All The Way
Chapter 17
The next morning….
Hallie Stokes sat in the mess tent nursing a cup of hot tea when Bridget slipped into the chair next to her.
"You're quiet this morning," Bridget observed sipping her coffee.
"I'm not feeling well," Hallie replied, not wanting to elaborate. She found working with Bridget fun and educational, but didn't feel comfortable revealing her most private thoughts and problems. On the other hand the graduate student, in between lessons on Anasazi pottery, found it easy to reveal her entire life to her mentee. Casually she described her journey through academia and her aspirations of earning a doctorate. Dr. Herbert Osmond, Bridget's major professor, was fondly referred to as Dr. O, a kind and caring fatherly figure who described his students as his kids. Dr. O has a wicked sense of humor. Professor Stokes and Dr. O must have been a real hoot when they were in school together, Bridget confided. Hallie sipped her tea and felt pleasure in hearing Bridget praise her Uncle Eliot.
Meeting the cheerful Bridget made her reluctant to share her tragic childhood. Unfortunately her time at Collinwood was also off limits for discussion. If she were to describe her experiences on the estate they would think she was mentally unstable. Possession, ghosts, curses and time travel were only found in books and legends and couldn't possibly happen in real life. Hallie felt it best to remain silent.
Bridget casually watched the members of the camp stream in the tent and became alert when Julia Hoffman walked in and slowly moved along the tables gathering a light breakfast and coffee. The arrival of Richard Carter and Julia Hoffman at the research site had created quite a stir. The graduate student made a point of watching the center of male attention, Dr. Julia Hoffman.
The physician took great pains in her appearance, hair neatly styled, lipstick precisely applied, the sleeves of her blouse neatly rolled, a stylish leather belt, the legs of her pants neatly tucked into her boots. Close behind Julia Hoffman like moths to a flame trailed Drs. Summerlin and Turpening. Bridget gave an amused laugh and nudged Hallie.
"And they worry about our free love generation. If you ask me, the old people at this site are the ones looking for action."
Hallie's eyes narrowed while listening to Bridget's comments. "What do you mean?"
Bridget cheerfully repeated the camp gossip. "From what I hear everyone expected Dr. Carter would bring a young naïve female grad student. Dr. Hoffman was a total surprise, ruined their bets and sent them all into a tizzy. Summerlin and Turpening were totally stunned. Just look at them! Have you ever seen our illustrious professors looking so neat and handsome? Can you believe it? Summerlin has washed and combed his hair. Turpening I believe is wearing a new shirt….. and it's not wrinkled. The two of them have jackets that are older than I am, and yet today look at them."
Hallie watched with new interest, tuning out the cramps in her abdomen.
The graduate student continued her observations, leaning closer to Hallie and whispering. "Look Hallie, Dr. Hoffman is sitting down over there. Watch…. there they go. Summerlin and Turpening are sitting across the table from her…she can't help but notice them. Check out how they lean toward her and smile. They're flirting with her. This is so disgusting." Bridget gave an exaggerated grimace. "People their age shouldn't behave that way."
Hallie laughed while Dr. Julia Hoffman politely handled her male suitors. She remembered the doctor from her time at Collinwood. They had met under the most trying circumstances. It seems so much of her childhood was filled with events beyond her control. The people she loved had suffered the most. If only she could travel back in time to warn her parents they might still be with her. The pains in her abdomen were a reminder of her change from a child to a young woman and how she yearned for her mother's guidance.
Bridget's voice grew louder, "Here's Dr. O. I wonder what he'll do." Hallie watched as Dr. Osmond gathered his breakfast and moved in the direction of Julia Hoffman and company.
"Ju-li-a," Denis Summerlin smiled, leaning toward the physician, enjoying how her name rolled off his tongue, "you will have to stop by my tent this evening. I would love to explain the science behind my research correlating growth rings and climatic conditions in this area."
Herb sat down next to Julia who politely nodding her head, listening to her male entourage.
"Good-morning, Dr. Hoffman. Gentlemen," Herb began nodding to all. "I see my colleagues have been providing company till I arrived." Summerlin and Turpening crossed their arms and glared at Osmund. How dare he interrupt their time with Ju-li-a!
Julia nodded. "Yes, Dr. Osmond, I have two invitations for this evening. Dr. Summerlin has gladly agreed to explain his research correlating growth rings and climate change while Dr. Turpening wishes to enlighten me with his work on the biology of maize and primitive corn."
Osmond cleared his voice, stirred the cream into his coffee. "Yes, I see. My colleagues seem very anxious to demonstrate their academic prowess among other things."
