Part 360: Perchance to Dream
March 8th, 2005
Barbara gently sipped on her coffee. She continued to review the papers that were given to her by her CEO. She had to make sure the financial growth continued to actually grow and not decline. Plus, she had to make sure that her other business opportunities that her late husband set up for her did not wane. The redhead gently pinched her nose and tried to relax. On top of all these things, she had to also worry about her son. His lack of rest was worrying her greatly and she felt the need to get Tony and Marita involved. She looked at her watch wondering when they would get here. Then, almost as if on cue, their was a gentle knock at the door.
Barbara got up from her kitchen table and walked the distance of the living room toward the front door. She gently opened it and smiled at the two newlyweds. “There you are.” She giggled.
“Evening, Barbara,” Tony said, as he came in and kissed her on the cheek,” I hope we didn’t come too late.”
“No, that’s the point, Tony,” the older redhead said, as she hugged Marita,” Now is the appropriate time to talk to him.”
“So . .he’s not going to sleep?” the Latina asked.
“He does get sleep but only after he is exhausted. Maybe four hours a night. I am so worried, Tony.”
“Don’t be.” Tony gently touched her hand, “I suspect I may know what has happened to him. That’s why I brought some things that should help him sleep. Which room is he in?”
“Up the stairs, first door on the left. I’ll lead you up.”
Tony smiled holding up his hand, “That’s okay. You stay down here with Marita. She’s got some pictures from our wedding to show you.”
Barbara giggled at the prospect of seeing the wedding photos; she always considered herself a sucker for weddings. The blind doctor then felt of the railing and began to walk up the stairs. When he reached the top, he gently felt of the side wall until he came toward a door. He slowly opened it and peered inside. “Eddie?” he called.
“Tony?” the young boy turned around and gasped.
Eddie had been sitting on the edge of his bed, staring out the window. He quickly ran around his bed and embraced the man he considered his new father. Tony smiled, and patted him on the back. “It’s after 11, Eddie,” Tony said, “Why are you still up?”
The boy sighed. “Mom told you?” he asked.
“She’s worried about you, Eddie. We all are.”
Eddie walked over to his side dresser and pulled up a stool, knocking the comic books off of it. He helped Tony to sit down, then sat back down on his bed. The doctor placed his bag to the side as he heard the boy shift around in his bed. “Can you tell me why you can’t sleep?” Tony asked him.
Eddie shifted up his pillow and leaned his head deep within the soft cushion. “I can’t stop thinking about the Island, Tony.” He whispered, “I can’t stop thinking . . .about her.”
“Bunny?”
“Yeah,” he said, reaching over toward his night stand.
Placed gently on a picture of his mother and father was the locket necklace the dying redhead girl gave him. He gently rubbed it in between his fingers. Tony took a deep sigh and rubbed his chin. “Do you often think about Woogie?” he sighed, “And what you had to do to him?”
“No.” he said, bluntly.
“I know you wanted to save her, Eddie. It wasn’t your fault.”
“I miss her. I miss Walt. I miss Sebastian. Do you think . . .I’ll ever see them again, Tony?”
“I can’t speak for Sebastian but I am sure your mother wouldn’t mind you heading out toward New York to spend a week with Walt. I am sure Micheal and Yolanda would love to see you.”
“I know, but . .I can’t leave momma,” he whispered, “Without Daddy here, who will protect her?”
Tony started to understand what was going on in Eddie’s head. It was the Island and the two and a half months he spent there. He was forced to kill a teenager, he held a dying girl in his arms, he was kidnapped, saw his mother forced to live in a bunker and because of all that, he truly felt the danger wasn’t over. “We are home, Eddie,” Tony whispered, “Nobody is going to hurt your mother. We left the Liberation and all that insanity behind.”
“You don’t know that, Tony!” he protested, “None of you know that! They’ll come back to us, they will!”
“Simmer down, boy,” the doctor quietly held up his hand, “You don’t want to alarm your mother.”
Eddie sniffed, and laid his head back down in his pillow. “I just . . . I just want to be safe, Tony,” he cried.
Tony reached over and took his hand, gently squeezing it. Eddie held onto it as he whimpered softly. “You are safe, Eddie,” he whispered to him, “But being safe and feeling safe are two separate things. Maybe . .maybe if you felt safe, you’d be able to get some sleep.”
“How . . .how can I feel safe again, Tony?”
The blind doctor smiled as he gently picked up the bag to his side. “Where’s your CD player?” he grinned.
---------------------------,
Barbara continued to breeze through the wedding photos. Her favorite was the 8 X 10 of Marita and Tony, posing together in the beautiful Mexican church. She smiled at the quiet photos of Mia and John, and then laughed at the wild photos of Taylor, McKay, Mandy and Alexander. Then she burst out in hysterical laughter at the photo of Seth and Tanya, holding up a toast but they were surrounded by Klingons. “Those crazy kids,” the Latina grinned.
