CHAPTER SEVEN
In the middle of the night in the Girardi master bedroom, Helen is restless as she begins to dream. Transition into her dream…
Helen is standing in front a beautiful Colonial style home in an expensive neighborhood. Nearby palm trees cause Helen to think she is in Los Angeles, but surely this isn't where her son lives. Kevin and Barbara share a two bedroom apartment near Venice Beach.
The front door of the house opens of its' own accord, and Helen finds herself gliding across the foyer and up the stairs. She has no control over her movement, and realizes God is arranging for her to witness something. Helen comes to a stop outside a bedroom door, and the sounds she hears behind the door leave no doubt as to what is happening in the bedroom. Just as she is wishing won't have to see what is going on there, the door opens and Helen glides in.
The darkened bedroom is only partially lit by the light from the hallway, but Helen can clearly see a naked couple vigorously making love. To her utter embarassment, Helen realizes the lean, muscular man is John Hunter, and the heavy-breasted, raven-haired beauty must be his girlfriend, Felicity. Desperately, Helen tries to turn her head or even close her eyes, but finds she can not.
As Helen watches the amorous couple nearing their moment of climax, she feels her embarassment giving way to…arousal. Desire sweeps over Helen, and she feels her blood boil with a passion greater than she has ever known. As pure lust causes her to tremble, Helen realizes she can move again. Reluctantly, Helen looks away, and then notices a bizarre sight. Hidden in the shadows of the far side of the bed is someone else. Or rather, some…thing that is dark and mishapen, and it is some how sharing the couple's moment of ultimate intimacy.
Suddenly Helen is awake, panting for air and quivering from an intense hormonal rush. Irresistably, she turns to her husband, sliding a hand under his tee shirt—caressing his chest while kissing him along the jawline. Will awakes with a start…
"Huh, what? Helen…what are you doing?"
In a throaty voice, Helen moans, "I want you, Will. Make love to me."
"Now? In the middle of the night? Helen, what's gotten into you?"
"My darling, I need you. Will, if you love me, have sex with me right now!" Helen gasps as she slides her hand down from his chest, going lower and lower.
Will Girardi is a man who recognizes a call to duty, and he is the type of guy who is always ready to rise to the occasion…
X X X X X
Meanwhile, in a luxury suite at the Wentworth Hotel in downtown Arcadia, John Hunter is also dreaming. Transition…
John finds himself in a room that seems to be all white glass. He is seated in a comfortable recliner with a remote control in his hand, and a large screen TV is in front of him. John looks about hoping to see the God version he calls 'Lord' (but whom Joan calls Dog-Walker God). John's version wears biblical style robes, and is always present in his dreams. But not this time. Dr. Hunter is alone.
"Lord? Lord, are you here?"
No response, but John knows from the spiritual energy surrounding him, this is a God given dream. Having no other option, John uses the remote to turn on the TV. A scene from the comedy show 'Improper' comes on the screen. In the scene, actor Keith Scotch plays the lead male role, 'Aldo'. Set 50 years in the future, Aldo works for for a gigantic, worldwide corporation. The company has its' own psychiatric counseling service, and Aldo goes there with the problem of a growing sense of isolation due to the ever increasing new, and frequently faulty, technology the company keeps introducing.
To Aldo's surprise, the company shrink has been replaced with a robot that he has to activate with his credit card. The robot listens to Aldo's heartfelt despair, and offers bland, psychological platitudes that have nothing to do with the patient's problem. In the end, the robot recommends to Aldo that he eat more bran—but only the type the company sells (followed by a brief commercial extolling the superior quality of that type of bran).
The set switches off by itself, but Dr. Hunter knows the rest. Aldo vows to restore the human psychiatrist to his position, and that begins a luddite struggle against the oppression of modern technology. John knows this because Kevin told him the plot last week, but the episode won't be filmed until next week…
The dream fades, and Dr. Hunter returns to normal sleep.
X X X X X
9-5-06/Tuesday morning.
Will Girardi yawns hugely as he enters the kitchen from the backstairs. He is not surprised to see Joan already up before him, sitting at the table with a cup of coffee, a Pop-tart and a copy of the city's remaining newspaper, the Arcadia Free Press. Will also pours himself a cup of coffee, and sits at the table. Wordlessly, Joan passes him the sports section which he accepts while yawning again.
"Rough night?" Joan asks with a suppressed grin.
"I didn't get a lot of sleep."
"No kidding. If my parents have to revisit their youth in the middle of the night (eww), could you guys at least control the volume?"
"You...heard us?"
