Tell Me What You See

Act Naturally

Pattie paced the floor waiting for George to come down. She smoked furiously and found she couldn't sit still. She looked out side at the cold gray garden. It hit her, all was dead from the winter, and like the garden, all would be dead if she didn't go through with what she had decided. So many times over the past 30 minutes she had passed the music room and wanted to just grab the old book and hide it. Now, instead she held the bag with her notebook on everything she had learned over the past several weeks. She had kept notes and would go over them when she got home. She was quiet confident that she understood it all and wondered if she didn't now know a bit more then George. Maybe now she could finally help him the way she had wanted to for all these months. She heard him in the hallway and shivered as he came down the stairs. She knew before he came looking for her he'd head for the music room to check the message machine and see the book. She sat on the chair in the living room. Pattie's nerves knotted in her stomach as she waited to hear him beckon to her.

George felt better; he was clean and had on fresh clothes. He was thankful that Pattie hadn't been angry with him about staying at Paul's. Still, he wondered why she wasn't. Usually she would be upset and he'd have to make it up to her, and now she had just hugged him. He was mystified by why she held him so tight and acted as if she was relieved. Women, he thought as he shrugged it off and entered the music room to check the message machine. He arched his back like a cat as he stretched with his arms over his head. Boy did that feel good, he thought as he approached the machine. It was at that moment that he stopped, his eyes hitting a book that wasn't there yesterday. It was a big old worn book with cracks on the cover and the binding was torn from age. He examined it closely. The title hit him, The Book of Mystic. He shook his shaggy head as he read it again. George noticed a page that had been creased down. He opened it to the page and began to read it as he leaned down, resting his weight on his left hand. He slowly turned the page and finished what he figured he was supposed to read. When he was done he blinked as the words swam around in his head. That's it! He slowly figured out his second plan of action in case the first plan didn't work. He then thumbed through a few chapters. He spied a few other things that jumped out at him as the musty smell hit his nose. All he read reinforced that his second plan was the right way to go if the other didn't work. The positive attitude came back to him as he felt sure that now he was ready.

His interest in the book and what it said made him temporarily forget where the book had come from. Curiosity of how it got there slowly came back to his mind. He stood still thinking and the thought of how Pattie had been acting lately and especially today hit him. Could it be her? How did she know? He walked slowly over to the door still in wonderment as he called out to her to come in to the music room.

Pattie jumped when she heard his voice. He sounded bewildered, as she knew he would be. Chin up she thought as she carried the bag of notes down the hall and into the music room. There she saw George standing by the desk, he raised his head as she came in. She already felt the tears threatening to fall as she tried to force them back. She stood unsure of what to say or what to do. George solved that problem the minute their eyes met.

George saw the shame and guilt on Pattie's face; it had been her. Why didn't she say anything? He didn't know if he was mad, relieved that she knew, or just confused by this whole thing. He figured he felt all of these things. He motioned to the book that still lay along side of him on the table.

"This your doing?" George inquired calmly holding back his emotions as he stared at her waiting for her answer.

Pattie slowly walked towards George, " Yes, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please try and understand. I saw the terror with those dreams night after night. Then I over heard a phone conversation. I never meant to spy on you. I just didn't know what was going on. I was worried, confused and just on my last wick wondering what was happening to you. "