Regina slammed the car door shut and made for the entrance – only to be snatched back after the first hasty step. She turned around impatiently. She was already running late for her session with Archie; and after the day she'd been having she felt she rather needed it. And now her coat had got caught in the door. She tugged at it frantically before her common sense registered. She fumbled in her pocket in search of the car keys. They weren't there. Surely she must have put them in her bag then. She unzipped the bag and rummaged about in it for a while. The keys weren't there either. Regina exhaled exasperatedly. If the keys weren't in her pocket or in her bag, they could only be… She groaned in frustration. There they were of course, lying on the seat, where she must have thrown them in all the hurry after she had switched off the engine. Great. Plus, she was definitely late now.
She looked around for help but none came, and the coat just wouldn't be coaxed from between the door and the car. There was nothing else for it. Regina slid the coat off of her shoulders and extricated herself from it. She shivered almost instantly, the silk blouse she was wearing being no help at all at keeping the cold away. She wrapped the scarf tighter around her neck and headed to the doo of Archie's building, leaving the coat lying on the asphalt in a black pile, with one corner held up in the car door.
Fortunately, it was a short way to go. Still, the state she was in made her consider if she might actually accept the cup of tea Archie would always offer during the sessions, and she would always refuse. She knocked on the door. There was no answer. She knocked again, this time more loudly. Nothing. Regina raised her fist once more and rapped resolutely. All was quiet. Not only was Archie not answering, Regina realised, but there was absolutely no sound coming from inside. No sign of movement. Not even Pongo. It seemed as if Archie were out. That's absurd, Regina thought. They had an appointment. He wouldn't stand her up like that. She knocked again half-heartedly but didn't really expect a different outcome this time. Archie was indeed out.
Maybe he had called earlier to cancel and she had just missed the call. She rummaged in her bag once again, feeling for the phone, pulled it out and checked the display. No missed calls, no messages. Not even a note on the door, she thought with a growing taste of bitterness in her mouth.
She felt the familiar swell of anger rising inside, her thoughts racing. She had allowed herself to believe he was a decent person, sometimes she'd even thought he cared beyond the doctor-patient relationship, that he was a a bit of a friend maybe – of course she'd never allowed herself to go deeper into that… She turned her mind back on the fact of being furious. Except somehow it didn't seem to work. She wasn't really feeling angry; it was just a mask, a familiar emotion she was trying to hide behind. But what was there to hide from? She hadn't done anything bad after all, she was late but at least she was there, truly miserable about her delay, yet Archie didn't even bother…and that was disappointing…and it hurt. She tried to push it out of her mind but it wouldn't go, she would have preferred anger but she couldn't bring it forth, not even purposefully. How could Archie let her down like that? Why had she even started to trust him in the first place?
She stared absently at the phone still in her hand. Next thing she knew she was dialling Archie's number. She cursed herself for not having thought of it earlier as she listened to the dialling tone. Finally it was ringing. One ring. Two rings. Three... Regina started pacing along the corridor, back and forth, back and forth. Four, five, six… The ringing ceased and she heard a click followed by a crackling sound and a buzzing noise. "Dr Hopper?" she spoke. More buzzing and cracking. The she heard him. "…Regina? Sorry about the sess…" his voiced trailed off, and for a moment Regina heard absolutely nothing. "Dr Hopper! I can't hear you very well, the connection seems to be awful – where are you?" The line cracked and beeped. "…ran away…" his voice reappeared suddenly, even though very faint. Regina held the phone close and covered her other ear to shut out all noise. She still had trouble making out every other word that managed to get through. "…lost… to the woods…near the…" Then the line died. Regina cursed under her breath. She ran a shaky hand through her hair, trying to sort her thoughts.
Damn, Archie, what happened to you? Where are you?
These boots certainly were not made for hiking, Regina thought. She had just reached the edge of the woods and started making her way through the undergrowth in an attempt for a shortcut to the thick of the woods. She'd decided to start at Toll Bridge, that being the only familiar landmark. Where she would go from there and how she could possibly find Archie without further clues she had no idea. She would work things out as she went, she hoped.
