Old Memories and New Beginnings

As the three reached the bottom of their second basket of deep fried potato skins Laura Dell decided that three pints would be a good place to call it quits for the night. She looked up at the two old dinosaurs laughing and talking back and forth. She never imagined before she left that her two closest friends would have a combined age of over 12o years. They were practically fossils in her young eyes.



Glancing down at her empty glass then back at the faces of her new friends Laura said, "Well guys it has been fun. I must say that deep fried potatos and beer have a certain way of helping with days like today and bosses like Feinman. I want to get some rest though so I don't slip up tomorrow."



"Ah, I guess that means I'm done too!" Eddie said with a chuckle.



Eddie got up and dismissed himself and was out the door of the dead Yellowhammer before Laura Dell had a chance to leave the table. Laura looked up to see the sage old eyes of Dr. Walters staring directly at hers. His gaze was so heavy tt felt like he was reading her inner most thoughts.



"You live fairly close don't you?" He asked.



"Yes sir, sorry I mean Yes I do." Laura said.



"Haha you don't have to apolagize for good manners. Won't you let me walk you home? The city is a beautiful one but it can be rough in some parts. If anything were to happen I could put this old cane to good use for once."



"Sure Dr. Walters, that would be nice."



As the two passed through the door of the old bar the bite of a harsh winter bit in to Laura's face. There something about the cold that caused her mind to go numb and allowed her to reflect only inward. All she wanted to do was call and tell her dad how her day had gone. She loved how he was always in her corner whenever someone had wronged her. He no doubt would have told her not to worry about that old ass hole Feinman. Her conversation with Dr. Walters and Eddie had reminded her of how nice it felt to have someone that took her side and was actually interested in the problems of her day. She was thirteen hours away from Siloam but she was slowly begining to feel more at home.



The had spent the majority of their walk in silence but as they rounded the corner and neared Laura's apartment she glanced back to the old dinosaur and pointed to signal that they were approaching her building.



"What about your Family?" Dr Walters asked.



"Pardon?" Laura said caught off guard.



"I'll bet they are pretty sad to have such a bright courteous girl like yourself out of the house."



She clinched her teeth together and forced her mouth mouth open to display a smile so fake that she knew Dr. Walters would be able to see directly through it. She let out an awkward laugh and said, "Haha yeah, I suppose."



Dr. Walters and Laura both stopped walking as they came to the stoop of her building. "Well this is my building." Laura said. Dr. Walters reached over and grabbed her arm and stared deeply in to Laura. He knew she wasnt being entirely honest about her family. Worse, she sknew that he was aware as well. There is nothing more awkward than lying and knowing the person you have lied to is aware that you are not being honest and still refuses to say anything, she thought. Instead of saying anything Dr. Walters instead pried further.



As she started for the stairs Dr. Herbert stopped her. "What about your father?" he said.



"Excuse me?" His question stopped her dead in her tracks.



"I've never heard you mention him, it just seems a little strange. What does he do?"



The question struck a nerve in Laurad Dell and made her feel small. She felt herself crumble inside. A ball of emotions marked by guilt filled her throat and she felt what was soon to be an explosion of epic emotional proportions coming on. It felt like the temperature had dropped twenty degrees at the sound of his question. Only, she knew Dr. Walters knew nothing of Siloam, Alabama much less her father and anything to do with his death. How could he have known that the day of his car accident they had gotten in an argument over something as pointless as a simple chore that she did not want to complete. The last words she had said to him were nothing too out of the ordinary for an argument of that kind but if she had known they would be her last words to him she would have chosen different ones. After his death home felt more like punishment and a place of constant guilt than a place of refuge.

She stopped, "Dr Walters, Dr. Walters, Are you ok?". Dr. Walters was leaning against his cane one knee down on the cold damp Chicago sidewalk. His left hand was clinched and pressed tight against his chest. His cough was deep and raspy, he weezed deeply as he gasped for air.

"I'm alright. Just had to clear my chest out a little. I wanted to tell you something earlier at the museum Laura. I seem to be a little sick, well actually more than a little." Dr. Walters confessed with shame.

Laura felt the emotions rising again inside of herself. "Well hopefully you will feel well soon." She said as she cut him off. "Good night Dr. Walter, I have to go now." As she opened the door to her old Chicago apartment Dr. Walter stopped her once more.

"You can just call me Herbert. All my friends do." He gave her a wink and a wave as he strolled off in to the windy Chicago night. She watched him from the window of her front door as he strolled down the sidewalk leaning slightly on his cane but trying to give the impression he wasn't dependent on it. As he walked up he passed over a street drain and disappeared behind the cloud of steam. Laura felt bad for cutting Dr. Walters off but the thought of her father's death with still salt in an open wound.

***

The next day Laura Dell awoke early and felt refreshed, ready for whatever challenges the day might have for her. She had her father and hers favorite breakfast consisting of two eggs scrambled with just a touch of salsa on top and a cup of black coffee. She finsihed up and bounded down the six flights of stairs to the lobby of her apartment building. Upon opening the door she was greeted with an unfamiliar brightness. She had not seen the sun since she first arrived in Chicago and was begining to feel the effects. In Alabama you take the one hundred degree summers and sixty degree winters for granted, but deprived of that heat and sunlight altogether one can find themselves feeling blue without even knowing it. As she strolled casually dwon the sidewalk she heard the sounds of horns and the chirping of birds with more clarity. Their singing resonated all through her body causing her to feel warm inside and causing her to smile from ear to ear. Buildings looked more beautiful, and faces looked friendlier. Laura was ready for her day and anxious. So anxious in fact that she showed up twenty minutes early to work. As she sat on a bench outside the museum and old friend approached and perched on a branch in the tree next to her. It was the same bird from a few days before. He sat on the branch and talked with Laura about this and that. She told him about how she didnt really care much for Mr. Feinman and about how she found him rather pretentious. The bird just smiled and said he agreed.

When Mr. Feinman rounded the corner he smiled and gave Laura a look of surprise. One that said he was surprised she was early but not that he was delighted. He let her in and she got straight to work checking all the name plates twice and again a third time. She wanted to show Mr. Feinman and Herbert she wasn't just another intern here to do her three months and leave.

The previous night had left her feeling guilty. She just wanted to see Herbert and ask him what was wrong with his health. She felt like she had ignored her one closest friend. As the crowds began pouring in she searched frantic fervor looking for the one face that mattered but it never came. The minutes passed like hours and she found herself circling the museum over and over. She went and checked Sue at least twenty times but never found Herbert's warm familiar face.

She looked at the clock and before she knew it it was closing time. Her mind assumed the worst and her stomach turned in knots. She could only help but wonder if the something terrible had happened to Dr. Walters.