Part 9
DR. RAVENSCROFT'S HOME FOR THE PECULIAR
On the morning of the 26th, Edward and Kim carpooled to work with Aaron again. The snow was making him seethe.
"Eddy, can you believe this?! Why is it snowing in all these weird places? Is it gonna snow in Honolulu now too? I swear, the government's gotta be screwing around with the weather. With all the technology they got these days. That's the only thing that makes sense to me…"
In the backseat, Edward and Kim looked at one another and smiled smugly, without saying a word.
Aaron continued his rant: "I mean, I'm lucky. I'm from New York, I learned how to drive in snow. But alot of people out here? Clueless. No experience. We don't have salt for the roads, we don't have plows..."
Edward glanced out the window and sure enough, other vehicles were moving significantly slower than usual. His mood changed. Now he felt guilty and knew they were inconvenienced by the snow that he had a seemingly etheric relationship to. As far as he knew, he couldn't control it. Wherever he'd go, there would be snow. In his mind, he asked for forgiveness from anyone who's commute had been delayed.
Kim, defensive of her love interests as usual, chimed in: "Well yeah, it's slower now, but it'll be okay. Maybe this is a one-time thing. And if it keeps happening, people will adjust and learn how to drive in it automatically."
"I thought I could escape...but the cold followed me." Aaron laughed with self-deprecation. "Sometimes you just can't win."
Before Sideshow Bistro opened for the day, while the chefs were preparing in their chamber, another person walked among them. He had salt-and-pepper hair and olive skin. He was dressed immaculately in a red suit, with an Egyptian medallion, rings every color of the rainbow adorning his fingers, and a cuff that read "Evanthas". Evanthas, apparently, was the moniker of Sideshow Bistro's general manager. He gave his crew a pep talk.
"Alright, everyone! Hope you all had a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, or Winter Solstice, or whatever it is you celebrate. So, just a quick update: as some of you know, Sideshow Bistro's annual stockholder meeting will be held this week, in Paso Robles, so I'll be heading up there to attend that. Should be a good time, we're expecting an increase in profits from last year – probably not as big an increase as the year before – but those of you who've taken the company stock option should still be pleased with your portfolio. I'll be back on the 31st, and Tayton's in charge until I return, so just contact him if you need anything. And if it's an emergency, you have my number."
Tayton, assistant manager and bouncer, stood near Evanthas. Edward didn't know that Tayton had advised Kim to search Griffith Park for him.
Edward's workday was decent enough. He got to demonstrate the famed "volcano onion trick" during his first wave of diners, where he stacked onion rings in a cone shape and poured a bit of oil into the hole to make it emit smoke. It always made the crowds roar, no matter how often it was performed. He once glanced over at Kim and she flirtatiously batted her eyes at him, which made his heart skip a beat!
Still, Edward hadn't lost sight of his target. During his lunch break, which lasted an hour, he made a sojourn to the nearby public library. He'd been wondering if a certain type of institution was in existence, and he asked the librarian at the front desk for her expertise. Based on what he told her he was seeking, she presented him with a list of ideas, and reading through the list, one of them sounded unusually promising.
He wasted no time. During a later, shorter break, Edward sought out a co-worker and asked if they could dictate a letter, and mail it to this promising-sounding institution. The letter was written and mailed. Within a mere two hours, a pigeon clutching an ornate grey envelope in its beak had flown through the restaurant's glass doors. It placed the envelope on a table near Edward, and circled back to exit the building. He'd spend his final break of the day poring over the letter's contents. After reading it thoroughly, he approached Kim:
"Something exciting just happened. After work I'm going somewhere else. I need to do this by myself. Aaron can take you home and I'll pay him back tomorrow. There's a house key under my welcome mat. I'll be back later tonight. I love you."
"Okay! Ooh, something exciting, huh? I can't wait to hear about it. I actually have an errand I need to run too, so this fits perfectly. Have a good night, and love you too!"