“It looks like you had such a fun time.” Barbara said, wiping away her laughter tears.
“Look at these photo booth pictures of me and Tony.” She pointed.
Barbara looked close at the classic photo booth pictures. Marita was sitting on Tony’s lap in the first one. Then in the second one they were kissing. Then in the third one they were still kissing. Then it the fourth one, Tony was raising up his sunglasses and looking at the camera as if he was trying to find it. The picture also showed Marita laughing about it. The last one, they were blow puckered up and blowing kisses at the camera. “You both look so happy.” Barbara smiled.
“We are happy,” the Latina assured her.
“Oh,” Barbara turned, “I recorded your appearance on Oprah. It was so nice to see you up there.”
“It was so crazy!” Marita laughed, “My mom called me, telling me how proud she was of me. She said she always wanted to be on the Oprah show but when she saw me up there with Tony actually talking with her, she said her dreams had been fulfilled by seeing me up there. Needless to say, she was blown away when I brought her back an autograph of Oprah for her.”
Barbara laughed at the punchline. Marita smiled, sipping her coffee. She was happy that the older redhead still remembered to smile every once and a while. Barbara gave her back the scrapbook and sighed. “I am so happy to see you two,” she smiled, sipping her own coffee, “You don’t know how much you two mean to me and my son.”
“Oh, I think we’ve got a pretty good guess,” the Latina giggled, “What about you, Barbara? How you are holding up?”
“Oh . .busy, busy, busy. I’ve got to keep my CEO happy and the conglomerate still looks to me for answers. I have to sometimes work 10 hour days and Eddie is forced to fend for himself. But then again . . . he always has.”
The redhead stifled a tear. Marita reached over and took her hand. Barbara looked at her, trying not to cry. “There are nights when I still cry myself to sleep,” she said, dabbing her eyes, “My huge bed . . .feels even more huge. Edward hadn’t even touched me in months before . . the plane crash and now . . .I wish he was here.”
“I wish I could tell you that the pain will fade in time but I am sure it’ll always be there, Barbara,” Marita then hugged her, “But don’t ever forget, when the times feel bad, you’ll always have us there by your side.”
“I know, I know,” she returned the hug and parted from them, “Eddie is already trying to become the man of the house. He . . .cooks his own meals, he cleans up his room and he even files the bills away for me to look at later. He . .he never did that before the Island, Marita.”
“I know,” she said sympathetically
“Edward . . .was good to Eddie. He didn’t have to want for anything but . . .he was never the father he needed to be for our son. I don’t want to speak badly of the dead but it’s true. Tony, John and McKay were more father to my son in those short months than Edward was his whole life.”
“I’m honored you should say so.” Tony smiled from the bottom of the stairway.
“Tony,” Barbara got up from the couch and walked over to greet him, “Tony, thank you. How is he?”
Tony smiled brightly. “He’s been asleep for the past twenty minutes.” He grinned.
“He has?” the mother gasped.
“So . .the items worked?” Marita smiled.
“Like a charm.” The blind doctor replied.
“What items? What are you talking about?”
“Shhhhhh,” Tony smirked as he put his index fingers over his lips, then motioned for them to follow up the stairs.
He calmly walked up with them, allowing Barbara and Marita to go first. Once they reached the stairs, the redheaded woman opened the door slowly to Eddies room and paused when she heard the sound of the ocean. She opened the door and looked at her son. The CD player was playing the sound of the ocean, just as she remembered it from the Island. Eddie was slightly snoring away and the woman had to covered her mouth as she saw what was in his arms.
A stuffed toy kangaroo.
“It’s called Reflection Therapy,” The blind doctor gently rubbed her back, “Eddie was not being able to sleep cause he didn’t feel safe. He felt the safest when he was back on the Island, sleeping with me and Marita while John and McKay were nearby. These items reminded him of that feeling.”
Barbara slowly closed the door to allow her son the first restful night he’s had in weeks. She then turned around and embraced Tony. She quietly wept in his arms. “Tony,” she sniffed, “Thank you. I’ll never be able to repay you for this.”
“Well,” he smiled, “How about you make me some of that great smelling coffee and we’ll call it even?”
Barbara giggled as the three adults made their way down into the stairs. Eddie continued to sleep and he was filled with new dreams. Dreams of MOLE on a distance planet. Running with Walt and Sebastian as they chased Vincent through the water. Laughing with Tony, John and McKay at a ball game.
Dreams of a young girl he left behind on the Island. Gone but never far away from his heart.
