by David Harp
Chapter 10
Old Friends
Renee picked up the phone to contact someone from his former life for the first time since his wife and daughter were killed. Yale University professor Robert Morrison was excited to hear the voice of his old friend.
“Hello, Bob. This is Richard Rogers. I need your help.”
“My god Richard, we thought you were dead. I was so sorry to hear about your family. Where have you been? How are you? It’s so great to hear from you. Sorry I’m babbling, but this is such a shock.”
“I’m doing fine. I’ve uh, uh, retired to Florida. A young woman has asked me to review her case. Her vision is superior in most respects, but she experiences a five-second delay before the image registers. Some know-it-all doctor wants to do exploratory surgery on her brain. I will not allow that to happen! I’ve known Haley for five years, but …”
“Did you say Haley? Is that Haley King?” The professor asked.
“Yes, you’ve heard of her?”
“Richard, she’s a legend. I have a framed picture of her iris on the wall and x-rays of her optic nerve in my desk. She was the holy grail of research five years ago around the time you disappeared.”
There was a long silent pause. “You didn’t run away with her did you?”
“Oh god no, Bob! She couldn’t have been more than twelve years old back then. Listen, she’s a sweet girl who needs our help. I have a simple idea. Maybe it’s too simple, but I think it’s worth a try.”
“What can I do to help?”
“Do you have a broad spectrum hue test I can borrow?”
“Yes, I have a set with ninety-three color disks I can send this afternoon. I think I know where you’re going with this Richard. You’ve concluded the right color combination may block out extra information which may be overloading her brain. It is so simple, I can’t imagine it hasn’t been tried.”
“Not according to her records. You don’t need to send the whole kit; I only need the colored lenses. I’ll return them in a few days. Thank you Bob.”
The lenses were delivered the next afternoon. Renee placed them in a cardboard box along with Haley’s files. He went to the main house where Becky led him to the glass porch.
His hands were trembling as he began laying out the lenses. Renee’s days as a practicing ophthalmologist were long past. He felt completely unqualified and wanted to run away, but then he saw Haley. Her smile filled him with confidence. “It’s God’s plan,” he heard her say many times. At that moment he believed it.
“Please sit here Haley. Put this patch over your left eye. I’m going to hold up a card with a picture on it. Tell me what you see as soon as you see it; I’m going to time your response.”
He held up a picture of a cat. He counted to himself, one, two, three, four, five.
“CAT,” Haley called out.
“OK Haley, put your sunglasses on. I’m going to hold up another picture and I want you to do it again. Identify the item as soon as you can.”
He held up a picture of a house. He counted to himself, one, two, three, fo
“House,” she called out.
Becky was trying to stay out of the way in the kitchen, but she hurried to the porch when she realized Haley’s response was faster.
Renee asked Haley to remove her sunglasses and wear a patch over one eye. He rigged a device to hold the colored lenses over her uncovered eye, then asked her to identify the pictures while he tried various color combinations.
There wasn’t much improvement in her response times at first, but after two hours Renee combined six different colored lenses to cut Haley’s response to less than a second.
Becky was holding Haley’s hand and they were both crying tears of joy with each response.
“I don’t claim to fully understand it,” said Renee. “But a simple pair of contact lenses with the proper tint should help you see like a typical person.”
Haley and Becky hugged Renee while Ms. Shelby joined them as they danced around the room. They prayed, shared a light meal, and celebrated until after midnight.
Becky and Haley went to see her ophthalmologist the following morning. They took the six colored lenses with a brief essay from Renee expecting the doctor to order custom contact lenses. Instead, she became angry.
“This is meaningless babble! It’s contemptible,” the doctor mumbled while reading the note with a cynical shake of her head. “You said this person is your gardener? I can’t imagine why you would listen to him.”
Becky and Haley were both trying to speak at the same time.
“It works! It works! We both witnessed it; he was a professor at Yale!”
The doctor shook her head in disgust. “This creep has tricked you into believing there was actual improvement, but what you experienced was nothing more than an illusion. You saw improvement because you don’t want to face reality. I understand, but the man is peddling false hope. He is taking advantage of a vulnerable mother and child.”
Haley spoke with tears running down her face. “I swear it helps! Doctor Richards’ instructions are simple.”
“That is the problem Haley. Your condition is not simple. You need to trust me; this charade is unhealthy. Surgery is the answer. I’ve spent over six months and a lot of effort to reserve time for you at the University.”
It was becoming clear to Becky that the doctor was more focused on the amount of time spent to arrange the surgery than what was best for Haley. The doctor spoke directly to Becky.
“Mrs. King, I expect you to have your daughter in Gainesville next month for the procedure. May I depend on you to look out for her welfare?”
Becky reacted with anger as if the doctor had spit in her face.
“You may, but the surgery is not going to happen! You haven’t been listening. We are going home to consider our options.”
The doctor glared at Becky. “You don’t seem to understand that there are no options. You are making a big mistake. Haley needs professional help, not wishful thinking. I won’t let this impostor take advantage of your gullibility. I’ll have him arrested for practicing medicine without a license.”
Becky arrived at the house to find Renee pacing at the front door. She hadn’t finished parking the car when Haley jumped out and ran in the back entrance. Becky steadied herself as she walked to the porch.
Renee saw Haley crying when she ran inside, so he asked Becky, “What happened? Why is Haley upset?”
“The doctor wouldn’t listen,” Becky answered. “She said we’re fooling ourselves, giving Haley false hope. She said we should be ashamed for misleading her and that surgery is the only option.”
Renee could feel the blood rushing to his face. He hadn’t endured this much anguish since a drunk driver killed his wife and daughter. He had insulated himself after their deaths by creating his own alternate reality. Now those horrible memories came flooding back like a crushing wave of unbearable sadness.
As he walked away from Becky he heard her tearful voice, “Renee, what should we do? Please….” He couldn’t speak. He couldn’t even look at her; he just kept walking.
