Three months have passed since Johnathon's escape from death. I visited him regularly after the first week of mental break downs. I've been more calm since then treating the breakdowns as a necessary process in my evolution. Sometimes you have to breakdown before you can break through to new heights of discovery. I am evolving and adapting to this new world of chaos I've found myself in. Every week I find myself in court fighting Johnathon's parents over his existence. Every month I'm contending against colleagues and the college board of directors on the validity of Johnathon's research. Every day I'm pouring over his notes. Every hour I'm fighting the urge to be with him at his hospital bed. Every minute I fight the urge to cry. And every second I'm fighting myself to go on living. My fervor to find the missing links in Johnathon's research and save his life is stronger than ever. I've never been so determined in my life. When I'm stuck on something, I take a break by keeping up with the latest discoveries in the news while I sip on green tea and honey. I wouldn't know what to do without Daniel at my side assisting me in the laboratory every day. I wish I could offer him more money so he could quit his other jobs. He works as a high school biology teacher in the mornings for two classes a day. In the afternoons he works in the lab with me. Evenings he is consumed in his own research for his graduate studies paid for by the university. He is studying plant hybrids. But his underlying reasoning is to discover a way to apply the durability of plants' resilience against the sun to the human epidermis. The hidden link between him and Johnathon.
Some may call it "playing God" but i prefer to look at it as being heroic for the sake of humanity and intelligence is our super power. My lab coat is my costume, caffeine is my sidekick, and sleep is my kryptonite. Today's evil villain is a court date scheduled at 9am. I peel the pages of Jonathon's research notes off my face and wipe the string of drool connecting my lower lip to the blurred ink on the paper. Scratching my disheveled head of tangled hair, I slowly crawl across my living room floor weaving between the patterns of books and paper scattered everywhere. Once I reach the messy bathroom my phone goes off in the living room vibrating to the sound of I've Got You Under My Skin by Frank Sinatra. It was the last ringtone Jonathon setup on my phone before his accident. I ignored the call favoring a hot shower above all else. I quickly washed the grime from my face and prepared my battle attire for court: simple black shoes, black panty hose, black lace dress, black lace gloves, black hat with black lace veil, dark grey eye shadow, a string of pearls, a set of pearl stud earrings, pale pink lipstick, and a black lace thong since the dress was considerably tight around my assets. I picked up my cell phone which revealed a missed call from my mother and one from my lawyer Alistair Silver Stone. A hardened man with one goal in life: winning. Winning at everything from competitions over the Jury's heart, the heart of a good woman and a place in her bed. He won't take no for an answer. Now he's not a brute but a determined charmer. He is easy on the eyes with a sultry voice that could make you melt into his chocolate brown eyes and sway to the beat of his own drum forgetting you ever had an instrument to play a tune. But I wasn't one of his conquests. He kept business separate from his personal life. I was thankful for his pure attention but couldn't help but roll my eyes whenever he flirted with our waitress at every meeting. I scoffed at the voice mail he left me. He wants to meet for coffee before my appeal to the jury. He advised to leave the makeup off for a better sympathetic effect on the jury. I don't like being told what to do except by my husband when we're alone. I practically beg for his assertion. I needed him now more than ever. I sighed remembering his fixated gaze and concentration as he delegated tasks in his lab coat. Kissing his image locked on my phone screen, I headed out the front door with brief case in hand prepared to go to war.
The café Alistair picked this time was a block away from the courthouse. Tucked away in an alley between an old abandoned shoe repair shop that would never mend the lives of sole-less customers and a ragged apartment.
