Angie of the Garden

Chapter Eleven-1

Detective Gregory Hill sat in one of the comfortable leather chairs in Doctor Simms' office. He had already attended two sessions there, the detective having noticed the neutral nature of the colors featured in his psychiatrist's workplace. Apparently, Hollis believed his patient's emotional offerings were not to be induced by their surroundings. They were to be elicited by his talents, not by the stimulation that could be provided by a decorator's scheme.

Hollis said as he entered the room. "How have you been, Gregory?"
"Not too bad, Doc. I'm sorry I was so late. I had to testify in a spousal abuse case. The poor woman stayed with this guy until he put her within an inch of death's door. I'll never understand why they do that."
"It's a pattern that's often developed in childhood," Hollis said sadly. "When a person expects to be abused, only their tormentor can put an end to the victim's dreadful anticipation of the next encounter. The act itself actually provides relief since the person knows they won't be attacked again for a little while, at least. In this way the behavior becomes acceptable, even welcomed, to the abused person."
"I guess you're right," Gregory conceded.
"You can remain seated today if you'd like. But I would like to remind you that the couch is available if you want to use it."

Detective Hill had chosen to sit through his sessions with Hollis during his previous visits. He felt more comfortable looking him straight in the eye. The doctor believed that a reclining patient had a better chance to reach a state of complete relaxation. Still he always left it up to their discretion.

"I like this chair," Hill told him.
"Very well. At the end of our last discussion you began to describe your first encounter with Avalor. Why don't you continue?"

Gregory described his initial contact with the mysterious woman. He had just finished working a long shift and decided that a walk in the park was in order. The detective did several laps around the small lake there. He was about to leave for home when a woman sitting on the grass caught his attention.

"It was like looking at a photograph. You know how the colors in a picture always seem brighter than they were when you looked at them with the naked eye. That's what it was like for me. Avalor just stood out that way. Her hair was the softest, shiniest brown I've ever seen. And this was in the middle of a sun shower. The drops of rain sparkled all around her. But it was only coming down where she was sitting. And the rain never seemed to touch her."
"You're describing what many would call love at first sight," Hollis pointed out with a smile. "And you observed her when you had just worked a long shift. Could fatigue have affected your perception of Avalor?"
"I know what you mean. But this was something more. I just knew she didn't belong there. And her eyes just blew me away. They're copper colored."

The detective walked by the strange woman several times. He was undaunted when questioning a suspect yet very shy in social situations. Finally Avalor initiated their first conversation.

"How many times are you going to pass by before you speak to me?" she asked with a pleasant grin.
"You caught me," Hill answered nervously with one of his own. "I just couldn't help notice that blue jump suit you're wearing. It's very nice."
"Why thank you. I like your clothes, too. Why don't you join me?"
"So I walked up to her and introduced myself," the detective continued. "We talked about what a beautiful day it was. I just couldn't understand why everyone in the park wasn't staring at her. Avalor should have attracted a crowd. But they just kept walking by. Then I asked her where she was from. Avalor laughed and said I wouldn't believe her. She told me anyway, though."
"Did you believe her?"
"No, not at first. I've met a lot of dizzy broads and a lot of crazy people in general for that matter. So I'm real careful about believing strangers. But Avalor won me over. She told me people had developed copper colored eyes in the future because the ozone layer was shot to hell."
"Did she use the expression shot to hell?"
"Well, no, that's me talking. But anyway the sun's rays are so strong in the future people needed a way to protect their eyes from them. And nature obliged. I guess Darwin was right."
"What else did she say about the future?"
"The people there have found a way to get along. They had to. When the scientists discovered how to travel through time the authorities were able to find out about accidents and violent acts before they ever happened. They set up a special agency to prevent them. So the population grew really fast. And the demand for food grew with it. Every country in the world would have been in a constant state of war over the limited food supply if they didn't work together to solve the problem."
"The demand for energy grew as well, I'm sure," Hollis interjected.

Gregory smiled at Hollis. He had initially felt reluctant to tell him his story. Though he did not expect ridicule from the doctor, Hill feared the psychiatrist would be snickering inside. Yet there was no evidence of that.

"You've got it, Doc. You know I thought you'd think I was a flake. But you're really listening to me."

Hollis smiled back.

"As I said at our first session, I don't believe in labels. Did you ask her to take you to the future?"
"Yeah, I did. But Avalor said she couldn't, because then I'd find out how it was done. And the authorities from her time don't want that information to get out. She said that it was a shame, because you can see a million stars at night from where she lives."

Hollis jotted down a note to himself. At some point he would question how someone from a time with a much larger population than the present one could see so many stars. He would expect the atmosphere to have become even more polluted than it was now. Doctor Simms intended to use the damaged ozone layer that the woman from the future had mentioned to support his assumption.

"Did you ask her why she had come back to the past?" Hollis questioned him.
"For the people from her time it's like going to an amusement park. They can visit all kinds of places and meet a lot of different people."
"That was quite a story," Hollis said as he stood up. "We're finished for today. Friday's one o'clock cancelled, so I can see you then if you'd like."
"I'll be here. Have a good one, Doc."

Hollis returned home that evening with the intention of planning Gregory's next session. Instead the doctor found himself thinking about Angie's next session as he joined Olivia for coffee in the sitting room. This was not lost on his wife.

"Damn it Hollis, what has gotten into you!" she suddenly exclaimed. "It's like living with a ghost! I can see you, but you're not really here!"
"I'm sorry, love, I was just thinking about a patient."
"You're always thinking about a patient and you're always sorry," Olivia responded in an irritated tone.
"What can I do to make it up to you?"
"You could ask me how my day was. I know you're really not interested, but at least give me the courtesy of pretending to care."
"Of course I care. How was your day?"
"The battery in my car died. I had to call for help. I seem to remember asking you to have it checked out two weeks ago."

Hollis could not believe that two weeks had passed since Olivia had made her request. Doctor Simms realized that his increased workload was beginning to take a toll.