The physician gave Herb a knowing look and smiled. "Don't worry Dr. Osmond, my colleagues in the medical field were also as eager to demonstrate their academic prowess among other things, I'm use to it. I'm a survivor."
Herb studied Julia over his cup of coffee. Soft, beautiful, and tough as nails, how he envied Eliot Stokes.
"I'll be radioing the university tomorrow night. If you need any special supplies please let me know. The truck will arrive on Saturday. We usually have on Saturday night get together with dancing, square dancing, if you'd care to join us."
Summerlin and Turpening gave a simultaneous moan.
Herb grinned. "They moan, but they'll be there. Join us Dr. Hoffman, it will put a smile on your face. Eliot and I will be doing our special dance."
Julia's eyebrow's arched provocatively. "Professor Stokes?" She asked in disbelief.
"You met him yesterday, Ju-li-a, the gentleman with the camera." Denis prompted.
"Oh yes, "Julia replied as though recalling her first meeting with Eliot Stokes.
Herb's eyes met Julia's in a knowing look. "Yes, you know, our Eliot Stokes."
"Yes, of course. Our Eliot Stokes," Julia replied. "Well, I'll definitely mark it on my calendar."
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Julia spent an hour unpacking and setting up equipment in their research tent. Ascencion had helped set up the wooden tables in a 'U' shape formation; the open end of the "U" facing the tent opening. For calibration purposes she had drawn some of the young man's blood and placed it on ice for a trial run.
At the entrance a clinic area would be used for patient injuries or illness. Two chairs formed an informal waiting area near a cot. One crate held all the emergency medicines and equipment. A large duffle bag equipped with first aid supplies was available for treatment on location in the site. A stretcher for patient transport leaned against the wall of the tent. While placing each item in its proper location Julia felt a renewed confidence. You've done your homework and everything will be fine.
The next step was to set the power system to the generator grid that ran throughout the camp. The morning sun fully covered the camp and the temperature in the tent grew stifling. Even with the small fan running, Julia found her clothing confining, trapping the heat. Wiping her face with a towel she sheepishly looked around the tent before pulling out the hem of her blouse and unfastening the back of her bra. Stepping in front of the fan she turned from side to side enjoying the refreshing breeze. Quickly she moved to a corner and with a maneuver Houdini would have appreciated, slipped the straps and bra out the sleeve of her blouse.
"AHHHH," she sighed, moving to the fan, letting the air move through the short sleeves of her blouse. With a vigorous snap she tossed the bra under the table on top of a crate.
"Good-bye and good riddance," She gleefully announced.
Suddenly the tarp of the entrance flipped back with a snap and Richard Carter grandly walked in. Wordlessly he moved around the tent inspecting the equipment on the tables.
Julia folded her arms across her chest. "Good-morning, Richard."
He stood in front of her and nodded.
Her eyes narrowed. Carter looked awful. Red, raw eyes, uncombed hair, unchanged clothes and the appearance of someone who hadn't slept in days.
"Richard, are you feeling alright?"
His hands moved to his hips in a defensive stance. "Are you saying I don't look alright?"
Julia smiled in disbelief; surely he had not looked in the mirror.
"No, Richard, you look like hell. Have you eaten?"
"So, now you are interested in my well-being?" His voice still pouty.
"Don't be childish, Richard. I'm the site physician. Your health is part of my duties."
"Childish! I have things to do! I don't have time to discuss this with you!"
Julia's eyebrows arched. "And I suppose I'm not busy."
Richard stepped back, his eyes moving over her from head to toe and for a moment she saw his eyes soften. Oh Richard, why do you do this to me? Suddenly an idea came to mind.
"Richard, I have to calibrate the machines. I need a blood sample. Why don't I use some of your blood to check the machines?"
An eerie darkness moved over him, his voice and eyes were chilling. "My blood? Why do you want my blood?"
"You're here Richard, why not. Maybe you're catching something. I could check for an increase in white cells."
"I suggest you concentrate on your work. I will not carry the entire project."
Julia refolded her arms across her chest; chin raised in defiance, lower lip pushed out in a determined pout. "My work! You believe you're carrying theentire project!"
Wordlessly, Richard Carter turned and left.
The physician breathed deeply in an effort to calm down, thinking, slowly walking down the tables looking at the equipment, letting her fingers run over each item, then turned. 'How easily he changed the subject, picking a fight in order to avoid the topic of his blood. What was he hiding? What was wrong with his blood? What was in the crate that he brought along? Why was it always locked?'
Julia jumped at the sound of a flap snapping back. Hallie Stokes stood at the entrance.
"Dr. Hoffman, do you remember me?" The young woman asked.