The soil was wet and slushy from recent rain and the heels of her boots kept sinking in deeper in than would have been desirable. Thanks to the car door incident, she was badly underdressed for the season in just the skirt, silk blouse, and scarf, and the cool damp air in the shade of the trees was not helping matters. At least the strenuous walk was keeping her a little warmer. Every once in a while she would stop to clear excess mud off her boots with a handful of leaves. She would work on the boots with one hand only, as she was holding on to her phone with the other.
At first she had hoped Archie might get back to her, so she had kept it ready. However, there had been no sign from him. So Regina would raise the phone to her ear and push the redial button every now and then while walking – to no avail. She didn't really believe he'd answer anymore yet she kept trying at regular intervals. At least it kept her hands and feet busy, thereby trying to occupy her mind and keep the worries at bay.
Finally she spotted the clearing leading up to the bridge between the branches. She brushed fragments of twigs and leaves off her skirt as she emerged from behind the trees. She stopped at the foot of the bridge and looked around. Now what?
There was barely time to collect her thoughts when a rustling sound registered. It was coming from behind her. Regina turned around swiftly only to catch a brief glimpse of a four-footed beast dashing right at her, gaining fast. She gave a sharp cry and backed away instinctively but it was too late to prevent the inevitable collision. The furry mass crashed into her with a force that knocked her off her feet. Regina stumbled and landed on her back, the fall cushioned somewhat by the muddy bank of the river. Yet the world still went black from the force of the fall for a moment. She felt the animal land on her, she felt its weight as its front paws rested on her shoulders pinning her down, she felt its hot breath on her face. Next thing she knew, her face was being covered in warm, wet, sticky saliva. As the blackness receded and her eyes were able to take in the surroundings again, she realised she was staring into a pair of brown eyes in a familiar black-spotted white face.
"P-pongo!" she flustered, only to get a mouthful of fur and saliva. She pushed his snout away gently and tried to sit up. "Down, Pongo!" The dog obeyed. He danced around Regina happily as she pushed herself up on her elbows. Her head spun slightly. Maybe it was a good idea to remain sitting for a moment. Pongo continued to make advances and ask for her attention, wagging his tail frantically. She reached out to stroke him. "Good boy. Now sit." He did, claiming her hand with his paw. She smiled and went on to rub behind his ears. "How did you get here? Why isn't Archie with you? Did you get lost?" Pongo raised his ears attentively and licked her hand once. "Well, you can't answer my questions, of course. How silly of me."
She scanned the clearing and the bridge as far as the eye could see, hoping for a flash of red hair or a glimpse of a tweed coat but seeing neither.
"Alright, Pongo. Let's find Archie together, shall we?"
"Are you sure you know where we're going?" Regina called after Pongo's tail disappearing in a grey dogwood bush. Pongo poked his head out of the bush and barked twice, then turned around again and disappeared completely. "No, I guess not," Regina sighed. "But…since I have no better ideas…" She followed in his general direction, avoiding the bush experience Pongo seemed so keen on.
They had been roaming the forest for hours now, with no luck - no trace of Archie. She came out on the other side of the bush and almost tripped over the Dalmatian waiting for her there. "Is this your nose you're following?" she asked. Pongo tilted his head. "I'm merely asking because I was hoping it had better chances of leading us to your master than…well, sheer luck, since I personally lack any leads at all. Other than the general location of the woods I mean. But…that hasn't been much help." Pongo nudged her hand with his muzzle. "There, good boy," she patted his back. "At least I have you for company."
She raised her eyes skywards and saw only the rich green canopies of the trees. Forest gloom was not unknown to her; she was familiar enough with it to spot the signs of evening dusk approaching. Regina folded her arms around herself tightly. She was feeling the biting cold more and more by the minute, and even physical activity was not enough to help anymore. She missed her coat, she realised; she could have used her car, too. Her feet were sore from walking. She scanned the surroundings with a hint of desperation in her eyes. "We need to find him soon, before nightfall. Do you think we can do that, Pongo?"
Maybe she should have gotten someone to help with the search. "You'd think I would have, right?" she addressed the dog now sitting next to her - actually sitting directly on one of her feet due to some strange quirk of his. He was gazing up at her intently. "Oh, you wonder if it hadn't occurred to me before? See…no one is usually quick to aid me. I guess I'm simply used to taking care of business on my own," she answered the unasked question with a wry smile. She cleared her throat. "Let's go, Pongo." Pongo ran a few steps ahead, then stopped in his tracks and eyed her curiously, as if waiting for an approval or instructions of some sort. With all the positivity and energy she could muster, Regina returned his stare and spoke in a firm, clear voice: "Find Archie."