"Half the neighborhood probably heard you. If you guys are experimenting with some new e-dee pill, maybe you need to cut the dosage. I just hope Grace isn't too embarassed to face the family."
Will responds by ticking off three ponts on his fingers... "One, we weren't that loud. Two, I don't need pills! Three, Grace--as a married woman-- is bound to be more understanding than you seem to be, my little girl."
Joan's face registers offense. Was that a crack about her seemingly endless virginity? Hey, weren't fathers suppose to be pro-virgin when it came to their daughters? Of course, she is closing in on 19...
"Maybe we should change the subject?"
"Fine. How was your run?"
(Will knows Joan has been rising early every day for months to go running. What he doesn't know is that a warrior angel has been tapping on Joan's window before dawn every day, and that he has been putting Joan through a grueling schedule of physical training and lessons in dealing with demons.)
"Routine." Joan replies, wishing she had known when she joined God's army just how literal that was. "Why did you send me to Gentle Acres?"
Wil sputters into his coffee. "I know we were changing the topic, but that really came out of nowhere."
"Actually, I've always wondered about it, but I had a reminder yesterday. So...why?"
"You have to realize how scared your mother and I were the day you were hospitalized. Helen had that weird premonition about you, and I...was having a pretty weird day myself. Then came the shock of your illness..."
"Okay, I get that. Beloved daughter sick with a high fever and hallucinating people who weren't there--scary stuff. But you knew it was all due to a disease, and I was under treatment. The hospital even released me the next afternoon. So how did we get from there to an expensive, six week stay in a camp for troubled teens?"
"Like I said, Helen and I were scared and ready to clutch at any hope offered us. The hospital's psychiatric consultant highly recommended Gentle Acres as just what you needed. I knew the place had a good reputation with the department's juvenile division, and the consultant was even a volunteer at the camp every summer..."
"Wait. I was sent to Gentle Acres on the advice of Dr. Dan?"
"That's right. Joan, are you okay? You look...stunned."
"Just experiencing a full circle moment." (Looks at her watch.) "I gotta jet. Classes start soon. Bye Dad." Joan says as she kisses her father's cheek and then heads for the front door.
Will reaches across the table and grabs the front section of the paper. He sighs as he sees the lead story with the caption: 'Local Hero Does It Again'. The photo shows Joan calmly facing down a knife-weilding Mrs Figliola. Another example of how amazing his daughter was. Will pauses, wondering how Joan got to be so amazing, and also wondering if that conversation about Gentle Acres was a hint for him...
Out on the front porch, Joan pauses as her new cell phone alerts her to a text message. It is from Susan: 'After school in the parking lot?' Joan texts back: 'C. U. there & then.'
X X X X X
Tuesday began well for Dr. Hunter. Elated by the return of a divinely inspired dream, he gave the matter considerable thought while enjoying a vigorous workout at the hotel's gym, followed by a healthy breakfast. Arriving early, as is his habit, at his old office at the Hogan County Schools Administration building, Dr. Hunter is happy to renew the acquaintance of his former secretary Marcie--even if that did entail listening to all the details of the lives of her numerous grandchildren. Ensconced in his old office with a cup of coffee, John Hunter waits patiently while thinking his successor obviously doesn't share his dedication to punctuality.
More time passes and patience begins to give sway to annoyance. By now Dr. Hunter is at the window watching his empty old parking space. Only the thought that Dr. Radovitch might have been in an accident is keeping John from complaining about the man being nearly an hour late without calling. Finally, a black Bentley sedan pulls into the parking space reserved for the District Psychiatrist.
A chubby, balding man of about 50 exits the car, checks his watch and appears to groan. As he rushes toward the building, Dr. Hunter notes that at least the man realizes what a bad start he has made for his first day. 'It won't be long now,' John thinks as he continues to stare at the luxury car down below. He didn't know Dr. Radovitch, even though they briefly met during a regional psychiatric seminar last year. But, John's contacts in the local medical community gave only glowing reports about the man. That was one of the reasons he had so much trouble believing Joan about her former doctor. Surely, someone influenced by demons of...oh yes, greed and envy--surely such a person couldn't be held in such high regard...
And yet, there was the Bentley. John only knows one person who drives such a car. The father of one of his young patients in his Beverly Hills practice, and that man is a billionaire. If one accepted that a person grew up with an overwhelming sense of envy of others, then it was logical that such a person would have a great need to be envied. A status symbol like a Bentley would be irresistable to such a man. But how could Dr. Radovitch afford such a car? Well, a doctor motivated by tremendous greed could always find unethical ways to acquire extra cash. Perhaps...just perhaps, he has misjudged Joan.