In the cool of the evening, Edward boarded a bus that would take him just south of Downtown Los Angeles. He stepped off and looked around. In an urban jungle, odd things could be found. Which was exactly what he was looking for.
A historic brownstone manor, three stories tall plus a four-story castle tower, and with enough rooms for someone to become lost in, was in front of Edward. Flitting back and forth through the air above the house were numerous pigeons. With no inhibitions, he walked through the gates, up to the shaded porch that contained the front door. A bronze plaque near the door read:
Home For The Peculiar
Dr. Hugo Ravenscroft
and Millvina Ravenscroft
This was the place. Edward pressed the doorbell, which emitted a deep, resonant tone, like something from medieval times. A few moments later, the door was opened by, whom else, but Dr. Ravenscroft himself! Dr. Ravenscroft was quite short, perhaps 5'2'', seemingly in his late 50s, with a round torso and slender limbs. His hair had greyed and a long, handlebar mustache declined from his face. His childlike eyes peered out from circular, gold-framed spectacles. He dressed in a long-sleeved white shirt covered with a sweater vest, with a handkerchief around his neck, and corduroy pants. To Edward, he seemed equal parts professor and cattle rancher.
"Hello, I'm-"
"Edward, yes! How fortunate you could make it! I am Dr. Hugo Ravenscroft, and I welcome you to my home."
"Thank you for writing back to me so quickly."
"It was a priority! When I received your letter, I was eager to make contact as soon as I could."
Dr. Ravenscroft pulled Edward's letter, neatly folded, from his pocket:
"I'll just summarize what you told me, to make sure I've got this right. Born outside the womb, using genetic technology…gradually turned from an assembly line robot into a living human…father passed away before he could attach your hands, no contact with the outside world until a local family adopted you…you now have a house, a job and a girlfriend, but need somewhere you can make close friendships and 'learn about reality and what it means to be human'. Do you declare all of this is correct?"
Edward nodded at each little statement.
"Your story…is very dramatic. I honor your experiences fully. We're completely committed to offering our services to individuals like you."
How grateful Edward was for that.
"So, I should start by explaining what this home is not. It's not a hospital of any kind. It doesn't rehabilitate those in the criminal justice system. There is non-formal counselling here, but mainly, I offer lessons, activities, social engagements, and lodging that can be paid for with labor…this is a home for the peculiar, after all." He smiled.
"I have a question."
"Ask away!", Dr. Ravenscroft encouraged him.
"Who's peculiar and who isn't?"
"Do you honestly see yourself as peculiar?"
"…yes."
"Then this home is for you. I'm convinced no objective measure can really substitute for the internal experience we all carry with us. You just 'know' there are things about you, that you don't see in very many other people. And those things can be either negative or positive, but whichever they are, your life can be something spectacular. Have no doubts about that."
It was as if a deep, suffocating heaviness had left Edward. This man understood him, and could effortlessly see things the way he saw things. He was confident that here, at the Home For The Peculiar, he would find many answers to the questions which swirled like a maelstrom inside him.
Something in the way he spoke reminded Edward of his own father. It wasn't the tone; his father had a theatrical, flamboyant bass-baritone; Dr. Ravenscroft by contrast was a piping tenor. It was more of a shared orientation of unconditional paternal love and mentorship. He picked up on it, even though they'd known eachother for only minutes.
"We enjoy giving our guests the tour, when they first arrive. Shall we be on our way?"
"Yes, let's go.", Edward agreed.
Dr. Ravenscroft hollered up the stairs. "Millvina! Edward's here!"
From the second story hustled down Millvina, Dr. Ravenscroft's devoted wife and hardworking assistant. Her greyed hair was worn in a thick, bouffant style. She dressed in a fabulous, long scarlet dress with a necklace of large pearls. She also perfectly matched her husband's petite size, standing herself around 4'11'.
"Helloooooo, Mr. Edward! We're mighty glad you're here!" Her demeanor was enthusiastic and eccentric.
"Hello, Mrs. Ravenscroft. I can't wait to see the rest of the house."
