any signs of a hoax. There are none.
Therefore I've reached the only logical conclusion. I must say that though your timing left much to be desired I'm glad you saw her as well. I was beginning to wonder about my sanity."
"But the woman who wrote that has to be dead,' Sebastian said as he pointed to the diary with a trembling hand. "No one could live this long."

Hollis stood up and looked out the window. He wondered if this beautiful spring night harbored any other surprises.

"I have always believed there was something for us after we die," Hollis said after sitting in the chair behind his desk once again. "My belief was always based on nothing more then intuition until recently. Now I have proof."
"Let's get a camera and take her picture. Better yet, why don't you get one of those people who research this kind of thing here to observe her? Then we'll find out the truth."
"No. She's not just a curiosity to me. I want to help her."
"Help her? How?"
"Did you have a chance to read her diary on the way back from Boston?"
"I thumbed through it."
"Well, I've read it many times. I've also had a great deal of experience with evaluating the emotional state of individuals. The woman who wrote this diary is not the same woman I met in the garden. Something happened to Angelica Barton during the long journey west, or perhaps after it was over, that changed her. It could be why the spirit we encountered roams the night. I'd like to help her find peace."
Hollis spoke about her as though she was a life-long friend.
"Wouldn't something that significant be mentioned in the diary?"
"Angie stopped writing in it before she reached California. Now I have a chance
to find out why. I'd also like to know how she ended up at Fairhaven."
"Well, at least I know why you were so anxious to get the diary back from Paul.
Have you told anyone else about her?"
"No. And I wouldn't have told you, either. Frank failed me. He was supposed to
keep you occupied."
"He did his best. The son of a bitch even locked me in the attic. Fortunately I still remember how to climb trees. Did you tell her that you have the diary?"
"No. I told her I could get it for her, though. I also said it would take a while, given that the friend who has it is away. Angie knows that I've read it. Telling her that was a gamble, but I think it will pay off."
"Isn't lying to a patient considered a bad thing to do? I mean you could return her diary right now."
"It's a tool to ensure her return. This is a very unusual circumstance. I'm going to have to use a much different approach."
"How do you expect to collect your fee? Does she have any living relatives that you can present the bill to?"
"I never thought about it." Hollis smiled. "But then again I've never been as mercenary as you are, either."

"Me! I work in a bagel shop. You have to let me see her again. I don't believe she's really a ghost. Maybe I'll be able to prove it."

Hollis looked at him carefully. He could not in good conscience deny Sebastian such a remarkable experience. Yet he fully intended to provide Angelica Barton with the assistance that only those in his profession could give. Their conversations would have to be kept confidential.

"It won't present a problem for me if you observe her from a distance. But you can't listen to our conversations. Every patient has the right to privacy."
"Patient? Come on, Hollis. We both know she can't be real. How can you treat her like she's one of your patients?

Hollis was momentarily embarrassed by his question. He knew his behavior would elicit this kind of a response from any reasonable person. Doctor Simms had already admitted to himself that his initial acceptance of the ghost's reality was based largely on the infatuation he had experienced in his youth. Now after several encounters with Angie the doctor's empathy with this woman from the past had become the basis for his belief in her existence.

"I know this must sound bizarre to you," Hollis responded. "But I'm not going off the deep end, or losing my grip on reality, or whatever other cliché you care to use. Something extraordinary is happening here. I'm going to take advantage of this opportunity. As I said, you can observe her, but you can't listen in on the sessions. Now, if you don't mind, I have to finish preparing for tomorrow's appointments."

Sebastian was not pleased with the constraints Hollis had put on him. Nonetheless, he knew there was no point in trying to debate the matter. Doctor Simms was not at all flexible when it came to the welfare of his patients. Sebastian said good night as he walked towards the door. Then he remembered another question he had for his brother.

"Did you know Frank can play chess?"
Hollis looked up and smiled at him.
"Yes. I found out one day when he saw the chessboard in the living room. Frank
told me he had watched his grandmother play, but that he didn't know very much about the game. He kept claiming to be a novice right up to the moment he defeated me. I suspect he did the same to you."

Sebastian exhibited the same expression as he nodded in reply.
He walked out the door leaving Hollis to his work. Doctor Simms created a file for a new patient that night. Her name was Angelica Barton.