The Probability Factor
Chapter One- Doncha Hate It When That Happens?
Have you ever felt like the other shoe was going to drop sometime soon, and it was going to be a doozy? I had been feeling like that for a whole week, and the suspense was killing me.
My week from suspense hell had occurred during some of the best summer weather Vancouver had seen in a while. Near the end of that week I had left my office for lunch to walk around the Vancouver Art Gallery. I was trying to catch some rays to offset the pasty white office-worker skin I had accumulated over the winter. Tanning was hard at my age. The rich golden brown of my youth was no longer a possibility. Instead I had to settle for a light camel colour and use bronzer for my face, which almost never tanned, except for my nose which would get a ruddy colour from sun exposure. A light breeze played with the hair that escaped from the barrette holding my curls back off my face. I peered through my sunglasses watching other people out enjoying the sun, the pigeons fluttering around on the sidewalk, and traffic ebbing and surging out on the street.
Letting my mind wander, I still felt the exhaustion from the poor sleep I'd been having. I'd been having trouble sleeping for about a week, having these odd reoccurring dreams that I simply could not figure out. When I woke up, I'd remember bits and pieces, and I'd write them down to examine them later. Every night the same dream, and the next morning I'd remember a little more and write it down. Today was day six and I had the complete dream written down in my little notebook. I had been examining it on my breaks and was mulling it over on my lunch, but I couldn't make heads or tails of it.
The dream had me either being chased or running to something. I wasn't too sure as I couldn't tell if something was following me, but I felt a sense of urgency, ergo the running. I kept running down Howe Street north towards the water, but before I could get there, I'd wake up. Every night the same thing, the running and then I'd wake up. I just couldn't figure out why I was having these dreams, or why they started so suddenly. I hadn't had any recent changes to my life. My job certainly wasn't an issue. It was the same old boring j-o-b I'd had for the last seven years. My West End apartment had been my shelter and sanity for the last twelve, and I hadn't had any recent additions or subtractions to my social life. I had broken up with my lousy cheating ex-boyfriend over nine months ago and hadn't been out on a date since. It was perplexing to say the least.
My lunch had ended and no new understanding of my affliction had been achieved. I walked back to the office and made my way back to my cubicle. Meg, my co-worker, dropped by my desk to chat as soon as I sat down.
"Hey Susan, didjya go to the Mall at lunch?" she asked.
I shook my head no, "Uh-uh. I was out for a walk to catch some sun."
"Oh," she curled herself over the baffle wall, "Well, I was in Holt Renfrew today, and you'll never guess what I saw."
"Uh-huh. What?" I played along so she would get to the point and I could get back to work.
"Greg. Cooing over his new tartlet, Kimmy whatshername. I was floored. Couldn't believe he'd be so blatant. What an ass," she pronounced scornfully.
"Meg, we broke up over nine months ago. I'm over him. If he wants to publicly copulate with his new girlfriend, I couldn't care less," I sighed.
Meg patted my back reassuringly, "I know, I know. But still. He's an ass."
"No debate there," I agreed, "But I'd rather not know what he's up to. It's just creepy, y'know?"
She nodded, "Okay, okay. I understand. No more talking about Greg the ass. Only happy talk from now on. I promise. You know I'm here for you right?"
"Yes I do," I conceded.
"Then know I will do everything in my power to see you happy again," she pronounced.
"You don't need to Meg. I'm fine. I am happy. Don't worry about me," I answered.
Meg was a good egg. She had seen me through my messy break-up and had taken me out for weeks afterwards to keep me from moping around in my apartment; but I couldn't stand the fact that she now claimed ownership over me in a small way. She was of a mind that only a man in your life could make you happy, and had been trying for months to get me to go out and start dating again. I wasn't ready to put my shredded heart through that pain again, so I refused. I needed time to learn how to trust again, and being forced out on dates wasn't the way to make that happen. I had a huge need to have her back off and leave me some breathing room.
Meg held up her hands in mock surrender, "All right, all right. But if you need anything, you let me know." She turned and walked back to her desk.