"Yes! Oh, you're gonna just love it. Follow me, please!"
Edward, Millvina and the Doctor walked down a hallway to a spacious, rustic, 19th century-looking kitchen. He could envision himself cooking there, which was a good sign. At the other end of the kitchen was a door to the backyard, where the Home had ample garden space. They grew tropical fruits like mangos and bananas, vegetables like celery and lettuce, and so many herbs: parsley, oregano, ginseng, lavender…
"Regardless of where you come from in life, I think we can all agree, gardening is the BEST!" Millvina exclaimed. "After all, without gardens, no one eats!"
"I love gardens", said Edward. "I like to make topiaries but I've never grown anything from a seed."
"Well, if you ever feel like it, we can teach you that. It's so therapeutic. Everyone here does it."
Creeping around the yard, and also throughout the house, were a number of cats. Edward liked cats but they rarely had long enough hair to bother cutting, and they didn't seem to come when he called them, so he wasn't sure how they wanted to be treated.
Cats and pigeons weren't the only animals in the Home. The basement housed a huge, glowing aquarium along one wall, which had lobsters, lionfish, blowfish and even an eel. Edward had only seen them in books about marine life.
The first floor had a classroom with numerous chairs and desks. It also contained a chalkboard, filled with a lesson from earlier in the day, evidently on how to perform various types of automobile maintenance.
On the second floor, there was a Victorian tea room, with a dumbwaiter that connected it to the first floor. The adjacent room was a library with a reading room. Someone was inside it. He was a fair-skinned, slender boy of about 16, with sandy blonde hair, and his face masked with very dark-tinted sunglasses. He was poring over a book, his fingers not quite touching the pages.
His disciples asked Him: 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?'
Jesus answered: 'It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him'."
-John 9: 2-3
"Now, this boy is a treasure!", Millvina doted on him. "His name is Grant and he's one of our residents. He was born without eyes, but he loves to read. He doesn't even need braille; he feels the heat of the words! He loves British writers in particular…Shakespeare, Defoe, Dickens, Waugh…"
"Hello, Mrs. Ravenscroft!", Grant called out.
"Good evening, Grant! We have a new guest tonight. I'd like you to meet Edward."
"Hi Edward!" Grant reached for a handshake, which Edward had to withhold.
"Hello Grant. …I'd shake your hand but…I have very sharp hands."
"Oh, it's okay. I understand. No offense taken."
"What are you reading, Grant?"
"Dracula. Oh man, this is great stuff. Makes your hair stand on end. Really sucks you in. Get it? Haha!"
Edward had no idea what Grant meant by this, but he'd read a couple of scarier books and he seemed to enjoy them.
"I'm glad you like it. Can I borrow it when you're done?"
"Yeah sure! I read pretty fast so it'll only take a couple more days."
"Thank you."
"No problem. By the way Edward, what are you here for?"
"I'm not finished. I have scissors for hands."
Silence from Grant. Then: "Whoa, that's awesome!"
Edward was extremely impressed by the Home For The Peculiar. It felt like the place he'd yearned for all his life, like returning to the land he should have been born in.
"This place is wonderful.", he told Dr. Ravenscroft, at the night's conclusion. "I need to get home now, but I'm going to come back here every week. Thank you for everything."
"You're very welcome! Oh, and…something I must tell you. It's very important. I say this after decades of personal, clinical experience: everyone on this earth, Edward, is peculiar in their own way. Maybe not to the same degree. But I've never met a person who wasn't at least a bit peculiar. I myself am peculiar. We all have uncommon gifts to share with the world, and we have battles that we may not tell others about, because we often believe we're fighting them alone. I want you to always remember that."
"Yes sir, I'll always remember that, no matter who I meet."
Dr. Ravenscroft smiled. "You're well on your way. Do you have any more questions, or shall I not keep you any later?"
It would sound bizarre, but Edward had to ask.
"I'm the reason it's snowing. I'm the reason it snowed on Christmas. Can you help me understand why? Can you help me control it?"