-31-
"Move"
The last of his books, furniture and clothing have been hauled away by the movers. Marcia had her stuff taken out of the apartment last week and shipped to her sister's house in Brewster, New York. Garrett never liked Marcia's sister. He is glad he won't have to deal with her accusatory looks and patronizing, insulting barbs.
No, he won't be joining Marcia on her trip upstate. They have decided to put this marriage on hold, give it a 'trial separation. Actually, It was Marcia who did the deciding; Garrett just went along for the ride.
It's not in him to walk away without a fight. But he doesn't have the energy to do battle, plus he doesn't want this separation to begin on a hostile note.
To salvage a relationship you need to stick with it, work out the knots and kinks. He realizes he hasn't done enough of that lately. Second world, Pleasant Hills and Dr. House had taken him away from what should have been his first priority. But his marriage never took precedence over his job. It's been this way since the beginning, and Marcia, always so intuitive and right, realized this long before he did. Garrett is just now catching up. He is 'gettin' with the program', as Sarno might say.
Hindsight is a bitch.
This sure hasn't been the best week of his life, he thinks, roaming the apartment's empty rooms. Now and then he picks up a small reminder of what used to be: a plastic gardenia from one of Marcia's old hats, a receipt from Pompano's, the Italian restaurant where the entire wait staff knew them...
He tosses the receipt and flower in the green trash bag by the door, mulling over the circumstances that caused the walls to crumble and fall. Certainly the separation had been imminent. But it might not have come to pass this quickly had Dr. House actually cooperated and not gotten trapped in the TO during lockdown or had that second sweet little conversation with Jayda.
Round and round and round...
Garrett's biggest mistake had been allowing the doctor to venture past the town line. He should have heeded Sarno's warning. But when had that loon ever been on the mark?
There's a first time for everything, bucko.
Bistelli was called in to do the cleanup, even though with the newer technology it was possible to implant false memories without physical contact. In the doctor's case, Irie was reluctant to let this go the regular route. They needed to bring someone in with a no-fail rate. Bistelli was expensive but he was the best hypnotherapist the project held on retainer. After three sessions, the doctor firmly believed he'd been in Atlantic City on vacation, getting extremely twizzled and succumbing to the charms of the working girls.
It's a shame, really, Garrett laments, digging in his trouser pocket for his car keys. The doctor would have been a perfect resident, if he hadn't been so damn bull headed, strong willed and overly curious.
Garrett will put this behind him; there are other things to consider now. His flight to New Mexico leaves in five hours. Irie reassigned him to desk duty indefinitely, leaving Sarno back in the Pleasant Hills town hall. Garrett's replacement has already been dispatched to Station One.
He's actually more okay with this than he thought he'd be. Yeah, it's a brand new start in a crummy old place. But at least in New Mexico, there are twenty-four hours in a day, sixty minutes in an hour. Buildings stay where their foundations are set.
Give it time. That could change too.
Espresso will definitely be off the menu; he may even give up caffeine altogether, if he can manage it.
Garrett allows himself one last look at the apartment he shared with Marcia before closing the door behind him. He twists the knob twice, making sure the place is locked up tight, then walks down the hall without looking back.