by Ian Fox
As she listened, her mind drifted to a tropical beach where she could spend the whole day lying around. That would really be the life.
Then he showed her a picture of his house, which was surrounded by a spacious garden. “It only has eight rooms, but they’re all very big. I hope that you’ll visit me sometime.” He looked at her in a friendly way.
Helen returned his smile and admired the modern house on the photograph.
He also told her he still had all his wife’s clothes. “It’s a real warehouse up there. I can’t just throw them in the trash. Just shoes alone, she had more than fifty pairs.”
Helen’s eyebrows shot up at that remark.
He hadn’t noticed, adding: “Maybe I’ll give them to some charity.”
The more they talked, the more she liked this doctor. Suddenly she realized it was well past eleven.
“Oh, I’m sorry. We were so busy talking that I forgot the time. I must go. My husband, you know.”
Robert Miner took his cell phone out. “Let me call you a taxi. At my expense, of course.”
When they said good-bye, Robert gave her hand an affectionate squeeze and said, “Do call me.”
On the way home her thoughts were of Dr. Miner. When he had given her his card in the salon, she had thought he was some old pervert. She had seen something in his eyes. But now she had a completely different opinion. He was a friendly and cultivated man, exactly the kind she was looking for.
Chapter 24
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After many years of research, Simon had discovered two basic causes of aging. The first was free radicals, which reduce cells’ immunity and thus accelerate the aging process. They may also lead to various illnesses. We cannot avoid free radicals since we’re constantly exposed to them because of pesticides, sunlight, bad diet, cigarettes. But they can be successfully reduced. Tomatoes and green tea, for instance, contain a lot of antioxidants.
The other cause of aging is our genes. Because of them we are destined to die after a particular period of time. In fact, because of our genetic code we are even at birth sentenced to death.
He had given a great deal of thought to this issue. He couldn’t understand what the sense was of a whole body developing from a cell which would, after a specific time, die. What if a mistake had been made at the very start?
According to some theories, there came into being millions of years ago single-celled creatures. Later, these changed into multicelled organisms from which plants and animals developed. What if these single-celled creatures already contained faulty genetic code? And through the whole evolutionary process, this defect had been passed on to man?
Before, neither the knowledge nor the technical capabilities were available to put this right. Now it was possible and Simon Patterson was convinced that he was on the verge of being able to correct this mistake. For years he had been researching and carrying out experiments on animals, and had managed to discover a way of changing a cell’s genetic code. He had finally corrected the mistake that had lingered for millions and millions of years.
When he thought about this he felt like a god who would give mankind eternal life. He knew that this would lead to fame, that there would be no one who did not know his name. But fame didn’t attract him. Nor was he all that interested in money, which he wanted more for Helen’s sake. All he wanted was for people to stop dying the way they did. Every time someone we love dies, it causes so much pain and this will stop it once and for all.
He thought of his mother, who had taken months to die from breast cancer. He was eleven years old at the time and extremely attached to her. He prayed every day, asking God not to take her from him, but God didn’t heed his prayers. Even though his father explained that his mother was going to a better place where she’d be happier, this didn’t comfort him. He cried every day and every night, tormented by the pain in his heart. It was so bad that he wanted to die himself. His father eventually became so concerned that he took him to a child psychologist, who prescribed some pills. After four months he stopped crying. The pain in his heart gradually faded, but the memory of his suffering stayed with him.
He put down the scientific journal in which there was an article about Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome, which caused children to age about ten times faster than normal and to die around the age of thirteen. It was a very rare condition occurring once in about every four million people and for which no cure had been found. It had only been established that it was caused by a genetic defect. He was deep in thought. If, due to a genetic defect, aging had been speeded up, then it could also be stopped, or at least slowed down. A shiver ran along his spine.
Most cells in the human body regenerate themselves. In other words, over a specific period cells die off and new ones grow in their place. Everything would be OK if cells didn’t contain code that dictated that certain faults appear over the years, leading to the aging of tissue and different illnesses.
After many years of research he had arrived at a vaccine that instructed cells to renew themselves exactly as they were before. In this way, he thought, the aging process would be halted. At least he hoped it would be.
He opened Dorothy’s cage and took her out. As he held her, she kicked her hind legs. He offered her a small vitamin tablet, which she happily ate. This was vitamin C, designed to reduce the level of free radicals in her cells. If his method was working, the aging process should already have stopped, but there still remained the problem of the free radicals that caused different illnesses. He had to ensure that they stayed at a low level in order to maintain the rabbit’s health. She had to take the small vitamin C tablet at least three times a day.
Dorothy turned her head as if she’d heard something. Simon had also been roused from his reverie by someone banging around upstairs. Evidently Helen had finally come home. He looked at his watch, which showed midnight. His wife had never come home so late before. He decided to go up and talk to her. For more than three weeks there had been discord between them. A number of times, Simon had tried to talk to her, but she always avoided any attempt at conversation. We can’t go on like this, he thought. We are man and wife, after all.
