Chapter Four

You see you'd love to run home
But you know you ain't got one
And you're livin' in a world
That you're best forgotten around here
Broadway Is Dark Tonight
Goo-Goo Dolls

Daniel hauled his own sorry ass off to the Base for the day. He squirreled himself away in his office the whole day and puttered over artifacts and notes that just blurred before his eyes. Come four o’clock he left the office, he had an appointment with Dr. Willie one of the shrinks on Base before he left for the day. He never much cared for shrinks but talking with Jack and the rest of his friends on Base didn’t seem to be the answer there were too many things he didn’t want to tell them so an objective third party was in order and Dr. Willie filled the bill. Willie was his first name and everyone on Base called him Dr. Willie because it was easier and more familiar than saying Dr. Hefinuffer

“She calls, you know?” Daniel was saying as he sat on the comfortable chair in Dr. Willie’s office. Daniel had already filled him in on the really big news of the day and they spent a few minutes discussing Daniel’s feelings about his daughter’s pregnancy and his impending grandfatherhood. All in all Daniel didn’t have much of a problem with it. Colleen was level headed and she had plenty of support. Like his wife he felt the timing was terrible but she was going to make a great mother he could see that already. A new life in the family was certainly something to look forward to with great anticipation.

“What does she say?” Dr. Willie asked in his warm but clinical voice. Dr. Willie was a short stout black man with a full thick beard and smile like Santa Claus. In fact, to Daniel that’s exactly how he looked, like a black Santa Claus who had yet to go gray.

“Say? She doesn’t say anything.” Daniel groused. “She just calls and hangs up.”

“Ok, she blocks her number, makes the calls, listens to the tape on the answering machine and then she hangs up.” He scratched the side of his head. “Then she’ll do it all over again, sometimes, I swear I’m not kidding, there’s ten or fifteen Caller Unknowns on my caller id.”

“How do you know it’s her?” Dr. Willie asked. “If the number’s blocked it could be anyone.”

“Who else would it be? Why would anyone else block their number?” Daniel shot back. Wasn’t this guy listening to him?

“So that bothers you?” Dr. Willie said and scratched notes on the pad in front of him. “Why do you think she calls so often?”

“I wouldn’t say it bothers me,” Daniel said and shook his head as he leaned forward. “I don’t care if she wants to call, I just wish she’d say something.”

“What do you want her to say, Daniel?”

“Oh, I don’t know, how about ‘hello’?” Daniel returned in a snotty tone.

Dr. Willie cleared his throat and shot Daniel a look over the top of his glasses. “Daniel,” Dr. Willie began in a chiding tone.

Yeah, Daniel! Davy chimed as he tossed his head from side to side and stuck out his tongue at his brother.

“Look, if she wanted to talk to me she wouldn’t call when she knows I’m at work.” Daniel sat back in the chair and folded his arms across his chest.

“OK, so what do you suppose she wants?”

Colleen already filled him on that. “To hear my voice.” He grimaced and clarified. “It’s on the answering machine tape.”

“So what does that tell you?” Dr. Willie asked.

“I dunno,” he mumbled. “Maybe, I dunno, maybe, she wants to come home.” Although Daniel couldn’t see why that would be seeing as how she had a nice new life with Andrew Fucking Hartley in New York…oh no, they weren’t in New York now they were in Geneva. “If she wanted that then she’d call when she knew I was there or she’d call the Base or my cell phone or she’d drop me a letter or an e-mail….something!”

“What do you think is stopping her from doing those things?”

Andrew Fucking Hartley! That’s what he wanted to scream at the good doctor but instead. “I dunno.”

Not liking the answer he got Dr. Willie tried another approach. “Have you done any more thinking about your time on the planet?”

“Excuse me?”

“You know, Daniel, your time in Bacchus’ Kingdom and the things you did.” Dr. Willie prodded.

“I really try not to think about that.” Daniel returned. “I mean, what good does it do anyway? It’s not like it was my fault or anything.”

“Pardon me, Daniel,” Dr. Willie said easily, “but just how did you come to that conclusion?”

“It was the wine it was drugged or something. It was just the wine. That’s all.” He was starting to get pissier and pissier with each word. “It wasn’t my fault.”

“But Andrew Hartley, he’s Calla’s fault?”

“Yea…” he stopped. If he was really going to blame his wrong-doings on the wine he drank and expect to get away with it then he had to give her at least that much leeway. “She let him into her life. She let him come between us. She let him take her away from me!”

“And those women, you didn’t let them into your life? You didn’t let them come between you and your wife? You didn’t let them take you away from her?”

“I came back.”

“Because she went and got you.” Dr. Willie reminded him. “If she hadn’t you might not be here today.”

Yeah and I might not be Immortal and she might not be with Hartley and she might never have fucked her own goddamn FATHER!

“You don’t love her anymore, Daniel.” It was much more of a statement than a question, an old shrinks’ trick.

“I didn’t say that.”

“So then you do love her.”

“I didn’t say that either!”

“Let me get this straight,” Dr. Willie began, “IF she called you while you were home and IF you picked up the phone and IF she said ‘hello’ to you, you would say what exactly?”

Daniel just stared at him, yeah, what would he say? “I haven’t a clue.”

“Sorry, Daniel, it looks like our hour is up.” Dr. Willie put the pad down. “Let me just ask you one last question before you go. Callas’ been gone more than six weeks, and other than these annoying crank calls you haven’t heard anything from her, have you been to a lawyer yet?”

“No.” Daniel stood up waiting to take his leave of the good Dr. Willie and his stupid questions.

“Why do you suppose that is?” Willie dropped the pencil and eased back in his chair. “Most men in your circumstances would trot right down to their lawyer and have divorce or separation papers drawn up, don’t you think?” Daniel nodded. “So what’s holding you back? Maybe you should think about that until Friday when we get together again.”

“Yeah, maybe I will.” It was getting on five o’clock now. Time go home jump in a quick shower and go have a long visit with Mr. Southern Comfort, Johnny and the rest of the Regulars at O’Malley’s. After one of his sessions with Dr. Willie Daniel thought sitting at the bar was always a fantastic idea. “See ya, doc.” Daniel walked out of the office and made his way to the car.

Daniel drove to O’Malley’s and knocked back a few shots but left before the Regular Crowd kicked in for the night.

End of Chapter Four
Tarnished Heroes: Broadway is Dark Tonight--Daniel's Story
Continue to
Chapter Five