Angie of the Garden

Chapter Thirteen-3

Hollis was making the final entries in Angie's file when John Block walked into his office. He was so absorbed in his work that the presence of his friend went undetected for several moments. Hollis looked up from the paper in front of him to stare out the window. That's when he finally noticed John.

"You certainly haven't lost your ability to concentrate," Block observed.
"I'm just getting some things in order," Hollis replied. "But don't tell Olivia. I'm not supposed to do any work until next week."
"Mums the word, old chum. I came by to see how you were doing, and also to be sure that you didn't make a very big mistake."
"Whatever do you mean?" Hollis asked with a perplexed expression on his face.

"If you ever grow tired of the talk show, you could become a very fine actor. You know I'm talking about the paper you mentioned in the hospital. The one concerning the patient whose file you're working on now."
"You caught me in the act," Hollis sheepishly conceded. "But it is an extraordinary case, you must admit."
"Yes, too extraordinary. I don't doubt that something unusual happened here. But I'm your friend. The rest of your colleagues and people in general will be far more skeptical."
"I heard a recent survey found that a third of the people in this country believe in ghosts."
"It's the other two thirds you have to worry about. You have a fine reputation. You could be the most famous psychiatrist since Freud, thanks to the television. Why risk all that for a paper that most people won't take seriously anyway?"

Hollis walked over to the window to look at the garden. He felt a compelling need to tell Angie's story to the masses. Yet Doctor Simms could not rebuke the validity of his friend's argument against sharing his experience with the world.

"I suppose you're right," he finally conceded. "But I am going to write it. Maybe I'll leave a provision in my will to have it published after I'm gone."
"Why bother? You could simply come back after you die and tell your story to someone else, just like your patient did."
"That has possibilities, my friend."
"I'd like you to come to the hospital tomorrow, if you're physically up to it." "I am, but I don't know if my wife will agree with me."
"Just tell her that you are going to be offered my position. I'm sure she'll allow you to come under those circumstances. Congratulations, my friend."

Hollis returned to the set of The Robin Wainscot Show several days later. The host
warmly embraced him.

"You look great," she remarked after escorting him into her office. "You're skinnier, but still look great. You won't believe what your illness did for our ratings." "You seem very pleased about my misfortune," Hollis said with mock
indignation.
"No, I worried about you day and night. The producer was happy, of course," she
replied with a grin. "So what really happened?" "What really happened?"
"You're still not used to being a public figure, are you? Whenever a celebrity winds up in the hospital, it's always assumed that they aren't being truthful about what put them there. So did you overdose on something?"
"If I did, would that help the ratings as well?"
"It would put them through the roof!"
"Well, I can give you a much more interesting story than the plain old flu. A ghost from the 1800's has visited me on a regular basis over the last year or so. I went out on the night in question, despite having the flu, to see her. A sudden rainstorm caught me by surprise, and I passed out."

For a moment Robin Wainscot thought the doctor was serious. Then a smile crept across his face. The talk show host roared with laughter.

"You have a great imagination, Doctor Simms. Now let's go listen to some phone calls."

Olivia Simms turned forty a week later. Hollis had thought about giving her a surprise party, but concluded that it would be a futile exercise. He believed nothing could happen at Fairhaven without his wife being aware of it. So instead Hollis threw a party with Olivia's assistance. The people who gathered together that night were essentially the same ones who had attended his party.

"Why, hello, Jacqueline," Hollis greeted his mother in law. "What a pleasant surprise."
"I wouldn't miss my little girl's birthday," she replied while pinching the cheek of her daughter. "Is your father here dear?"
"Yes, but he's promised to maintain a distance of at least fifty feet from you at all times," Olivia responded.

"Fifty miles would have been more appropriate," Jacqueline said. "But you shouldn't have to be reminded about the state of your parents' relationship on your birthday."
"I'm forty now," Olivia replied with a sardonic grin. "I can handle it."
"I didn't think your parents would ever occupy the same building again," Hollis pointed out after his mother in law walked away. "Bringing them together is quite a diplomatic coup."
"Do you think we could ever become so estranged?" Olivia asked with a concerned expression on her face.

"We're too compatible to wind up like them, my love," Hollis reassured her. "We'll always enjoy one another's company."

Hollis hugged her. Whatever concern had been playing on his wife's mind in regard to their relationship had seemed to dissipate. Then the two went their separate ways and mingled with the crowd.

"Hollis!" a voice called to him from the other side of the room.
"Aunt Nora," he replied while walking over to her. "I'm so glad you could make it. And how are you Aunt Wilimina?"
"With the cooler weather, not too well, frankly. But I couldn't miss your wife's fiftieth birthday, nephew."
"It's her fortieth, actually."
"Oh, I better not make the same mistake in front of Olivia. She'll kick my butt." Hollis joined in with his aunt's laughter at her remark. Yet he could not conceive of anyone getting the better of this crusty old busybody.
"I'm not one to pry, Hollis, but how on earth could Olivia send you out on a rainy night right after you had been ill?" Nora asked him. "I mean, doesn't she look after you?"
"It was my fault, Aunt Nora. I was just so anxious to get back on my feet that I completely ignored the doctor's, and Olivia's, advice. They both wanted me to rest for a week."
"They didn't replace you on the show, did they dear?" Wilimina asked with a concerned expression on her face.

She enjoyed her nephew's celebrity. Bragging to her friends about it was one of Wilimina's favorite pastimes. She did not want to see him become just another psychiatrist.

"No, of course not. I'll be back on the show this week. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to greet the other guests."