The Life We Lead: Ascending (16 page)

“Yeah, good stuff. Trying to get that green
healthy vibe going with my main dudes here. They have a real gift
for it,” Scott said.

Byron nodded vigorously. He tended to carry
things to the utmost, regardless of what he was doing. James always
feared Byron would give himself whiplash if he kept the nodding up
and down like that for too long.

Dan, who was musically gifted, had obsessive
compulsive disorder and occasionally did things in increments of
seven. James suspected the disorder was linked to music because
when he did act upon it, he had a rhythm to it. Dan answered,
almost singing, “It’s true, yes, we have grown all our peas for a
year successfully, yes. We are very good at this, yes. We will do
the others well, too.”

Tim chirped in. “It comes down to
understanding the correct growing conditions, obviously, for the
plant. We give each the right amount of water and monitor the pH
each day per plant section. Also the rows and angles are set for
the right sunlight, so obviously we are good at this.”

James smiled. “Maybe on my next visit I can
have a fresh salad from your garden.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,”
answered Dan, and Byron started nodding.

“I would like that,” James assured them.
“Please, don’t let me interrupt what you’re doing. Scott, while
they work, can we talk a moment?”

James gestured to the white plastic chairs
around a small table in the corner of the yard next to the house,
and the two men sat down.

“How are things going here?” James began.
“Everyone doing well?’

“Yeah, dude, everyone’s good. Haven’t really
had any issues. You know, just keep them on a schedule and plan
things out works for most. Especially these guys.”

Scott pointed at the three guys. Tim was
still doing his section, and Byron and Dan walked on either side of
the freshly tilled earth with aerator shoes on.

“I spoke with Tim a few days ago about going
on a trip for a few days,” James said. “He seems really excited,
but I could use all the help I can get to get him ready. We leave
in two weeks. Do you think that’s enough time?”

Though Scott didn’t know everything about the
group, he knew Tim did some undercover stuff. In fact, Tim had
gotten Scott off a murder charge a few years before because of his
ability to recognize patterns. Tim had successfully proven the
blood splatter pattern at the crime scene meant the killer had been
at least six inches taller than Scott, despite all the evidence
indicating he had killed his ex-girlfriend. Tim was also the reason
Scott had the job at the assisted living community, so Scott tended
to be rather flexible with Tim’s work with the group.

“Oh, is that what he’s been so anxious about?
He wouldn’t say. Yeah, dude, that’s cool. We can set up daily
schedules and review it with him each day until you leave. He
should be okay as long as we give him lots of detail on stuff.
Where you going?”

It was a natural question to ask. After all,
Scott did look after Tim, but Scott also knew he didn’t have the
authority to stop Tim from going if Tim wanted to go.

“We’re taking a road trip. I thought he would
enjoy seeing how real farmers work in cornfields, and I have a
business meeting in Indiana, near Evansville.”

“What are you going to do with Tim during the
business meeting? You know how he likes to voice his thoughts,”
Scott said.

“I could use your help on that,” James
answered. “I need to make sure he doesn’t do that, if you know what
I mean. He’s super excited to go on the trip, and I know you’re
always encouraging them to try things. I think he can do it, but
he’ll need some rules to help drive his behavior.”

The guys shut the tiller off, but Dan wanted
to take a turn and finish the last part.

“Dan, keep it upright when you start it,
dude. That’s it,” Scott called. “Yeah, we can work that out,” he
continued. “It’s only like an hour, right? All we should say is
during that visit he shouldn’t talk, needs to sit still, and
pretend he’s asleep while keeping his eyes open and being
awake.”

“That’s just it. I don’t mind if he speaks if
someone asks him something. You know, I want this to be a trip
where he feels like ‘normal’ people, as he puts it. If someone
introduces themselves or whatever, I don’t want him to just zombie
out.”

“Oh yeah, good point. This will take some
work. Let’s get a small list of do’s and don’ts. Then we can work
to add specifics. Dan and Byron will help as actors. They did
really well in Hamlet last year,” Scott said.