"Dr. Hunter, please forgive me for my tardiness. It has been a frantically busy morning." Dr. Dan says as he enters and shakes John's hand.
"Some sort of emergency?"
Dr. Dan momentarily hesitates. He isn't about to admit that he was busy hiring a private detective to follow the town hero. "Uh, one of my patients was having a crisis, and I had to be there. Unfortunately, my cell phone battery died, and I couldn't call in."
"You're still seeing private patients?"
"Yes. Aren't you aware of the circumstances of my hiring?"
"Apparently not."
"The school board searched all summer for your replacement, but having had an actual board-certified Beverly Hills psychiatrist seemed to have spoiled them. The usual crop of applicants just didn't measure up any more." (John can hear the pettiness in Radovitch's voice.) "So at the last moment, the board approached me and begged me to take the job. I saw it as my civic duty."
"And naturally, you haven't had time to send al of your patients to other therapists."
"It's a work in progress. Over the next month I'll still be seeing patients late in the afternoon and on Saturdays. By then I should be able to close my private office."
"I see. Well, shall we get started? The school system's red tape alone will take hours to explain."
The rest of the morning passes quickly, and John is impressed with how adept Dr. Radovitch is in picking up the intricacies of the job. Still, there is much more to cover, and they make an appointment to meet again. As John leaves the main office, he notices a stack of brochures on one of the tables in the waiting area. He picks one up and reads: 'Gentle Acres, a non-profit facility, serving the troubled youth of the tri-state area since 1995...'
"Marcie, since when do we have brochures for private facilities in this office?"
"Oh, Dr, Radovitch brought those in. The first thing he did was to place them around the office."
"Hmm, I do hear good reports about the place." John says as he slips a brochure into his jacket pocket. "Well, enjoy your day, Marcie."
"You too, Dr. Hunter."
X X X X X
Meanwhile, not far away at police headquarters, Lt. Delana Dean, juvenile division, enters Will's office...
"Chief, I have that data you asked for on Gentle Acres."
"What's the verdict, Lieutenant?"
"A-plus all the way. I polled all current officers in my division, as well as several former members of the ju-vee detail, and not one had a negative comment. Social services also gives Gentle Acres top marks."
"Why such high praise?"
"The ultra low recidivism rate. Once a hard case spends a summer at Gentle Acres, they rarely reappear in the system."
"That agrees with what I heard from Sheriff Rakowski. With so many trouble-makers being sent to Gentle Acres, they've always kept a close eye on the place. Vitrually no reports of trouble in over a decade. Apparently security is a high priority at the camp."
"So why the sudden interest, Chief?"
"Uh...a normally reliable source dropped a hint of trouble at the place. I guess this one time, my source was wrong."
"Glad to hear it. We recommend Gentle Acres to a lot of parents when they are at their wit's end as to what to do with their out-of-control kids."
"How did that begin?'
Lt. Dean shrugs. "It's been that way for years. I think we got started doing that after a local shrink began praising the place to the officers in the juvenile division."
"Would that have been a Dr. Radovitch?"
"Yes, I believe it was. Anything else, Chief?"
"No, that's all I need to know."
X X X X X
Later that afternoon, Helen is pacing nervously in the Girardi foyer. John Hunter was due to arrive soon, and Helen is dreading the meeting. After giving a lot of thought to her dream, Helen is convinced that it was a warning that she is suppose to pass along to John. Perhaps because John's own charism is on the fritz is why God chose her to tell him about...what? What exactly did she half see in his bedroom, and how can she explain it to her dear friend? Helen practices an opening sentence...
"John, during a divinely given dream, I watched you and your girlfriend going at it like a couple of horny teenagers..."
Helen groans her dismay. She hates this assignment, and the level of embarassment that it will cause both of them. Even more disconcerting is the nature of what happened. Going over the 'dream' in her mind, Helen has been wondering if it were a dream at all. She is by now very familiar with the divine dream experience, and this was vastly different. In other dreams she has experienced emotional, mental and spiritual stresses, but she has never had a physical reaction before. Could it be, she really was in John's bedroom in Los Angeles?
How could that be, since John is in Arcadia for this week? Since this was obviously some sort of warning for John, could she have seen something from the future? Certainly she has witnessed visions of coming events, but those were events never more than a few hours ahead. Of course, she was never actually there during a vision, but the hormonal tidal wave she experienced proves to her that she did physically exist at that place and time. (Helen smiles, remembering the best sex she and Will have had this year.) Whatever is, or will be, occuring in John's bedroom, it has an overwhelming sexual element. Only a few minutes exposure to that...thing, was more than she could handle. That is, if she really were there. Can even God transport you days, weeks or even months into the future?