I felt faintly relieved that she had given up so easily, but knew that given any opportunity, she'd be back full force. I turned back to my work, hoping to get a Ministerial Enquiry off my desk before the end of the day. Our office had received a complaint on the processing of a Residential Schools claim, and the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs had been dragged in when the claimant felt we weren't moving quickly enough. It wasn't that we were dragging our feet; we just had to sort through thousands of documents that had been received over the course of a decade in order to find the relevant ones for the claimant's case. We still had not managed to get all of the documents pertaining to the Residential Schools debacle on Imaging, but we were getting there. Over the last year we had a team in each region solely working on adding every single document to the Rainbow Imaging system, but we had only managed to make a dent in the massive amount of paper we had in our archives. Plus, we were getting new documents in every day. It was a nightmare.
The Minister feared poor publicity as his political party had been coming under quite a bit of heat for some scandals that had occurred under the previous Prime Minister, and he didn't want his Department added to the political crisis. I had to explain exactly where we were in the course of the investigation and give an approximate timeline as to when the claimant could expect a resolution to his concern.
I worked feverishly for a few hours before I managed to complete the Enquiry and I sent it off in the bag mail to Ottawa. Upon leaving the office, I felt a sense of both relief and freedom. While I liked my job, I found handling Ministerial Enquiries quite stressful, and wondered if I could find a job without that duty.
Walking down Jervis St, I let my body relax and let all the tension I had built up getting the Ministerial Enquiry ready, flow out of my extremities. I heard the traffic noises and the birds chirping in the trees above me, but I ignored it. Instead I let my mind go blank as I used my commute home to de-stress. I turned onto Comox and sped up my pace as I walked down the hill deep into the West End. My building was on Chilco near Comox, and I looked forward to taking my dog Roxy out for a walk in Stanley Park when I got home. Just as I crossed Denman, I heard a loud crash and shouting off to my left. I turned to look and saw a man jumping out of his car, which had crashed into a newspaper box, waving angrily and swearing at the top of his voice. Another man, who seemed quite tall or the other guy was really short, was standing in the middle of the road looking confused and angry. Now normally I'd just call 911 to report the accident and then go merrily on my way, but something about this scene struck a chord with me, so I wandered over to see if I could help.
As I walked up I heard the tall man speak, but it wasn't a language I recognized. Plus, this guy was dressed like an extra in a medieval picture. Stanley Park sees its fair share of filming, but I knew for a fact that there wasn't a period picture in town at the moment. I have a secret vice. I scan all the film production web-sites and read the entertainment dailies to keep up with the film industry here in Vancouver. I just like to know. And I knew this guy wasn't part of a film production. Unless Stargate SG-1 or Stargate Atlantis was filming a piece that needed medieval costumes, but I seriously doubted it. Medieval guy started to get a hold of himself and took on this imperious attitude, which only infuriated short guy. It was time for some reason to intercede. I cleared my throat.
"Umm, pardon me, but may I be of any assistance? You seem to require some help," I calmly interrupted.
The short guy stopped mid-tirade and looked at me, "Listen lady, unless you have a magic wand to fix my car, you can get lost. This asshole just stepped into the middle of the road and made me crash!"
"I'm sure he didn't make you crash, after all you had other options," I suggested.
He gave me a cruel look, "Yeah, I shoulda hit him. Dumb fuck."
The tall guy flipped his long blond hair over his shoulder and looked at me with a piercing stare. He motioned to me and began to speak in the unknown language. It sounded kind of musical and not unlike a combination of Arabic and Finnish. Not that I understood a word of it. He looked like he was really trying to get something across to me, and for a moment I had a spark of clarity. I believed he wanted to know where he was. I had no idea how I had arrived at this conclusion, it just seemed to arrive. I knew I had to get tall guy out of there, I just had to get short guy to calm down.
"Hey, hey! Sir!" I waved my hand in front of short guy's face as he restarted his tirade.
He paused and glared at me, "What?"
"I'm going to do you a favour and take this guy out of your hair," I replied.
"What about my car?" he demanded.
I looked it over. There was just a small scratch where his fender had connected with the newspaper box. "It's fine. Just take it to ICBC if you want to get that scratch fixed," I said reasonably.
"And have my insurance rates go up?" he bellowed.
"It's either that or have ICBC make a decision on fault. Let's see. Car. Pedestrian. Car almost hits pedestrian. Hmmm, how's that one look, eh?" I looked him squarely in the eye, "What will ICBC decide if our friend Flicka has been injured, eh?"
He stuttered for a second, "But he's not injured."
"How do you know? Are you a doctor? Do you have a job in healthcare? I don't think so. So my suggestion to you is to pipe down, get in your car and go. And thank whatever god you pray to that you got off so damn easy," I gave him a hard look.