Barbara gently sipped on her coffee. She continued to review the papers that were given to her by her CEO. She had to make sure the financial growth continued to actually grow and not decline. Plus, she had to make sure that her other business opportunities that her late husband set up for her did not wane. The redhead gently pinched her nose and tried to relax. On top of all these things, she had to also worry about her son. His lack of rest was worrying her greatly and she felt the need to get Tony and Marita involved. She looked at her watch wondering when they would get here. Then, almost as if on cue, their was a gentle knock at the door.
Barbara got up from her kitchen table and walked the distance of the living room toward the front door. She gently opened it and smiled at the two newlyweds. “There you are.” She giggled.
“Evening, Barbara,” Tony said, as he came in and kissed her on the cheek,” I hope we didn’t come too late.”
“No, that’s the point, Tony,” the older redhead said, as she hugged Marita,” Now is the appropriate time to talk to him.”
“So . .he’s not going to sleep?” the Latina asked.
“He does get sleep but only after he is exhausted. Maybe four hours a night. I am so worried, Tony.”
“Don’t be.” Tony gently touched her hand, “I suspect I may know what has happened to him. That’s why I brought some things that should help him sleep. Which room is he in?”
“Up the stairs, first door on the left. I’ll lead you up.”
Tony smiled holding up his hand, “That’s okay. You stay down here with Marita. She’s got some pictures from our wedding to show you.”
Barbara giggled at the prospect of seeing the wedding photos; she always considered herself a sucker for weddings. The blind doctor then felt of the railing and began to walk up the stairs. When he reached the top, he gently felt of the side wall until he came toward a door. He slowly opened it and peered inside. “Eddie?” he called.
“Tony?” the young boy turned around and gasped.
Eddie had been sitting on the edge of his bed, staring out the window. He quickly ran around his bed and embraced the man he considered his new father. Tony smiled, and patted him on the back. “It’s after 11, Eddie,” Tony said, “Why are you still up?”
The boy sighed. “Mom told you?” he asked.
“She’s worried about you, Eddie. We all are.”
Eddie walked over to his side dresser and pulled up a stool, knocking the comic books off of it. He helped Tony to sit down, then sat back down on his bed. The doctor placed his bag to the side as he heard the boy shift around in his bed. “Can you tell me why you can’t sleep?” Tony asked him.
Eddie shifted up his pillow and leaned his head deep within the soft cushion. “I can’t stop thinking about the Island, Tony.” He whispered, “I can’t stop thinking . . .about her.”
“Bunny?”
“Yeah,” he said, reaching over toward his night stand.
Placed gently on a picture of his mother and father was the locket necklace the dying redhead girl gave him. He gently rubbed it in between his fingers. Tony took a deep sigh and rubbed his chin. “Do you often think about Woogie?” he sighed, “And what you had to do to him?”
“No.” he said, bluntly.
“I know you wanted to save her, Eddie. It wasn’t your fault.”
“I miss her. I miss Walt. I miss Sebastian. Do you think . . .I’ll ever see them again, Tony?”
“I can’t speak for Sebastian but I am sure your mother wouldn’t mind you heading out toward New York to spend a week with Walt. I am sure Micheal and Yolanda would love to see you.”
“I know, but . .I can’t leave momma,” he whispered, “Without Daddy here, who will protect her?”
Tony started to understand what was going on in Eddie’s head. It was the Island and the two and a half months he spent there. He was forced to kill a teenager, he held a dying girl in his arms, he was kidnapped, saw his mother forced to live in a bunker and because of all that, he truly felt the danger wasn’t over. “We are home, Eddie,” Tony whispered, “Nobody is going to hurt your mother. We left the Liberation and all that insanity behind.”
“You don’t know that, Tony!” he protested, “None of you know that! They’ll come back to us, they will!”
“Simmer down, boy,” the doctor quietly held up his hand, “You don’t want to alarm your mother.”
Eddie sniffed, and laid his head back down in his pillow. “I just . . . I just want to be safe, Tony,” he cried.
Tony reached over and took his hand, gently squeezing it. Eddie held onto it as he whimpered softly. “You are safe, Eddie,” he whispered to him, “But being safe and feeling safe are two separate things. Maybe . .maybe if you felt safe, you’d be able to get some sleep.”
“How . . .how can I feel safe again, Tony?”
The blind doctor smiled as he gently picked up the bag to his side. “Where’s your CD player?” he grinned.
---------------------------,
Barbara continued to breeze through the wedding photos. Her favorite was the 8 X 10 of Marita and Tony, posing together in the beautiful Mexican church. She smiled at the quiet photos of Mia and John, and then laughed at the wild photos of Taylor, McKay, Mandy and Alexander. Then she burst out in hysterical laughter at the photo of Seth and Tanya, holding up a toast but they were surrounded by Klingons. “Those crazy kids,” the Latina grinned.
