Fishbowl

By: David H
(© 2011 by the author)
Editor: Ken King

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

 Chapter 8 

The next morning, a few short hours after they’d both fallen asleep, there was a loud knocking on the door about six o’clock.  Jenny, ever the light sleeper, climbed from the bed and went to see what was going on.  As she opened the door, a tall black lady, skinny, with short hair and fashionable glasses stood there.  She was a beautiful woman in all her glory.

Of course, Dr. Owens was surprised to see someone open the door who wasn’t Elias.  Jenny was confident, also tall, her brown hair pulled back into a pony tail as she wiped sleep from her eyes.

“Can I help you?” Jenny asked.

“Is this Elias’s apartment?” Dr. Owens asked.

“Yes…” Jenny answered, ready to pounce if necessary.

“Um… I’m Donna Owens…” she said.

“Dr. Owens?”

“Yes…”

“I’m Jenny Tanner,” she said as moved out of the way and invited the visitor inside Elias’s apartment.  “I feel like I should know you,” Jenny said as she walked inside the pristinely clean place.

“The feeling is more than mutual,” Dr. Owens smiled.  “So, I wanted to come by and check on him.”

“He is asleep right now.  When he told me about his past, he and I developed a codeword, and he invoked it last night,” Jenny told her.

“I see,” Dr. Owens said as the two sat. 

“Would you like some cocoa or coffee or anything to drink?”

“Some cocoa would be amazing,” Dr. Owens accepted, and Jenny walked through the kitchen to close Elias’s bedroom door so that her working in the kitchen wouldn’t disturb him.

The two women, both equally concerned about Elias as he lay there resting, quietly stood on either side of the bar as Jenny worked at fixing two cups of her famous hot chocolate for them.

“Before he wakes,” Dr. Owens said, “I think you and I should work out an arrangement for the court appearances.”

“I decided last night that he wasn’t going to another one by himself,” Jenny smiled.

“Right…” Dr. Owens said.  “And he’s one of my babies, one of my twenty-two hundred babies, but I don’t know that I will be able to be there with him the whole time.”

“I hate what that man did to him,” Jenny expressed.  “I hope he burns.”

“I agree,” Dr. Owens said as Jenny scooped two heaping spoonfuls of dark cocoa into each of the mugs before straining the milk she was warming into the mugs with the same spoon.

“I worked in a coffee shop in college,” she explained.

“Ah!” Dr. Owens smiled.

“So…” Jenny said as she handed her the mug over the small bar.  “As soon as we find out when the court case is, I will arrange to take off work to be there.”

“Thank you…” Dr. Owens responded as Jenny smiled.

After walking away from the kitchen and into Elias’s small living room, Jenny invited Dr. Owens to sit. Jenny sat her cocoa on the table beside the couch and walked over to feed Max.

“Is he gonna have to testify?” Jenny asked.

“More than likely,” Dr. Owens answered as they both wondered what would happen to Elias before, during, and after he was placed on the stand.

****************** 

They continued talking for just over an hour, until the sound of their voices found its way to the bedroom and at last stirred Elias.  Jenny’s voice was distinct in the cacophony that the two women produced.  Dr. Owens’ soft voice blended perfectly with Jenny’s.  Standing from the bed and taking a deep breath, Elias grabbed a pair of jeans and a polo, quickly pulling both of them over his body before walking out of the room.  He saw where Jenny had left out the things for her special cocoa, a beverage that he had always enjoyed.  He couldn’t smile about it, though.  His mind was still whirling.

“Morning,” he said to both of them as he walked in.

“Good morning,” Jenny said with a wink.  Dr. Owens followed a moment later.

“I’m sorry that I just showed up,” Dr. Owens apologized as she stood.  “I just wanted to talk to you for a few minutes before I headed to work.”

“Dr. Owens.  You made a special trip down here,” Elias pointed out.

“Actually,” she said, “Rania and I went to Montgomery last night for a show at the Shakespeare Theatre, so we just stayed there last night.”

“You promise it wasn’t out of your way?”

“I promise,” she smiled at him.

“So, I spoke with the board yesterday afternoon after you called me,” she said.

“Oh, shit.  Are they going to fire me?” he asked.

“No… no no no no no…” she shook her head.  “Actually, on the contrary.  They wanted me to suggest to you that you take a little bit of time off to deal with everything regarding the case.”

“I can’t afford not to work,” Elias told her.

“But, at the same time, if your mind is occupied with things, you really can’t be of any help to the kids,” she told him honestly.  “And several of them were wondering yesterday if ‘Mr. T.’ was OK.”  She stood to look at him as he looked like he was going to start crying.  “Working in counseling, Elias, means also knowing when to look out for yourself.  With that being said, there is a benefit that employees have, and they can evoke it when necessary. The benefit will make sure that you still get paid while you take the time off.”

“I’ve only been working there for three months, though.”

“Do you remember Dana Ramirez?”

“Vaguely.  She started, literally, the week I left,” he said.

“Right…” Dr. Owens pointed out.

“About three months after you left, she had a death in the family and ended up having to take almost six months off to deal with it.  It’s not about when you start, it’s about that you’ve started when it comes to this benefit.”

“I think you should take it,” Jenny added.  “You need to get ready for it all.”

“And the District Attorney is meeting with a grand jury today; he told me yesterday that he’s going to try to get a trial date set really quickly.  He thinks that it should all be finished for you, for Scott, for everybody, in a month or so.”  Elias started to cry, but Dr. Owens quickly put her hands on his arms.  “It will all be over soon,” she told him, much more confident than he was right then.  Looking between her and Jen, he accepted the offer, but with a great deal of reluctance.

After finishing her cup of cocoa, Dr. Owens thanked Jenny before turning to tell Elias that he had to check in with her every day.  It wasn’t a normal thing that came with the benefit, but rather something that she wanted him to do for her; he was, after all, still one of her kids.  With a hug, she left the apartment, Jenny followed Dr. Owens out, locking the door behind her.

Turning to look at her friend, Jenny saw Elias simply standing there, staring off into the distance.  “Jenny…”

“Yes, sweetie?”

“I’m going to have to testify…” he realized.

“Yes, more than likely.  You’re going to be great, though.  I know you can do it,” she told him as she walked over and started rubbing his back.

“Thank you,” he said as he lifted his arm and put it around her shoulders.  “Do you think your parents would mind if you and I went to the beach this weekend and stayed at their place?”

“Not at all,” Jenny smiled.

“I want to see what the beach looks like…” he said as he started crying, falling into her loving embrace.

****************** 

That weekend, they arrived in Gulf Shores at around ten o’clock at night.  Elias didn’t sleep at all that night; the water, the sand, the ocean breeze, all of it were far better than he could have imagined.  They ate fresh fish at a restaurant the next day, and spent Sunday lying beneath the warmth of the sun on a clear, blue day.  Elias couldn’t get off his mind the fact that he was going to have to help put Giovanni Taylor behind bars, but it was nice to relax for a few days beforehand.

To be continued...

Posted: 10/28/11