I feel like I'm watching a movie; a bystander watching events unfold on their own while always waiting for something exciting to happen. Why is the heroine so boring just standing there? Why doesn't she just break into a run down the alley? Who's that man waving at her from the yellow foggy windowsill above the shoe repair shop? I breathe out slowly and begin to step forward. Puddles of an unidentifiable stench assault my nostrils. I avoid them by way of acrobatic careful leaps with my short legs while covering my nose with my left hand. Flesh doesn't effectively block smell but it can cause you to suffocate. I think it's just a normal flawed comfort response for humans or at least me if I'm the only one who uses their hands to protect their senses from intangible forces. "What are you doing? Just walk normal and get up here quickly. There's something you have to try while it's still hot." smiled Alistair from the second floor window above an open metal door within the alleyway. "That's easier said then done Daddy Long Legs." I snort with derision. I manage to safely make it through the narrow passage way. I can see a narrow death defying wooden staircase. There are a couple missing wooden steps in the middle, worn cracks on all of them, and half of them have missing chunks of wood and splinters. Fucking Alistair...I'm picking the next location for our weekly meeting. I take another consoling breath before mounting the rickety stairway. Once I reach the top of the dimly lit stairs I turn the corner sharply into a curtain of aqua beads one after another. There were so many beads that I felt like I was swimming though an aerial dangling kiddie ball pit. It was at least seven feet worth of hallway encompassed by aqua beads. I emerged into a candle lit room greeted by a lovely blonde hostess dressed in sari. The room looked like it was decorated by a backpacker's recent visit from India with no real cultural association whatsoever. It encompassed many like sari pieces from each region in India displayed behind glass frames mounted on the walls. A shelf of various sized hookah with a corresponding shelf of tobacco flavors confined in ceramic elephant shaped jars. "Welcome to Hidden Treasures cafe! My name is Pearl. Please remove your shoes on the tatami mat before sitting. Where would you like to sit and what color pillows would you like to sit on?" asked the blonde hostess. I removed my heels and allowed her to place them on wooden shoe rack. "It's okay, I'm joining someone and it looks like he already has my place set for me." I brushed her off slightly irritated learning there weren't any chairs to sit in.The way Alistair had his legs and feet bent so awkwardly by tiny round table on the floor made me giggle in spite of myself. Alistair just smiled back pleased to see that I finally made it. "Here, you must try this delicious tea Pearl made. It smells like lavender and jasmine but tastes like nectar of the gods!" he exclaimed with robust infatuation. I looked back at him with obvious annoyance but I sighed and took the cup to my lips. I watched him watching the blonde hostess dance around the room from guest to guest catering to their needs. Yep, this was the real reason why we were here. "Ass." I muttered at his direction. "Yes...she does have one doesn't she?" he smirked back at me. "Really now?" I retorted. "You know it's my weakness when it comes to women..." he trailed off while sipping his tea and eye-fucking Pearl's voluptuous body. The longer he stared at her the madder I got. I watched his shoulders tense up suddenly. I could tell like when a cat preparing to pounce that Alistair was about to make his move on her. "Excuse me for a moment, I need to use the restroom..." he replied nonchalantly. "I'm sure there won't be any rest in that room." I spouted back, disapproving of his antics. I only kept him as my lawyer because of his reputation for getting his way. He never lost a case in the last twenty years. Alistair just knew how to persuade people with his silver tongue. I watched him gently take Pearl aside into the hallway and vanish within the beads. I rolled my eyes and eyed the plate of baba ganoush and naan bread. I tore a piece of bread pleasantly surprised by the unexpected steam guaranteeing it was fresh. I proceeded to dip the warm piece into the grey creamy eggplant dip and enjoy the mixture nearly melting on my tongue. The minutes passed so slowly it seemed. Soon I had devoured the entire plate naan bread and the dip. The pot of tea was half way gone and fifteen minutes have gone by. Why isn't he done yet? I just want to get this over with already were my thoughts as I reached for my phone to browse Facebook. It was strangely quiet despite the few lounging guests relaxing with their hookahs billowing sweet fragrances throughout the room. Several minutes passed while I clutched my phone for distraction purposes. The soft jingling sound of beads jolted my attention to the hostess emerging with reddened face as if she ran a marathon followed by Alistair straightening the tie around his neck. "Thank you miss for showing me around so I wouldn't lose my way." he belted from across the room to her as he sat beside me. "You already have Alistair. When will you settle down Alistair?" I asked annoyed. "Is that an invitation Christine?" he smiled coyly. "If my heart wasn't already taken I still wouldn't be with the likes of you. I'm not attracted to pretty playboys such as you?" I snorted. "Oh, so you prefer ugly playboys then?" he smiled egging me on. He knew how to press my buttons. "I don't associate with playboys of any kind. I'm a sapiosexual if you must know." I replied against my better judgement because the conversation was getting heated and going no where. "Does that mean you go both ways?" he laughed. "No, it means I'm attracted to intelligence." he responded through gritted teeth. "So you do go both ways. Interesting...well I have you know I did graduate at the top of my class from Harvard so I'm no push over. You're lucky I don't mix business with pleasure...even if you're the hottest woman on the planet. You are first and foremost a client. I have a code and man without a code to live by...well is just an animal isn't he?" he chuckled winking at me. My face betrayed me with warm blush at his opinion of me which in turn invited his grin. "Whatever can we get on with it already? What's the status of my case so far?" I pleaded exasperated by his indulgences. Alistair turned his whole body toward, straightened his suit, bore his line of sight straight through me like a focused laser beam. This is what I call his lawyer mode. "Have you found the document that I requested of you last week to solidify this case?" he asked without blinking. I sighed and pushed pressed the yellow envelope firmly in his hand. "I would rather not use it if at all possible. I'm hoping his best friend can obtain the one from our wedding day. We made a promise to each other for a clean slate. I'd rather not dig up the past and cause more pain for everyone involved this. Please try to make this short and sweet. They're still my in-laws after all no matter how angry they are at me I know they still love me." my voice resounded almost hollow. "Love can bring out the worst in others especially over a child. Don't forget they are fighting you not the other way around so always be on your guard even when you're grieving." those words of Alistair's reverberated in my mind through the day and the long nights ahead of me.
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