“Okay, and I have a few things written down
already.” James pulled a small list from his pocket and handed it
to Scott.

“Nice, dude. Good start. I like the phrasing.
‘If an adult asks you a specific question, smile and try to
answer yes or no.’
Then, ‘
If you can’t answer yes or no,
just give a simple answer like you would try to give someone who is
seven years old.’
He does really well with kids. That should be
easy for him to relate to.”

Twenty minutes later, when the guys were
finishing up in the garden, James and Scott walked toward them.

“Hey dudes, what do you think if we do a
play-acting exercise?” Scott asked just as James’s phone rang.

It was Carissa.

“Can you explain the idea while I take this
call?” James asked.

“No problem, dude.”

James walked away as he answered the phone.
“Hi! How are you, Risa?” His slight Scottish accent was in full
swing.

“I am doing just fine, thanks. How’s you,
John?”

James imagined her smile as she spoke. “A lot
better, now that I am talking to you again,” he said, and
immediately thought,
Lame!

“Oh, well, that is sweet, Love. That makes me
smile, then. I was calling tae just see what was happening and how
you are with your day.”

“Well, today has been good. I’m visiting with
some friends at the moment and one is a co-worker who will be going
on a trip with me whilst I’m traveling, you know. Just going over
some details in the back garden here. The rest of the day has just
been getting some reports and stuff on the market together,” James
said. “What did you do today?”

“Oh, I won’t keep you from your visit, you
know. I just fancied a small chat to hear you,” Carissa said
quickly.

“No, honest, it’s okay. Please tell me about
your day. I would really love to hear you talk, too,” James said
with such sincerity it all but gushed from him.

“Right, then. Well, I actually got a small
bit of good news today. Remember that promotion we discussed? Well,
I was told that I am up for it in the bank now that I finished at
university. So will be moving to Aberdeen,” she said proudly.

“Risa, that is brilliant. Well done! I’m sure
they’ve finally started to see what I saw from the first moments,”
James said.

“Oh? What is that now? A greeting lassie
having a bad hair day that has a nice decent chest?” she started
laughing. So did James, though he made a mental note to look up
what she meant by ‘greeting’ as it sounded like she used it to mean
crying. Turned out, she did.

“Those are some fair attributes, you have to
admit, yeah?” James asked playfully.

Still chuckling, she said, “Too cute, Love,
but thanks, that was very nice. Studies went well today, too, not
bad at all. Got tae run a bit with Judy, a friend of mine that I
may have not mentioned before. She is a good girl and does a lot of
sport. She should have been a boy and kicked everyone’s behind.
Anyhow, we had a run and then just finished supper. Just made a
pizza is all, but now she has dish duty, since I prepared
everything whilst she showered, you know.”

“Sounds like a fair day, then,” James said.
“So what kind of pizza did you make?”

“Just a ham, onion, and cheese pizza. Nothing
special. Why, you hungry?”

“No, just trying to judge your culinary
skills and if it’s worth having dish duty for your level,” James
replied.

Laughing, Carissa said, “Cheeky, but well
played, sir. So, listen, I am going tae let you go because you are
visiting and I have no idea how expensive this call is going to be,
but it was worth it tae hear you.”

“Definitely. And it will be my turn to call
you next,” James said.

“That it is, and you best, you know,” Carissa
said.

“Talk soon. Bye, Risa,” James said.

“Yeah, bye bye now, Love,” said Risa.

Before she could hang up, James heard a
distant female voice say, “Who you calling ‘Love’?”

James was pretty sure she hadn’t told her
friends about him yet, but it seemed like the cat was out of the
bag now. He stood there a moment, enjoying the thought, before
going back to the guys.

As he reached them, he found them all eagerly
awaiting his return.

“Scott has told us the plan. This is going to
be great. Dan is already thinking of music we could write for the
play,” Byron said.

Dan nodded.

James looked quickly at Scott, who said,
“Hold on. Remember, it’s just an acting thing, not a full
play.”

“Yeah, but plays that don’t have music as
part of the play can still have music, can’t they?” Dan said,
slightly crestfallen.