The sun was setting when Regina fought her way out of the shrubs to find herself on the edge of the very same clearing they had started from. She frowned at the sight of Toll Bridge bathed in the last rays of evening sunlight. "So that's it… we have come full circle." Leaning heavily against a nearby tree, Regina was about to start pondering her possibilities. Suddenly, Pongo, who had been peacefully sniffing the trunk of the same tree, raised his head, pricked up his ears, and within a fragment of a second shot forward.
"Pongo! Wait!" But Pongo didn't seem to hear, or maybe he didn't want to. Regina broke into a run; she didn't want to lose Archie's dog, too. Pongo was much faster to cross the bridge than she was, and she was sure she wouldn't be able to keep up with him for very long. "Pongo!" Surprised to hear a voice that wasn't hers, Regina stopped in her tracks. Pongo's silhouette against the setting sun froze for a second, then leapt forward. A tall figure emerged from the bushes on the other side of the bridge. No sooner had he disentangled himself from the leaves and branches than Pongo reached him and started dancing about him merrily. Regina jogged towards them tentatively. As she approached the scene, a stray ray of light coloured the tall silhouette's hair bright red.
"Archie?"
"Regina!"
They stared at each other for a few moments, unaware that their faces mirrored each other's half-puzzled, half-relieved expression.
"Regina, what happened to you, are you alright?" The concern in his voice took her by surprise more than the question itself. "What do you mean? I should be the one asking that question." "Well, you're all…" He going to say 'a mess' but then he reconsidered. "I mean, you look somewhat…dishevelled. Are you sure you're ok?" Regina looked herself up and down for the first time since she had entered the woods. Sure enough, her boots and clothes were covered in mud, as was probably her hair. Pieces of twigs and leaves were stuck to her skirt and blouse. "Oh… It's nothing, that's just from the warm welcome Pongo had given me." "And a few hours' worth of wandering in the woods?" Archie asked with searching eyes.
She knew that look. He had estimated the situation correctly, like many times before during their sessions. Sometimes she was unsure as to whether she found this ability of his comforting or disturbing. Not this time though. She nodded. "Yes, there's that, too." "How about your coat? You must be freezing." "It's a long story. I was thoughtless, that's all, so I don't have one. Anyway, what happened to you? What brought you here, did Pongo run away?" "Yes. I was about to take him for a walk before our session and he managed to slip out before I had the chance to put him on the leash. I rushed after him in the hope I would catch him shortly but after we reached the woods, we lost each other. I'm sorry about our appointment, I left no notice…" "It's alright," Regina interrupted. "You did what you had to do." There was a pause.
"You came looking for me?" Again, that searching look. "Well, yes, I was…concerned." Archie fought back a smile. "Thank you, Regina." She swallowed. "Sure." Silence. Regina broke it eventually, pointing at the leash in Archie's hand: "Perhaps you should use that now. Just in case he gets ideas again. Another hike in these boots is the last thing these feet need." Archie noticed the mischievous sparkle in Regina's eyes and grinned. After a harsh day roaming the woods she was still able to joke about it. He attached the leash to Pongo's collar. "Shall we?" "By all means," she replied. The sun had almost set and the late evening air sent shivers down her spine - something Archie didn't fail to notice.
"Here, take my jacket," he took it off as he spoke. Automatically, she opened her mouth to protest. "No, I insist. Please have it." Archie held the jacket to help her into it. Regina slid her arms through it gratefully. Hesitant though she had initially appeared, she now welcomed the warmth the rough material offered, and wrapped herself up in the jacket several sizes too big. "Thank you." "It's the least I can do. And it's nowhere near enough to pay my debt for today. I suggest you think of a way for me to pay you back the favour on the way home." "Let me guess: you insist, right?" The fleeting grin on her face told him she had caught the light jocular undertone of the conversation and was willing to play along. "Indeed I do." "Very well. In that case I would like to have a cup of that special tea of yours that you hold so dear." His warm smile would have been informative enough. "It will be my pleasure."