During their time together they had gone through many difficult periods. They had argued and said some ugly things to each other, but in the end they always got over it. With years, they had got to know each other better and acceptance settled in. But they had never stopped talking for more than a few days. Simon felt he had to do something. Sometimes he wondered how it would be if Helen left him, and then he became scared. He could never imagine living on his own. He was forty-two years old and if Helen left him he would probably not find another wife. Of course she’s angry that I didn’t take that money. But she’s sure to forget about it.
He gently placed Dorothy back in her cage. His attention was attracted by the rats, which had been lethargic recently. Something was not as it should be. He decided that he’d talk to Helen first and come back to the basement later.
Helen had been looking at herself in the bathroom mirror. She held the small gold brooch in her right hand and smiled. She couldn’t remember when Simon had last given her an expensive present. She wondered how much the brooch was worth. Maybe I’ll pop into a jeweler’s tomorrow and ask.
First she had a shower. Then she washed her hair and wrapped it in a towel. She wrapped another towel around her and headed for the kitchen. She was sure she’d be able to sit and drink a cup of tea in peace before bed. When she saw Simon sitting there waiting for her, she spoke first.
“Oh, it’s you,” she said briefly and without a trace of welcome in her voice.
Simon looked at her for some time, before greeting her with a forced smile. “Hi.”
She did not reply, but pretended to be looking for something.
“I think we should talk,” he said.
Her eyes sought the wall clock. “At this time? I don’t know what can be so important that we have to talk about it at midnight.”
“When there’s a problem the time isn’t important. I really think we need to talk.”
She laughed stupidly. “I’ve got no problem.”
“Where were you?” he asked.
She laughed again. “What do you mean, where was I?”
“Just what I said. It’s midnight and you’ve never come home so late before. I want to know where you were.”
Her face became serious for a moment. The corners of her lips turned down and she hissed back like a snake. “What business is it of yours where I go? I’ll come home when I want and with whoever I want! No one’s ever again going to tell me what to do. Least of all you, whose fault it is that I’m condemned to poverty and emptiness.” She said this last with disgust, her face distorted.
“Helen, what are you saying? I’m your husband, or have you forgotten?”
She laughed again. “I thought that I had a husband, too. I thought he was intelligent and something special. That’s what I thought, I really did. But now I know there’s nothing in your head even remotely resembling intelligence.”
He clenched his teeth. Helen had never insulted him in this way before. “I’m warning you, Helen!” he said in a loud voice. “Watch what you’re saying. You have no right to talk to me like that.”
She wasn’t going to be intimidated. She spoke twice as loud, almost shouting at him. “I’ll never forgive you for refusing that money! Never! To me, you’re nothing but a fool, a simple fool!” With her shouting, the towel turban slipped from her head. Her hair was still wet, which made her look even worse.
Angrily, he adjusted his glasses. “Your brain is so addled that you’re incapable of understanding the simplest thing. A colleague warned me about Vucci. You haven’t the simplest idea how dangerous that man is. If I’d taken that money—”
“Yeah, yeah, you’ve told me a hundred times already. Then you’d be indebted to him. Blah-blah-blah. You just keep talking and trying to convince yourself, while I say you’re a fool. You turned down a huge sum of money. Carlo Vucci is rolling in money and wouldn’t even miss fifty thousand. You’re being so damn stupid.”
Simon got up and stood in front of her. “Stop yelling! I wanted to talk to you calmly!”
“I’ve got nothing more to talk to you about. It’s finally become clear to me that I married an imbecile. I made a big mistake.”
He’d never in his life heard so many insulting words from her. There had been times when she had insulted him, but never ever had she gone so far. He stared at her as she shrieked at him and could barely resist the inner voice telling him that he had to do something. “I’m warning you, stop insulting me!”
“I’m sick of your promises that things will get better. Things will never be any better. You’re just a dreamer. You don’t live in this world. Your life is in that dirty cage. I don’t know why you don’t sleep down there too. You think you’re a scientist, but you’re nothing but an incompetent quack!”
Without his being aware of it, his right hand flew toward her face. The slap was so loud it frightened even him. Helen fell quiet instantly and looked at him with eyes wide open. Then she started to whimper at the top of her voice.
He had never hit her before. “Helen, I didn’t mean …”
She turned and ran to the bathroom.
He felt so sorry about it. He thought about the times they had been through together and their relationship which had cooled down. He’d never imagined how much she hated him. He tried to comfort himself by saying she was angry and really didn’t mean it. Maybe I should have taken the fifty thousand. If I’d known it would affect her so much, I would have taken it. I didn’t realize ….
Chapter 25
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John Melton stood on the sidewalk, rolling his eyes in astonishment and hoping to hear more.
