EXCERPT
Chapter
Eight
Thursday,
March 13
The
courtyard of Toni’s building was unnervingly quiet. The terrarium-like space
with a waterfall-fed pond and stream stood silent and dry. The earthquake must
have damaged the water system in the building. It made him wonder if Toni would
even be in her office. There was no one around, but the faint sound of clanging
metal hammering metal indicated that workers were there.
The
door to Toni’s office stood partially open. If she wasn’t there would her door
be open? Perhaps her last patient left and the next had not yet arrived. His
footsteps seemed to echo in the stillness of the landscaped atrium. He stood at
the open door gathering his courage, finally pushing it open the rest of the
way.
The
office reminded him of a study or library in an English manor house. The
centerpiece of the room was a large desk, mahogany perhaps. A dusty rose
leather chair sat behind it. At one end of the large room was a conversation
area. There was a small oval table separating a loveseat and two comfortable
looking chairs. Knowing Toni, he suspected several of the pieces were antique.
There
was no trite theme like ‘English Country Cottage’ and no obvious color scheme
either. It wasn’t the usual therapist’s office with blue or yellow walls with
decorations that theoretically created a calming atmosphere. Like Toni, this room
was warm and inviting. It was a gift she had, making people comfortable.
He
stepped into the office. At the other end of the room was a spiral staircase of
highly polished wood which led to a loft surrounded by railings matching the
staircase. He assumed the earthquake had caused the empty shelves that lined
the balcony.
He
strained to see if she was upstairs and took a few steps backwards until he
bumped into one of the chairs in the conversation area. There she was, sitting
on the floor stacking books after wiping them off with a cloth. The sun
streamed through the skylight highlighting glints of copper in her hair. She
was wearing it up, accentuating the curve of her neck. He remembered how the
chestnut tresses looked when they tumbled in soft waves over her shoulders and
down her back. He sighed.
He
hadn’t really seen her yesterday, so he didn’t realize how lovely she still was
… yesterday! That was why he was here, to apologize for whatever it was he’d
done. He sat on the arm of the closest chair and cleared his throat.
Ann
glanced over her shoulder assuming it was one of the workmen who had been
coming in and out since she arrived. She couldn’t have been more surprised. She
got up and went to the railing.
“How
did you find me?”
He
blew out the breath he’d been holding. “My powers of deduction are quite
remarkable these days … you’re listed in information.”
“Oh.”
Her stomach was suddenly tied in knots.
“When
did you change your name?”
“I
got married, if it’s any of your business.”
“I
meant your first name.”
“Ann
is more professional than Toni.”
“Toni
suits you.”
“It
suited the child I was. What do you want?”
“I
want to apologize.”
“For
what?”
“Yesterday.”
Eager
for him to leave, she rushed to say, “Apology accepted.” She hesitated a fraction
of a moment. “You can go now,” she said and started to turn away.
“I’d
like to talk.”
“About
what?”
“You
could tell me what you’ve been doing.”
“I
have no desire to have a conversation with you about anything, certainly not
about my life.” She had the souvenir box from Big Bear in her hand, and she
almost threw it at him, but controlled herself. “Look, I accepted the apology
for your bizarre behavior yesterday, so why are you still here?”
Ted
slipped off the arm of the chair into the seat. “Why are you so angry?”
She
glared at him from her perch in the loft and could see in his eyes that he
really didn’t know why. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, turning her
back to the room. Why was she still angry after all these years? Uncle Jamie had
tried many times to get her to purge the anger, but even through her happy
years with Alex she held on to it. If she had a patient doing this, she’d be
counseling to let it go. So why couldn’t she?
Her
thoughts thus engaged and her back to the room she didn’t see Ted move from the
conversation area to the foot of the stairs. She turned at the sound of an
unfamiliar voice.
“Miss?”
Ann
rubbed her eyes dry before turning. “What?”
Speaking
with a soft Scottish brogue Ted said, “I would know your name.”
She
stepped to the head of the stairs. “What?”
“Your
name Miss, what is your name?”
Now,
what was happening? Ted was standing there looking up at her, but it wasn’t
Ted. What did that even mean? Assuming it would be like yesterday, she braced
herself for another explosive confrontation. She looked into his eyes; it
definitely wasn’t Ted looking back. What was going on? Whatever it was, she was concerned that he
might become as volatile as he had been the day before so thought it best to
play along until she could figure out what he was doing.
