Angie of the Garden

Chapter Five-2

"Do you intend to have people in the audience ask me questions? Or do you plan to have the people who wish to speak with me as guests on the show?"
"Johnny Mueller and I kicked that around for a while. He's our producer, as I think you know. We decided it would be better to have people call in with their problems, and to grant them anonymity if they want it. We thought the callers would be more likely to discuss serious problems that way. What do you think?"
"It sounds like a good idea. I would also want the calls taken in private before the show. It would allow for the caller's situation to be evaluated beforehand. Some might have problems that are too serious to be discussed before an audience, even anonymously. The person calling in may believe that he or she is comfortable with the arrangement, but deeply regret it later on."
"We thought of doing it that way. But we were only thinking of avoiding prank phone calls. You've come up with a better reason for talking to the callers beforehand. We'll tape the phone calls and play them back during the show. You can give some insight as to how you came to your diagnosis of the caller's problem while it's being played. We also thought you could take some questions from the studio audience as well."
Hollis had visions of becoming an advisor for the lovelorn. He assumed most of the problems presented to him from the audience would be of that nature, since the majority of the people would not want to reveal more serious problems if their identity was to be revealed. Robin understood his concern without being told.

"We can just stick with the phone calls, if you'd like. Now what do you think, Doctor? I know we can't tempt you with money. You already seem to have enough of that. But like I said, you could reach a great many people this way."
"I'm very interested. I believe you're sincere about wanting to help people." Robin paused before answering.
"I am sincere, Doctor Simms. You see as a child I was the little black girl that no one wanted to adopt. I went from foster home to foster home without a glint of love or hope in my life. By the time I was ten, Robin Grange was one messed up little person. Then the Wainscots adopted me. They were a middle-aged couple who had overcome considerable obstacles to become financially, and socially, successful in Baltimore. The first thing they did was to send me to someone like you. I had developed attachment disorder from constantly being rejected as a child."
Hollis nodded with a sympathetic expression on his face.
"So I just want to give someone else a chance to receive the same kind of assistance that I did."
Robin looked over at the picture of her adopted parents. The talk show host physically resembled them, and could have been their daughter, which in the spiritual sense of that word she actually was.
"Let me have a couple of days to think about it."
"Certainly. Now let me show you the set. Then I'll take you to lunch. What's your favorite place to eat?"
"I already have one difficult decision to make. I'll let you choose."

She took him to one of the premiere places in town. Hollis witnessed firsthand what it was like to be a television personality. Robin was besieged by well wishers as she made her way to their table. Though he received only curious glances the doctor was able to imagine himself in her place. Hollis would never have admitted it to anyone, but the idea of being so well known was becoming appealing to him.
"Do you miss your privacy?" he asked after they were led to their table, which was in a secluded corner of the restaurant.
"If you can find privacy in a public place, it means you're dead in my business," she replied with a laugh. "I hope they never get tired of asking for my autograph. But of course they will. Nothing is forever, Hollis."
"How did you get started?"
"I'd like to say it was because I was a good communicator. But it was actually because I'm a very nosy person. I could sit and talk for hours about what everyone else was doing, because until I received therapy, I rarely had the courage to do much of anything myself."
"I don't believe that."
"You're a nice man. But it's true. So have I convinced you to join the show?" "I'll need some more time to decide. But I think that it would be an interesting
experience for me."
"You simply have to say yes," Robin said as she lifted her glass of wine in a toast.
"Otherwise the producer might not agree to pay for the lunch."
Hollis left the studio and picked up Sebastian. His brother was in a somber mood.
They drove in silence for some time before he spoke.

"You know, people really suck," Sebastian informed him.
"You sound like Belle. Did your friends fail to show up?"
"All but one of them suddenly had other things to do. Apparently the higher ups at
the firm let it be known that no one was to associate with the pariah. Even Bill Kline, the only one who did come, insisted on going somewhere else to eat."
"I'm sorry. But I'm sure you're not really that surprised. Corporate politics can be very intimidating. Most of those people have families to feed."

In fact, Sebastian was not surprised at all. He knew how the game was played: anyone who was seen as being sympathetic to his plight would be putting their own future in jeopardy. Yet the former employee had managed to convince himself that the people he had worked with for so many years would rise above those concerns for one afternoon. Sebastian had envisioned several hours of reminiscing about the times when they had joined together to overcome obstacles. He had also expected Bill to fill him in on what had transpired at McDivet since his departure.

"Kline was so paranoid he could hardly finish his meal," he told his brother. "He kept looking around to see if anyone from the office was there. It was a complete waste of time."

Though he did not tell Hollis, there was one moment when Sebastian had his undivided attention. That was when he told Bill about his new job. He looked at Simms with an astonished expression on his face. Kline's reaction made Sebastian feel as though he had
told him about his brother's ghost.

"So, that's enough about me. What is Robin Wainscot like?" "She's a pleasant person. And I must say she draws a crowd."

"Are you going to do the show?"
"I told her I'd think about it. I'm tempted to give it a try."
"You should ask your ghost to be on the show. Then it would have the most
viewers in the history of television."
"Angie is a patient," Hollis replied.
"I can't figure out how we wound up where we are. I'm working in a bagel shop,
and you're not only rich, you're about to become a television star. But you're twice as screwy as I am. You actually believe that some woman from the 1800s has come back to visit you."
"My wife is rich," Hollis corrected him. "I'm only rich by association. Angie came back for the diary, so her being here makes perfect sense. Besides, you've seen her, too."
"I've seen someone, or something. But I'm not going to believe she's real until all other possibilities have been eliminated."
"Suit yourself," Hollis told him as they drove through the gates of Fairhaven. "I believe she's real. I only hope Angie appears again. She's never been away for this long."

A strange expression of longing came over the psychiatrist's face. Sebastian put his own troubles aside for the moment, carefully observing his brother. He had never seen Hollis this emotionally involved with anyone, except his wife and daughter.
Hollis accepted Robin's offer. He soon found himself being recognized on the street by the strangers passing by. The doctor was generous when it came to signing autographs, but he shied away from giving advice. Hollis knew he could do more harm than good by making a snap diagnosis, even for the most mild of psychological problems.