He looked at tall guy and then looked at me. Deciding that he was outgunned, he grumbled and got back into his car. I took tall guy's hand and dragged him away from the scene.
"Hey, sir? Come with me. I'll see to your needs," I motioned to him to come with me. He gave me a confused look, but then followed me.
I had no idea what I was doing, taking him to my home, but it felt right. It was like I was on autopilot and following some unknown programming. I walked with him back to my apartment and guided him in the door. When I got to the elevator, we ran into a slight problem. He didn't want to get in. I cajoled and encouraged, but he did not want to get in. I stepped in and let the door close. I heard him yelp and hit the open button to let the doors reopen. He seemed quite relieved to see me in one piece. I pulled him in and the door closed. He seemed to get a bit panicky, and it only got worse when I pressed the sixteenth floor button and the elevator began to rise. I put a calming hand on his arm and made soothing noises, but he still looked quite stricken. When the door finally opened he shot out into the hall. I followed him out and motioned him to come with me as I walked down the hall to my door. I ushered him into my apartment, and watched him cautiously enter and examine my belongings. The feeling that I had, that told me this was the right thing to do, was still strong but I felt like I shouldn't have a strange man in my home. It just wasn't done.
Roxy came peeling out of my bedroom, and ran up to tall guy. She yipped and ran around his feet in excitement. He bent down and she raised herself up on her hind feet to greet him. He ruffled her fur and she licked his hand. That clinched it. Roxy was a good judge of character. She hadn't liked Greg from the get go, and for good reason. I knew if Roxy placed her stamp of approval on tall guy, he must be all right. She wasn't easily fooled. She managed to cement the feeling I had that this guy was all right. I relaxed a little more and petted Roxy in greeting.
Roxy danced around my feet, letting me know it was time to take her out. I looked at tall guy. I couldn't take him with me. It would raise too many eyebrows. So I decided to trust him and keep him in the house. I walked over to the TV and turned it on. The noise startled him and he came up beside me, watching the images jump all over the screen. I turned the channel to CNN and stepped back.
"I've got to take Roxy out for a walk. This is the remote. Don't press this button. It's the volume and I've got neighbours who don't like loud TV's, so don't touch this button. This is the power button, to turn it on and off. There are books over there," I motioned to the bookshelves lining the walls, "Feel free to read if you like. I'll be back in half an hour. Okay?" I waved goodbye and grabbed Roxy's leash and poop bags off the hook by the door and opened it to leave.
Tall guy just looked perplexed as he watched me go. I hoped he wouldn't leave before I got back. I didn't want my apartment left open, and I also didn't want to come back to a panicking guy stuck in the elevator. I figured he must be claustrophobic. It was the only thing I could think of as to why he was so wigged out by the elevator. I left, locking the door behind me and led Roxy out for her walk. I ran her up to the edge of the Park, and cleaned up after she had done her business. Then we briskly walked back to the apartment, cutting her normal walk short because of my paranoia about our houseguest. I got near to my building and then swerved to go up to Denman, to the little menswear store near Comox. I tied Roxy's leash to a bike rack before I went in to find our houseguest some more appropriate clothing. Going over to the clearance rack, I found a pair of soft cotton sweats in what I guessed was his size. I also found a t-shirt and hoodie that were reasonably priced. After I purchased the items, I walked out with my bag and got Roxy, before I continued back to my apartment. Once Roxy and I opened the door, I got her off the leash and she ran over to our guest, only to sit down beside him. He had made himself comfortable on the couch and was watching the TV. The channel had been changed and he was watching PBS' 'Arthur'. It was an odd choice, but I let it slide. I dropped the bag onto the coffee table and sat down beside him.
"Interesting viewing choice," I casually mentioned, nodding towards the TV.
Tall guy just glanced at me and then turned his attention back to the show. I watched him watching the TV for a moment. He had quite long blond hair and these blue-grey eyes that seemed intense in their gaze. Even while watching 'Arthur'. He was a bit scratched up and dirty, but no worse for wear. I noticed he wore a sword on his belt and a pair of short knives stuck out of his knee-high boots. The colours of the forest were predominant in the choice of clothing he wore. I figured he could blend in to the foliage quite easily if he was so inclined. Which brought me to the questions of who he was, and why was he here. I decided to advance my progress in this area, and at least get a name.
I waved my hand in front of his face while I said, "Excuse me. Pardon me?"
He turned to look at me as a slightly annoyed expression crossed his face. Okay, we established he didn't like to be interrupted while watching his program.
