The Other Mike

II

Dr. Bernhardt had met them at top of the stone stairs under the portico, the door of the lodge already open. The name perfectly evoked the faint white moustache and porcelain fragility of the seventy year old man who extended his hand in greeting. Mike and Sydney, travel bags slung over their shoulders, both took turns shaking it. To Sydney, he felt surprisingly cold to the touch. Fine, hollow bones rolled together under  the mild pressure of her grip.

"Welcome to the institute. I'm so glad you made it safely. I trust you found us without terrible difficulty". A few fingers of German inflection clung to his voice.

" Yep, I mean, we have a GPS, wasn't too much of a problem" Mike said.

Inside, Sydney panned the room. The rugged exterior of stacked, lacquered trunks belied the subtle restraint of the greatroom.  The dining area was a simple dark rectangle flanked by mid-century modern chairs. Adjacent to it was a leather sectional and two reading chairs. Inset into the far wall, behind a plane of tinted glass, a fire crackled.

Dr. Bernhardt followed Sydney's gaze.

"Is it not what you expected?"

"Oh no. It's lovely, I guess I was just picturing more taxidermy".

"Oh no, at the institute, the focus is on new life. I am here to help you realize your goals, and the environment was designed to stimulate internal growth. " He tented his fingers and held a pregnant silence. Mike and Sydney snuck a glance at each other. The pause went on a second too long. There was something flat, something dull in the doctor's eyes, like Sydney was looking into two quartz discs.

"Yeah, we um, can't wait to get started. Is there a place to unpack?"

"Of course.....Michael.....if I remember the e-waiver correctly". The doctor startled back to life as Mike nodded. "Please, follow me this way".

Bernhardt led them out of the living area,
through a corridor indented with bedroom doors. Sydney wondered if she should mention the woman. The image in her mind differed so sharply from the resolution that she couldn't shake the feeling of having been given the first few syllables of a secret, and that a few more would congeal its meaning. Her rational thoughts held this belief in check. She had seen the same deer as Mike, and if she had to spend the rest of her life building a chassis of reality around that lie, then that's what she would do.

The bedroom held a bed, a dresser, and a chair. All three were dark slabs of danish modern design perfectly congruent with the great room.  A bathroom branched off from the living quarters, and a window opened onto the forest behind the lodge. Mike grabbed Sydney's travel bag, and tossed both of their duffels heavily into the closet.

Dr. Bernhardt had told them that the dinner and meet and greet session would begin at six, which gave them two hours to fill. Mike lay on the bed to read. She knew that he would happily live out of his duffel bag for the next few days. Sydney placed her meticulous squares of clothing on her side of the bed, then transferred them to the dresser.

Sitting in her chair, she attempted to decipher a block of stanza regarding the cave murals of Lascaux. Her eyes couldn't grip the words.

"I'm going for a walk, you good for a while?"

"Yeah, I'm not moving until dinner."

She tightened her ponytail and headed for the door. At the end of the corridor, Bernhardt was guiding another couple through the entrance. The man's hair was twisted into a dark bun, his partner was a sinewy woman with a red pixie cut. Sydney moved toward the back door.