“It looks like you had such a fun time.” Barbara said, wiping away her laughter tears.
“Look at these photo booth pictures of me and Tony.” She pointed.
Barbara looked close at the classic photo booth pictures. Marita was sitting on Tony’s lap in the first one. Then in the second one they were kissing. Then in the third one they were still kissing. Then it the fourth one, Tony was raising up his sunglasses and looking at the camera as if he was trying to find it. The picture also showed Marita laughing about it. The last one, they were blow puckered up and blowing kisses at the camera. “You both look so happy.” Barbara smiled.
“We are happy,” the Latina assured her.
“Oh,” Barbara turned, “I recorded your appearance on Oprah. It was so nice to see you up there.”
“It was so crazy!” Marita laughed, “My mom called me, telling me how proud she was of me. She said she always wanted to be on the Oprah show but when she saw me up there with Tony actually talking with her, she said her dreams had been fulfilled by seeing me up there. Needless to say, she was blown away when I brought her back an autograph of Oprah for her.”
Barbara laughed at the punchline. Marita smiled, sipping her coffee. She was happy that the older redhead still remembered to smile every once and a while. Barbara gave her back the scrapbook and sighed. “I am so happy to see you two,” she smiled, sipping her own coffee, “You don’t know how much you two mean to me and my son.”
“Oh, I think we’ve got a pretty good guess,” the Latina giggled, “What about you, Barbara? How you are holding up?”
“Oh . .busy, busy, busy. I’ve got to keep my CEO happy and the conglomerate still looks to me for answers. I have to sometimes work 10 hour days and Eddie is forced to fend for himself. But then again . . . he always has.”
The redhead stifled a tear. Marita reached over and took her hand. Barbara looked at her, trying not to cry. “There are nights when I still cry myself to sleep,” she said, dabbing her eyes, “My huge bed . . .feels even more huge. Edward hadn’t even touched me in months before . . the plane crash and now . . .I wish he was here.”
“I wish I could tell you that the pain will fade in time but I am sure it’ll always be there, Barbara,” Marita then hugged her, “But don’t ever forget, when the times feel bad, you’ll always have us there by your side.”
“I know, I know,” she returned the hug and parted from them, “Eddie is already trying to become the man of the house. He . . .cooks his own meals, he cleans up his room and he even files the bills away for me to look at later. He . .he never did that before the Island, Marita.”
“I know,” she said sympathetically
“Edward . . .was good to Eddie. He didn’t have to want for anything but . . .he was never the father he needed to be for our son. I don’t want to speak badly of the dead but it’s true. Tony, John and McKay were more father to my son in those short months than Edward was his whole life.”
“I’m honored you should say so.” Tony smiled from the bottom of the stairway.
“Tony,” Barbara got up from the couch and walked over to greet him, “Tony, thank you. How is he?”
Tony smiled brightly. “He’s been asleep for the past twenty minutes.” He grinned.
“He has?” the mother gasped.
“So . .the items worked?” Marita smiled.
“Like a charm.” The blind doctor replied.
“What items? What are you talking about?”
“Shhhhhh,” Tony smirked as he put his index fingers over his lips, then motioned for them to follow up the stairs.
He calmly walked up with them, allowing Barbara and Marita to go first. Once they reached the stairs, the redheaded woman opened the door slowly to Eddies room and paused when she heard the sound of the ocean. She opened the door and looked at her son. The CD player was playing the sound of the ocean, just as she remembered it from the Island. Eddie was slightly snoring away and the woman had to covered her mouth as she saw what was in his arms.
A stuffed toy kangaroo.
“It’s called Reflection Therapy,” The blind doctor gently rubbed her back, “Eddie was not being able to sleep cause he didn’t feel safe. He felt the safest when he was back on the Island, sleeping with me and Marita while John and McKay were nearby. These items reminded him of that feeling.”
Barbara slowly closed the door to allow her son the first restful night he’s had in weeks. She then turned around and embraced Tony. She quietly wept in his arms. “Tony,” she sniffed, “Thank you. I’ll never be able to repay you for this.”
“Well,” he smiled, “How about you make me some of that great smelling coffee and we’ll call it even?”
Barbara giggled as the three adults made their way down into the stairs. Eddie continued to sleep and he was filled with new dreams. Dreams of MOLE on a distance planet. Running with Walt and Sebastian as they chased Vincent through the water. Laughing with Tony, John and McKay at a ball game.
Dreams of a young girl he left behind on the Island. Gone but never far away from his heart.
posted by Jason | 8:45 AM
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