He had been in bed, but couldn’t get to sleep. His wife Maria was fast asleep beside him, snoring slightly. It got on his nerves, so he prodded her a few times and even succeeded in quieting her for a short while. But then he’d had enough. He got dressed and went for a walk. The air was cool and refreshing. He looked at the moon, amazed that its craters were visible with the unaided eye.
Suddenly he heard yelling coming from the Pattersons’ place. He checked that no one else was around and with rapid steps moved toward the tree nearest to their house. He stood there pretending to be thinking while trying to catch their words. He was astonished at what he heard. His wife was always saying what an ideal couple Simon and Helen were. She sometimes said things about the other neighbors, but never had a word to say against them. The thought of them arguing was pleasing to him. He was taken aback listening to them and he smirked slightly. He was glad that he hadn’t been able to get to sleep. It was worth it for this show. And then that blow. He would never have thought that Simon would hit Helen. John covered his mouth with his hand, clenched his teeth, and shook his head. Obviously they had serious issues. “Uh-oh,” he said quietly. “Simon may not be as perfect as Maria thinks.” He smiled to himself.
When he crawled into bed he couldn’t help but wake his wife. He told her what he’d heard and she fell silent. At first she was scared, fearful that something must have happened.
When they finally stopped talking and he shut his eyes he was thinking, They were talking about money. I wonder what money it could be?
Chapter 26
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The next morning in his office, Simon Patterson was shuffling nervously on his chair. He was wearing new trousers and a white shirt. He’d had a shower before leaving home and was giving off a scent of birch shampoo.
He looked through the window to see if she was on her way. It was ten and she should have been here by now. I will do the tests for her and then I never want to see her again. At that moment someone knocked on the door.
“Come in, please,” he said in a cold voice.
The door slowly opened. When she stepped in, he licked the inside of his lips. She was even more beautiful than last time, dressed in a woolen, charcoal-gray suit.
“Good morning, Dr. Patterson.” Christine Vucci beamed when she offered him her hand.
“Morning,” he replied, shaking her hand. “How are you feeling?”
“Pretty good today. You won’t believe how much I was looking forward to coming to see you. That’s all I’ve been thinking about.” She fixed her eyes on him.
“How … excuse me …?” His tongue became tangled and he stopped there.
“You know, I can’t believe that I’ll finally be free of all those headaches.”
“Aha?” He took hold of a pen and put it down again. “Please, sit down, Christine.” He also sat, behind his desk. “Today we’ll run some tests to get a clear picture of what’s going on in your head. But I can’t promise that you will actually fully recover. First we have to find the cause.”
“Carlo sends his regards,” she said to him gently.
“Is that so?” She confused him with that and he forgot what he’d been saying. “So, as I was saying …”
Christine stood up and went to the window. “I know you can’t promise anything. I realize that you must first find the source of the problem.” She picked up the pot of miniature roses and lifted it to her nose. She gazed at him while sniffing them. “I believe in you, Dr. Patterson, and I know you will do everything in your power. I’m sure you can help me.”
Those eyes. He felt her looking at him as a child looks at sweets in a shop: a gentle and innocent look, in which he could sense incredible longing.
“There are no words that will be adequate enough to express my gratitude if you can actually help me. The pain—”
“OK. Let’s go for the scan. Do you have enough time?”
“Of course, Dr. Patterson, all the time in the world. I will even stay the night here if you wish.” Her eyes teasingly lit up as she said it.
Blushing, he said, “That won’t be necessary.”
They both laughed.
>
In the course of the day he was with her the whole time. At first he wanted to leave her, but then changed his mind at the sight of her frightened eyes.
“It won’t hurt, will it?” she asked, and took hold of his hand.
“No, no. It’s nothing of the sort.” Again he licked the inside of his lips. The dryness was annoying.
During this time he should have performed a minor operation, but since it was a straightforward one he left it to Jerry Duncan. “If you need me, page me,” he said to Jerry before leaving.
While waiting for individual tests, they chatted about various things. Christine told him she was from Oklahoma and that she’d met Carlo on vacation. While saying this she let out a strange sigh, as if something was wrong.
Simon leaned back on his elbows and said nothing.
Christine said, “You get involved in a relationship and things are never how they should be. But I won’t talk about my problems. Why don’t you tell me something about you instead? How are things with your wife? She seemed like a pleasant and elegant woman.”
He closed his eyes tight. He was sitting next to a woman he didn’t even know and thinking whether to lie and say things were fine or to tell the truth.
“We’re not doing so well lately,” he finally let out. He regretted it for a moment, but on the other hand thought that she’d never have anyone to pass it on to. After this visit I’ll probably never see her again, anyway.
Christine Vucci was surprised. “Really? Probably because of the money, right?”
His desperate look confirmed her words.
“Women are crazier about money than men are. That’s one of our problems.”