“Obviously, yes, of course,” Tim said.

“Dan, how about you come up with some music,
and after the last rehearsal we can add it and see how it goes. I
think your music is always so good, it might make the play look bad
in comparison,” James said quickly.

Byron started nodding again. “Yes, that is
true. I have written good pieces. They have been played at the best
places in the world. The best players in the world. They only play
the best. It is very good. Yeah, I see what you mean,” Dan said
almost singing again.

Scott whispered, “Nicely done, dude.”

James nodded.
Everyone falls for
flattery.

“So when do we get the script?” Byron
asked.

“Script? Uh, tomorrow,” James said.

“But today, you visited unplanned, you know.
Tomorrow is not in the plan, either. That is very unusual …. Ver
...” Dan began.

“Dan, it is okay for the plan to change
sometimes,” Tim was shaking slightly as he said this. “We can put
it on the schedule now for the next two weeks. What time will we
start and what time will we end each day? Of course, we will need
to cancel other things. Margaret will …”

Byron started to shake his head, and James
spoke up. “Byron and Dan, what if we start rehearsal in a week? Get
it on the schedule like we should. But still get you a script
tomorrow to learn?” James said this to help calm Tim.

“This is okay,” Byron nodded, and this time
so did Dan and Tim.

“I will get the scripts ready as soon as we
set the schedule,” James said.

Scott and James worked out a schedule that
didn’t interfere with daily things, such as meals, before James set
off. He was encouraged by Tim’s efforts to support the idea.

James then called a friend in the group on
his way back home. Shannon was a good writer and worked for a major
network for late night shows. She was used to creating scripts
based on boundaries with short notice, so James filled her in on
what he needed.

The next weeks passed with ease. The guys
learned their parts, and Tim learned to stick to his rules in a
variety of situations. Now the test would come—the real life
adventure that wasn’t predictable, not surrounded by friends. The
test would be hard, as it would involve people who were unlike Tim.
But in his heart, those were the people he most wanted to be
like.

James and
Tim were sitting in the airport, waiting for their flight to be
called, and Tim was clearly nervous.

“I researched this and looked at it from each
airline. I do not see what this extra trip accomplishes. Why do we
need an extra day? When are we getting there? What if the tomatoes
need watering and Byron or Dan forget?”

James wondered if the whole trip was going to
be this way, despite all the preparation that had gone into getting
Tim ready.

“Tim, we are following the plan. We are on
schedule. The extra trip to New York City is to verify the
itinerary we provided to our contact and to make our backgrounds
more valid. Remember, to make it believable, we need to make it
real.” This was the fifth time in the last two hours James had
explained this.

“If that is true, why do you keep breaking
the rules? You set the rules. The rules need to be followed,
right?” Tim started to shake a bit. “We have to make the whole
thing real. The whole thing, but you aren’t following the rules, so
how do I know what rules should be followed?”

“Tim,” James was a bit more forceful in tone
but not in volume. “What rules am I breaking?”

Tim’s shaking intensified. “You said that
once we start, we follow the rules. You keep calling me Tim. Isn’t
my name Jim now for the trip? What about that? I … I … I …”

“You are right. Very right, sorry. We will
follow the rules, Jim,” James said, catching Tim’s eye.

Tim stopped shaking. He sat up and was
quiet.

Really?
James thought,
That’s
what’s been wrong this whole time?

James chastised himself for the slip up. Tim
was right; he’d made an error. This was going to be harder than
he’d thought. He wanted to focus on thinking and keeping Tim safe,
not on the minor issues and tasks of playing nanny. But for this
operation to go properly, he would have to do what was necessary
and more or less babysit Tim.

“U.S. Airways flight 3957 is now boarding,”
came a voice over the speakers in the airport.

“Okay, Jim, that’s our flight. Ready to go?”
James asked.

“Why, yes, of course!” Tim answered in a
voice that sounded like he was an actor out of a Monty Python movie
trying to sound pompous. He had assumed this voice consistently
over the last few days. Scott had thought it was out of nerves, but
apparently that was what Tim thought Jim would sound like.