Julia smiled and walked toward her. "Of course I remember you. Come in, what can I do for you, Hallie?"
Hallie moved to one of the chairs and sat down folding her arms across her aching abdomen.
"I'm so glad you're our site physician. I don't know if I would feel comfortable speaking to a male doctor."
Julia sat down in the chair opposite the young woman. "Thank you, Hallie for your vote of confidence. It's nice to know someone appreciates me. Now how can I help you?"
Hallie moaned. "The cramps are killing me, you know, it's that time."
The physician smiled and checked her first aid crate, pulled out a hot pad and a container of pills. "I can tell you this was high on my list of important equipment for this site."
The young woman gave a weak smile, "I'm so glad."
She plugged in the pad and handed it to Hallie who spread it across her abdomen. Julia returned with tablets and a glass of water. Following a routine, Julia began a checkup by placing a thermometer under her tongue, taking her pulse, and listening with her stethoscope to her heart and lungs function. Carefully, she logged the information in her patient journal and handed the young woman the pills and water.
"Now take this. The hot pad will help until the pills take effect."
Hallie took the pills and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Would you care to lie down until you feel better?"
She nodded. "Yes thanks."
"You have the honor of being my first patient. While you rest I have a few more things to complete."
Julia sat down at her desk and began setting up her research journals. Dutifully she began the notations with information about the equipment and the taking of the trial sample. She expected to find similar traits in the Anasazi blood and the blood of Ascencion. She had taken a brief history from the young boy and discovered his familial roots extended back to the Mayans. The research she had completed at Harvard would greatly help. AB blood was common among the native tribes of North America as well as the peoples of Central America. However, AB blood was less common in the typical American population. Few people realized how much information could be gleaned from a simple blood sample. Richard declared she spare no expense on equipment. She kept him to his word by purchasing the best equipment. If she and Richard were to publish she wanted no questions raised concerning the proper treatment of specimens.
If they published, they could barely agree on anything. Was this his way of getting back at her for their sleeping arrangements? Julia gave a weary sigh. She had handled men like Richard Carter before who used sex in career politics. She could play as well as he, perhaps even better, for she had abstained for five long years. How long could Richard abstain?
"Dr. Hoffman, are you alright?"
Julia realized she had been lost in her thoughts and had forgotten the young woman on her cot.
She forced a cheerful smile. "Of course, Hallie, I'm fine."
Hallie frowned, reclining on her side, holding the pad to her abdomen. "You seem worried."
The physician turned to face her. Hallie's life had centered on reading and pleasing adults, she was not fooling her with a cheerful facade.
"If you decide to become a professional woman someday I guarantee you will discover some men can be very difficult. You will have to stand up for yourself and be strong."
The young woman listened with great interest. "I understand. I was wondering when did you know you wanted to be a doctor?"
Julia placed the journal on the table. The journal could wait.
"I knew I wanted to be a doctor when I was a young girl. I remember giving our housecat physicals, palpitating its liver, checking its pupils and taking its pulse. My mother humored me thinking it a childhood fancy. But as I grew older the desire never faded and my mother became more and more worried. What would she do with her daughter the doctor? Her greatest fear….how would she ever find a suitable husband."
"I don't understand." Hallie was puzzled. "I would think she would be pleased."
"Medicine of course was fine. I could become a nurse, meet a nice doctor, get married and have many children." Julia laughed. "Women were suitable for nursing and men were meant to be doctors. That was the rule when I was growing up."
"It's different now isn't it?"
Julia looked off momentarily; surprised she had shared so much. "It's still hard, Hallie. There are more women doctors than there used to be."
The young woman's eyes closed and filled with tears.
"I miss my mother very much, Dr. Hoffman. There are so many things I want to know, so many questions I want to ask."
Julia nodded. She knew what it was like to have that void in your life.
"I miss my mother too."
Hallie's eyes opened allowing tears to spill out on her cheeks.
"It happened a long time ago, Hallie. I was in my early twenties when they were killed, my mother and father."
Hallie swept the tears from her cheeks with her fingertips. "How did it happen?"
The physician rose and sat on the cot next to her. "They were coming home from the opera when a truck crossed the center line. They were hit head on and killed instantly."
Hallie looked at Julia in awe. "I never knew, Dr. Hoffman."