Slowly
she said, “Ann Hart, my name is Ann Hart.”
He
made a deep bow. “Andrew Mcnaughton, at your service, Miss Hart.” His mouth
turned into a lopsided grin. “It is Miss, is it not?”
Baffled,
but trying to elicit information, she sidestepped his question and asked one of
her own. “How do you come to be here Mr. Mcnaughton?”
Continuing
in the Scottish brogue he hesitantly answered, “The same way you did, Miss
Hart. I boarded at Glasgow.”
“Scotland?”
He
chuckled. Obviously it was Scotland for where else would they have been? “Yes.
We left Glasgow under full sail at eventide yesterday, and with God’s speed
shall arrive in Antigua three weeks hence.” He looked up at her rather
quizzically and asked, “Are you in need of the ship’s physician, Miss Hart?”
Unsure
what to say about any of it she asked, “Why do you ask?”
“As
you are aboard a ship but have no memory of it, I thought perhaps you were in
need of medical assistance.”
Still
thinking that playing along would answer some questions she responded, “I am
quite well, thank you, however, as you suggest I do seem to have lost some
time. Can you tell me the date?”
“It
is, as of the midnight hour, the tenth of May in the year of our Lord eighteen
hundred and five.”
A
loud rap on the open door made both Ann and Ted turn. A man in gray work
clothes looked up at her. “Saw your door standing open, Doc, wanted to check
that nothing was amiss.” He looked through squinty eyes at Ted. “Are you all
right?”
Ann
looked down at Ted, who looked up at her. He was back. He was Ted again. She
turned to the workman. “I’m fine. Thanks, Sam.”
Glaring
at Ted, he said, “Okay, just makin’ sure.” He left, looking over his shoulder
as he went.
Once
the workman was gone, she asked, “What’s going on with you?”
Trying
to recovery gracefully, from what he wasn’t sure, he answered her question
with, “What do you mean?” He glanced around. Before Ann could answer him he
said, “How did I get over here?”
“You
walked.”
“I
guess I mean, why am I over here?”
“Well,
you should say what you mean, and mean what you say.”
“Hmmm,
I believe we’ve had that conversation before.” She couldn’t help but smile,
remembering their first meeting.
She
was about to ask him about his odd behavior again, when he cleared his throat
and pulled the rose out of the pocket of his jacket. He took a few more steps
up the stairs, and then held it out to her. “I brought this as a bit of a peace
offering. It reminded me of you.”
His
sporadic and peculiar behavior was pushed to a back burner, and curiosity now
replaced her anger. Hesitantly she said, “It’s beautiful.” It was almost a
question. Taking a few steps down, she accepted the proffered bloom, “I’ve
never seen a rose this color. Where did you get it?”
“The
Huntington Library.”
“I
didn’t know the Huntington sold individual blossoms like this.”
Quietly
and with downcast eyes he admitted, “I didn’t buy it, exactly.”
“Exactly?”
Realization struck, and her eyes popped wide open. “You picked it!?! You stole
it from the rose garden?”
He
looked, for all the world, like a small boy caught with his hand in the cookie
jar. Then she saw a smile come into his eyes that spoke of satisfaction. She
couldn’t help herself; she laughed.
“I’ve
never been given a pilfered rose before.” She smiled.
It
was nice that she wasn’t angry about it. “I couldn’t resist it.”
“I
could probably have your library membership revoked and have you banned
permanently from even being allowed in.”
“But
you wouldn’t, would you?”
Unable
to deny her amusement, Ann conceded that she would not. The ‘girl on the swing’
clock chimed the half hour. Ted glanced at his watch.
“I
need to go,” he said as he took the few steps still separating them. “It was
wonderful seeing you again.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek then rushed down
the stairs. At the door he turned back, “I’ll call you,” he said and left.
Ann’s
mind was in complete turmoil. But when she calmed down and thought about it for
a second, she found that she really enjoyed the exchange. She sat on the step
in the middle of the staircase, and inhaled the fragrance of the rose. A
pilfered flower. She shook her head, making no effort to stop the grin from
spreading across her face. She was amazed at how comfortable it was being with
him, but even more amazed that she wanted to hear from him.
