Friday, April 16, 2010

Chapter 21

The nets were all down by the time Laura Dell got back to the museum. Dr. Walters’ associates were also gone. Not that Laura Dell looked for them. It was in a daze that she wandered through the exhibits. She couldn’t shake the feeling Herbert’s unsmiling eyes had left her with.
She wasn’t paying any attention to where she was going and almost walked right into Mr. Feinman’s back. Laura Dell stopped herself so close to him that he took a startled step back when he turned around.
“Oh,” he almost gasped. “Miss Dell, I see the nets have been taken down. It didn’t get done before opening though-” He seemed to cut off mid-sentence. “Are you alright Miss Dell? You look a little pale.”
“Huh?” she asked. “Oh, no I am fine.” She tried on a smile. If he noticed, then I must look terrible, she thought. She wondered if her eyes were smiling.
“Very well,” he said. He shook a confused face away and his petulant eyes returned. “I have some work to do and I am sure you do as well so let’s get to it.”
Mr. Feinman walked away without waiting for a response. So abrupt was the encounter that it didn’t even occur to Laura Dell that she hadn’t got caught leaving the museum. She continued following her feet until they led her to a more open area.
Not looking up she could feel the room open up around but she still felt suffocated. She stopped in the room and looked up to see Sue gazing at her with hollow eyes. Laura Dell sat down on the bench where she first met Herbert.
Things were happening to quickly. She knew this was inevitable but it seemed like she and Herbert were just getting to know each other. It was too early for him to be deteriorating this soon. Eddie’s words echoed in her head. He isn’t the one who can get hurt. She hated Eddie right then. It wasn’t fair to him and she knew it but that didn’t mean she had to like it. She looked up at Sue and hated her too. Hated her for bringing her and Herbert together. She hated her being dead and remaining in her life. She hated her for looking at her with the same empty eyes that Herbert had.
Laura Dell buried her eyes in her palms. Get a grip, she told herself, Herbert isn’t dead and it’s nobody’s fault but your own that you feel this way. Though the words were true, they were no comfort. With a deep breath she stood up. Back to work. If you keep moping Feinman might actually go through with firing you for once. Focusing her anger at her boss she went about her duties.

Laura Dell didn’t go back to the hospital after work. She knew Herbert would expect her but she didn’t know if she could handle seeing that smile again. It was one thing to know he was sick but she hadn’t been prepared to see it up close and personal. So she went home, avoiding the feelings the hospital brought.
There was a message on her answering machine when she walked through the door. She threw her purse on the table and changed out of her work clothes before she pushed play on the device.
“Hey sis,” John William’s cheerful voice came out of the speaker. “You don’t write, you don’t call. It’s enough to make a guy feel unloved. How busy can a museum be? Anyway, I just wanted know how you liked the play.” There was a brief pause. “Oh yeah, call Mom. She keeps bugging me for news about you.”
“End message,” the automated voice said.
Laura Dell pressed repeat. She listened to her brother’s voice, hearing the humor behind it. How can he be so happy talking to a machine? She played the message again, reveling in the sound of it. After the fourth time listening to it she pressed delete to save her sanity.
“Message deleted,” the automated voice toned. “No more messages.”

Laura Dell woke up the next morning not feeling rested at all. Her sheets were all kicked out and her comforter lay in a heap on the floor. She had had dreams that kept her tossing and turning. Dreams about her father.
A hot cup of coffee after a hot shower helped to bring her out of her funk. However little better she felt was replaced with guilt over not checking in on Herbert yesterday. She called the hospital to see if he was still there.
“Yes he is,” the nurse said. “Would you like me to connect you to him?”
“No that’s alright,” Laura Dell answered. “Thank you, but I have to go. Goodbye.”
She didn’t like that she couldn’t talk to him but she had to hurry to work. She decided she would go visit him today during her lunch break and apologize for not coming by last night.