The doorbell rings, and Helen braces herself for the ordeal ahead. She opens the door, and there is John Hunter...stark naked. Helen emits a noise that sort of sounds like, "Eep!" Instantly she closes her eyes...
"Hello Helen, aren't you going to invite me in?"
Cautiously, Helen opens one eye. Of course he isn't naked. John looks just like his usual self in a well-tailored grey suit. "John, sorry, I was day dreaming. Please come in."
Dr. Hunter nods his thanks and walks by Helen, pausing as he reaches the stairs. Helen slowly closes the door while keeping her back to John. Maybe if she avoids eye contact, this will be easier.
"John, there's something we need to discuss." Helen says as she turns to face him. Naked again. Quickly, Helen looks down at the floor.
"Is there a problem?"
Come on Helen, it's all in your head. And you were wrong--you need to look him in the eyes, and blurt it out. Helen's gaze begins to rise... His bare feet. His bare legs. His bare... Helen looks back down at the floor.
"On second thought, it wasn't important. Grace is waiting for you in the den, and is looking forward to your session with her. The doors are closed, so you will have plenty of privacy."
"Thank you. Are you sure there's nothing on your mind?"
"No, no, I'm fine. Uh, Grace is waiting."
"Okay, see you later."
"Yes, see you..."
John walks away, and Helen waits until she hears him opening the pocket door to the den before risking another look. Grey suit. After John closes the door behind him, Helen looks upward and softly adresses God...
"Look, there are a lot of things I'm willing to do for you, but I'm way out of my league here. Surely someone else can give John this warning, because I just...can't. Sorry."
X X X X X
Across the street from Arcadia High, a grey Ford is parked under a shady tree. A middle-aged man watches the parking lot with a camera by his side. Former police detective Bob Crowley is looking forward to this assignment. He is one of several former cops who resigned the police force when the big scandal broke three years ago. Basically an honest cop, Crowley did the occasional small favor in exchange for a favor back, or sometimes a little extra spending money. It was never anything big--lots of guys did it--but it was enough to get him in hot water if he were caught. So, he and several of his fellow cops quit with the understanding that if their names never came up in any major matter, they would be given a pass on prosecution. Will Girardi's housecleaning of corruption had cost Crowley his job and his pension. Now working as a private detective, Crowley is pleased at the prospect of catching any Girardi in a scandal...
In the school parking lot, Joan is parked next to Susan's car, which she recognizes from last year. There were still a few minutes before the end of school, and Joan is trying to calm herself as she faces the prospect of her first official date with a lesbian. Joan groans as she contemplates the things she has to do in God's service. She has nothing against Susan, but she really doesn't want to...go there. Her phone rings.
"Hello?"
"Hey Joan, I got that list you e-mailed me." Friedman says.
"Hey Friedman, how is Yale?"
"Very ivy league. About the list..."
"Enjoying your classes?"
"They're fine. Is this a bad time?"
"No, I'm just feeling guilty about the list I sent you."
"Why?"
"I did something I thought I wouldn't have to do again. I used that key to Dr. Dan's storage locker, and went through his files until I find his old tax records. I needed to find out how he is able to live such a luxurious life style. He does make a really good living as a shrink, but not nearly enough to cover his expenses. Do you think I'm vile for doing this?"
"Of course not, and neither should you. God gave you an assignment, and you have to fulfill it. He must know the methods you use, and yet he still calls on you. As far as I'm concerned, that means you have divine approval."
"Well, I'm not too sure about that. He and I have had a few discussions about the end justifying the means, and he isn't too enthusiastic about some of my choices. But it's one of those omelet and eggs things. That's how I found out Dr. Dan is getting hefty annual retainers as a psychiatric consultant from a lot of companies."
"Yeah, I'm looking at the list right now, and I've never heard of any of these companies."
"Can you check on them for me? See if you can find out why they are paying Dr. Dan so much money?"
"I'm already on it, but it may take awhile. They all seem to be based overseas. I'll contact you as soon as I have anything to report."
"Thanks Friedman. I'm glad I can still count on you for help, and for keeping my secret."
"And you always can. Bye Joan."
"Bye."
Joan disconnects just as she feels someone plant an affectionate kiss on her cheek. She looks through the open window of the Jeep and sees a smiling Susan Radovitch. Across the street, Bob Crowley is busy taking photos...
TBC Please review.