The young woman thought for a moment about sharing. "I was 12 when my parents were killed. It all seems like a dream now. I remember Uncle Eliot taking me to his home. I never saw my parents again; not even at the funeral. Their caskets were closed. It all seemed so strange. "
"I think the word is 'surreal'," Julia spoke softly while staring off into space. Hallie watched Julia with rapt interest. "I remember the next day, walking through my parent's home. The grocery list was still on the kitchen counter where my mother had left it and a pair of wine glasses, half empty, sat on the counter. My father had left his book on the kitchen table open to a page as though he planned on reading a few pages before bed. In their bathroom their towels still held dampness from their baths. Sitting on their bed I expected any moment for them to walk through the door, smiling and laughing, ready to tell me about their evening. If I had not spent the night before suturing and cleaning their bodies I would find it difficult to grasp they were gone forever. From that moment on, my life was forever changed and nothing else mattered. Fortunately, I had a friend who cared and guided me. And my father, a very loving and practical man, had left a note for me, to be read in the event of his death. I have that letter; it's one of my dearest possessions."
Julia returned from her distant thoughts. Hallie's hand slipped through hers.
"You know, "Hallie's lip quivered as she whispered, "You know how I feel, and you know what it's like.
The physician nodded, bent taking Hallie into her arms and felt her tremble and heard her sobs. Slowly, Hallie pulled free and wiped her eyes, smiling sheepishly.
"Tell me about your mother, Hallie. What was she like?"
The young woman smiled, pleased at the opportunity to share her fond memories. "My mother's name was Arielle. She was the smartest and most beautiful person I've ever known." Hallie's eyes became dreamlike, filled with love. "I remember we had dresses alike. We were like twins in our matching blue dress, long blonde hair and blue eyes. Mother played and wrote songs for the piano. Our home was always filled with the music and things she created. Uncle Eliot and mother would play their instruments together. I can still hear them laughing and talking. Uncle Eliot used to tutor her when she was in high school. He said she was an outstanding student and a great musical talent. Can you imagine what she could have accomplished with her life, Dr. Hoffman?"
Hallie's memories were bittersweet. Julia knew from her own experience only time would make it easier to speak of her parents, relishing their special moments.
The young woman's voice droned on as Julia became lost in thoughts of her own.
The fire crackled, Julia sipped sherry while her toes moved through the soft fleece of the lamb's wool rug.
"Parallel time, if it exists, would be quite extraordinary don't you think? In a parallel world the idea of making different choices, perhaps changing decisions we've grown to regret would be the norm." Eliot posed as he sipped his sherry, his chair sitting next to Julia's in front of the fire.
Julia leaned closer to his chair, the sherry coursing through her veins, smiling mischievously, ""Parallel time or not, what are the regrets in your life, Eliot?"
The professor's smile faded, catching Julia by surprise.
His finger nervously moved over the rim of his glass while staring into the amber liquid.
"Parallel time and regrets, what an interesting question, Julia."
She felt his discomfort and reached out and touched his arm to comfort him.
"No," His hand motioned her. "No." Julia pursed her lips and watched him continue.
Eliot sighed, giving her a sidelong glance, "You of all people would understand the sacrifices involved in our careers."
Julia's eyes were moist, nodding her head in understanding.
His gaze focused on the flames ahead, "What was my regret, I should have married the young woman I tutored. She deserved so much more in her life, certainly far better than the life she led. I should or could have given her a better future. I knew how bright she was, she could have entered any academic field of her choosing. She could have continued in music and become an extraordinary musical talent. I loved her. My regret, I should have taken her with me, I should have asked her to marry me. Instead, I made the choice to leave her behind and pursue my career."
Julia returned to the present, eyes narrowed. Turning, she looked down into Hallie's blue eyes transfixed, her mind reeling.
"You've traveled back in time, Dr. Hoffman. You've changed events. Why can't we go back Dr. Hoffman, why can't we go back and warn them? My parents, your parents, they could still be with us if we could go back."
Hallie's eyes and the grip on her arm were intense. The physician remained impassive, ideas whirling through her head.
Julia tried to smile and nod, "Of course, Hallie, it would be wonderful, but it's very dangerous. Your Uncle Eliot could tell you. It's not like getting into a car and traveling, it's very risky. There are so many uncertainties."
"Are you afraid, Dr. Hoffman?"
"What do you mean am I afraid?"
Hallie was insistent. "Is it really time travel you fear? Or, are you afraid your life would be different from what it is now, that you might be a housewife, a mother, instead of a doctor?"
Julia paused, contemplating an answer to Hallie's question. Both women jumped at the sound of Bridget's voice in the doorway.
"Hey. Hal, it's lonely up there in pottery land. Are you feeling better?"
Hallie nodded, placing the pad to the side, the two women rose simultaneously.
"We'll talk again, Dr. Hoffman."
"It's Julia, Hallie, please call me, Julia."
The young woman paused in the doorway, "Bye, Julia."
~~~tbc~~~