Laura Dell got to work early for once. She hadn’t planned it and she didn’t notice a pick up in her pace but she was glad it happened. Mr. Feinman happened to be walking by the door when she entered and was surprised.
“Miss Dell, glad you could be here on time. Though, I suppose it was bound to happen one of these days.”
Laura Dell couldn’t think of a polite response to that so she said nothing.
“I must admit that I take it as a good sign. Your attitude yesterday left something to be desired and when I overheard someone mention a dazed woman in the Tyrannosaurus Rex exhibit I naturally thought of you. I believe ‘lurking’ is the word that was used. But here you are ready to work.”
Laura Dell still didn’t respond. She didn’t want to explain herself to this petty man. All he cares about is his museum and how it reflects on him. He wouldn’t care that Herbert’s in the hospital dieing. She simply smiled and walked past him. She didn’t look back to see if he was finished talking or if he cared that she had walked away from him. She turned her mind to work and dove into it.
It was around eleven o’clock when a man she thought she recognized smiled at her from across the hall and walked over to her. Laura Dell couldn’t quite remember where she had seen him but knew that she should.
“Miss Dell, right?” he asked.
“Yes?” she answered
“Hi, I’m Rupert Dresden. I don’t think we were properly introduced but I am a friend of Dr. Walters.”
“Oh that’s right. You helped us catch the bird yesterday.”
“Yes, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Talk to me about?”
“Well, it’s just that yesterday you seemed to be concerned about it and its twisted foot.”
“Yes I remember. Is it ok?”
“It is a little too early to tell but I got it set in a splint and looks to be doing well.”
“That’s good news. I would hate for it to have to be put down. Especially since I am pretty much to blame”
“I wouldn’t say you’re to blame. Anyway, my colleague and I were wondering if you would like to keep it if it gets better.”
“Keep it? Would it make a good pet?”
“No. In fact most consider its species to be a pest and would buy a cat just to get rid of it.”
“I see, then why offer?”
“You seemed to have a connection to it and sometimes people are funny about things like that.”
They were both silent a while.
“So if you were interested I thought I would just leave my office number in case.” “That would be alright. Maybe I will check on it.”

10 comments:

  1. Ok so i know i posted after midnight again. I hope no one was waiting up til midnight in suspense but i had a hard chapter to follow. So after two or three mass deletes this is what i came up with.
    I felt like giving LD a break on the work front since i tore into her with it the last time i wrote. also since we have dredged up some deep and dark memories i decided there should be some emotional blowback. I don't know what exactly i was thinking about when i got the part about the bird's recovery but i think i wanted the bird's progress to parallel herbert's in a way.

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  2. Don't worry 'bout the time.

    Let's see... bird and LD are connected... got a message from JW... Now we have to call mom... Herbert's probably wondering where LD is... might even be pissed that she didn't show, since he's in the hospital (but I don't really feel like that's his character. Still, hospitals do make people do some crazy things, like ride around in your scooter-chair until you die!)

    Feinamn was a little less of a dick today. Can't be bad every day, I guess.

    Nice touch with the emotions! The blowback was a really good idea. I like how she hated Eddie. hahaha.

    So, next person has some options. Call mom. Accept the bird. See Herbert. Save the city. Choice is yours!

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  3. This was a good chapter. LD's actions and emotions are very realistic and believable to the audience. I like how the guy at the end ties LD to the bird.

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  4. Great chapter John! I really like that LD didnt get fired, I felt like Feinman would probably can her soon if he found out she skipped work again so I'm glad we avoided that little drama for now. Also I'm glad that you brought back JW. I feel like he is an important voice for LD so his message was a nice touch.

    For the next few chapters, we still have to deal with the bird and whatever LD plans to do with it. Also we should probably update on Dr.W soon and decide if he's permanently in the hospital or if he's getting out soon. Good work!

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  5. She hated her being dead and remaining in her life.

    I loved that line, John! It just stuck out to me...

    This was a great chapter. I think you did a lot of good things. I like the open option with the bird and the message from JW. Good move! I think you have a lot of good images and gave us some great plot points.

    Thanks!

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  6. Hey John!

    Excellent chapter! I love that your narrative voice is so consistent and precise. That is something that I certainly admire in your work because it is difficult for me to achieve myself.

    As for the chapter I enjoyed how Fienmen seemed to back off a little bit and we were seeing some emotional turmoil from LD. I liked that we've kept the bird alive and I hope that LD will decide to take care of it in the future.

    Thanks so much for your hard work John!!

    Cheers,

    - Megan F.

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  7. Great chapter John!!

    I loved the emotions we got to see from LD. I liked that she was mad at Eddie and mad at Sue. It seemed very real and sincere. I'm glad that we got to see how all of this is building up and affecting her so great job!

    For the next few chapters we have a lot to work with. The bird, JW, and Dr. Walter's in the hospital are all things that we can explore soon! I look forward to reading them!

    Good work!

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  8. John,

    Wonderful chapter! Like Michelle, I loved the line "She hated her being dead and remaining in her life." Loved it! I also like how you brought JW back through the answering machine and how you included the automated voice! That was great.

    Accept the bird or not to accept the bird, that is the question. Same with the mother. I think we should have the mother come in soon, she was set up as a narrative pressure a long time ago, but we really haven't seen much of her so i look forward to that!

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  9. Great work!
    Yes, I'm glad you're paralleling the bird's and Herb's recovery. I'm also glad you brought JW back. The scene where she listens to his message is so vivid. Even such a simple thing really shows her delicate emotional state right now. I'm also looking forward to her next conversation with her mom, so good job setting that up.
    Enjoyed it!

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  10. i can't wait to hear about when LD decides to call her mom. also, i thought about having LD offer to keep the bird in my chapter but i thought it would be too much. it works well here, though! nice thought robert dresden. glad we're on the same wavelength! haha

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