"Okay, yeah. This will just take a moment," I smiled my most charming smile, "What's your name?" I pointed to him. "Name? Oh, uh. My name is Susan," I pointed to myself, "Susan. And you are?" I pointed back to him.
He just gave me a blank look. I sighed inwardly, "Susan." I repeated pointing to myself, "Susan. And you are?" I pointed back at him.
A look of dawning understanding flit across his face as he pointed to me, "Su-san." He stumbled over the pronunciation. He pointed to himself, "Hal-dur." He gently rolled his 'r'.
"Haldur," I repeated, pointing at him. "Susan," I pointed back to myself.
Looking terribly pleased with himself, he repeated, "Haldur," rolling the 'r' again, and then pointing to me, "Susan."
"Yes," I clapped my hands happily, "Now for the hard question. Why are you here?"
I lost him again, as he stared at me blankly. "Susan," he responded helpfully.
I tried not to laugh, "Yes, Susan. Very good." I stood up, "Well. I think that takes care of the question and answer session for the evening. I'm gonna start dinner. Stay where you are," I motioned to him to stay seated as I got up and walked into my kitchen.
He stared after me for a moment before he returned his attention back to the television, which was now showing 'Maya & Miguel'. This lost Haldur's interest, so he picked up the remote and pressed the button I showed him, flipping through the channels at a mind-numbing speed. He reminded me of my middle nephew, who couldn't just sit and watch a show, but had to change the channels every five minutes at a machine gun pace. He finally settled on a re-run of 'Oprah', becoming engrossed in the topic of men feeling rejected in the bedroom. Shaking my head at his odd viewing habits; I pulled out the chicken I had marinating in fridge and selected some fresh veggies I had purchased at the market the day before. I had lucked out at the Granville Island market, finding baby asparagus and sweet carrots, as well as peas in the pod. I decided on asparagus and carrots to pair with the chicken, and I would make up rice pilaf as a bed. While I busied myself making dinner, I heard Haldur repeat phrases he heard on the TV. I just about sliced my finger open when I heard him repeat, "I have needs she just doesn't understand." I laughed quietly in the kitchen, trying not to be heard as I finished putting the chicken in the oven and turning on the steamer for the rice and vegetables.
Pulling a couple of bottled waters out of the fridge, I walked back into the living room, uncapping them as I went. Haldur was sitting on the couch, raptly watching Oprah giving her vaunted opinion to the masses. I handed an open bottle to Haldur, and took a sip from my own. Haldur watched me drink and then took a tentative sip from his own bottle. Some water dribbled down his chin as he got the hang of drinking from a bottle. Peculiar. I wondered if there were bottles where he came from. He was handling this marvellously, if he wasn't local. Come to think of it, I was pretty calm about the whole thing too. It was a little odd. Not that I'm a panicky person anyways. I'm good in a crisis and remain calm under some pretty dire circumstances, but then I couldn't really say if I would handle being alone in a strange land all that well. Especially if it wasn't my idea. It gave me something else to mull over, besides where my guest was from, why he was here, and why the hell I was having these repetitive dreams.
Dinner soon buzzed readiness, and I pulled the chicken out of the oven and spooned rice onto the plates, placing the chicken on top. Arranging the vegetables, I then picked up the plates and brought them to the dining table. I moved back into the kitchen to get the cutlery and drinks, and motioned to Haldur to come eat. He seemed grateful for the meal, and ate everything up, cleaning his plate in good speed. I offered another helping, and watched him comprehend my offer. He quickly nodded, and I got up to get him another plate. He made short work of that one too. So much for leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
The evening was quiet, as my guest didn't have much to say. Well, nothing that I understood at any rate. I took Roxy out for her evening constitutional and came back to Haldur reclining on the couch staring into nothingness. The closing of the door startled him into the present, and he leapt off the couch, crouching in a battle stance. Seeing it was only me and Roxy, he settled back down on the couch. I got Roxy calmed down and myself ready for bed. I felt awkward padding out into the living room in my PJ's, but I had to give him bedding for the night. I found him sprawled out on the couch, pillows on the floor and boots lying neatly beside the foot of the couch. I gently pulled a blanket over him, turned down the A/C and flicked off the lights before I left the room. I mentally went over the grocery list for the next day as I fell asleep. Toothbrush. Haldur would definitely need a toothbrush. I fell asleep to dreams of dental hygiene.