Chapter 10

The Business of Caring

The Visitor awoke with gray morning light seeping through his open window. Many seconds passed before he remembered where he was. The night had been filled with dreams, the ordinary sort of dream he used to have before his life had so drastically changed. He recalled the images of Constance cooking in that silly apron that looked like it belonged to Shirley Temple. There had been endless scenes of Jason on his rocking horse, Jason calling "Daddy, look!" every few seconds so that reading the paper became impossible. Adam’s recollection of the dreams sent a shock of loneliness through his entire being. Sitting up, he thought of the song he’d heard in the Crane’s car the previous night. What had they called it? Classic rock? For Adam, the melancholy tone of the music had matched the droning lyrics perfectly: "Time keeps on slipping, slipping, into the future."        "Got that right," MacArthur thought. Acting on an impulse, he reached out with his thoughts, "Hey, are you there? Are you still there?"        "I hear you, Adam MacArthur," came the immediate reply along with a glow of bright light across his visual field.        "You said you’re not a Visitor, so who are you?" he asked.        "I’m your Advocate. Now our connection is functioning. I can guide you on your mission," the thought transmission stated with a very matter-of-fact tone. "You were informed of this, you knew before you left your craft."        "Right. I did expect a connection when the neural growth was complete. I expected to link with other Visitors here. Sorry, this is all so new to me," he mused, still trying to wake up. "Are you near by?"        "I am near, much nearer than Colony. I am now part of your time continuum," the silent message bounced through MacArthur’s head, evoking a sense of amusement. "You may give information to enter for calculations. Or you may ask for information. I’ll attempt to call up what you need."        "What do I call you?" MacArthur persisted, frustrated with the enigmatic replies.        "Advocate will do. I’m here to see that your mission succeeds. That is my ultimate goal, MacArthur," the thought transmission turned earnest.        "Call me Adam," the Visitor replied. "I need to know where Jason MacArthur is located now."        For the first time, Adam noticed a pause before the response, "I’m sorry. I don’t have that information, Adam. You’re speaking of your son, I think, from your primitive years."        "He’s still my son and it’s important that I find him," Adam insisted.        "Please understand, I’m prepared to help with your mission. Jason MacArthur is part of another time continuum. He’s simply not part of the data base," intoned the Advocate, apologetically.        The Visitor sighed, terminated the connection and stretched. The daylight in his window had brightened and the smell of coffee drifted into the bedroom from somewhere down the hall. Throwing off the melancholy, MacArthur reminded himself, "The future’s not set in stone and neither are the ideas of this so-called Advocate." Bristling at the thought of the word, primitive, and intrigued by his new contact, he suddenly felt energized.        "Mmm. That coffee smells good," Adam MacArthur entered the kitchen, smiling.        "Good morning," Sally answered, looking up briefly from the lunch she was making. "There’s plenty of it, too. Just help yourself to whatever you’d like... toast, cereal."        "Thanks," the Visitor answered, laughing. "I sure am hungry. And it looks like I’m not the only one."        "Oh no, Joshua!" Sally scolded, turning to find her son helping himself to their guest’s cereal.        "I can fix him a bowl, too, if that’s okay?" MacArthur offered. He had set his breakfast down on the table and began playing with Joshua, spinning him around as the boy laughed.        Sally hesitated, watching this complete stranger interact with her son. Freshly showered, he presented as a very attractive man, in spite of the long, unstyled hair and shapeless clothing. And there was much more than physical presence at work, she realized. He radiated an air of both supreme confidence and emotional sensitivity, a dichotomy that she found fascinating.        "He’s had his breakfast already, thanks," Sally replied, burying her idle musing beneath her customary mind-set. "Joshua, come on. Finish watching your video. Let our friend eat." She guided her son back to the TV where cartoon characters danced and sang on the screen.        "You’re very good with him," the Visitor commented watching the frown on Sally Crane’s face.        "Oh, I don’t know," she sighed. "I try, but I don’t seem to get anywhere, really. I take him to school, to dolphin therapy, do home programs, keep a predictable routine, but... It’s been years of work and he still can’t tell someone his name or say what he wants for breakfast. And who knows what Joshua understands?"        "Joshua makes sense of sounds that aren’t language to us. He notices colors and patterns and appreciates them in a way that you and I can’t," the Visitor explained. "He knows, Sally, that you are the center of his world: his anchor, his link to other people."        "How could you know this?" Sally asked, incredulously, abandoning her work at the counter.        "Because," the Visitor continued, "I’ve been with Joshua for some time and I’ve seen things from his side." He met Sally’s gaze for a long moment.        "That’s not possible, I’m afraid," she finally replied, gripping the counter top as she sensed the Visitor’s approach. Somehow she felt his keen interest in her reaction to him.        "Listen, Sally, we’re capable of a lot of things. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of opening your eyes to all the possibilities," the Visitor suggested. "I do know how Joshua sees things. I know he loves you, and you can know that, too." The Visitor took Sally by the hand and led her to Joshua who was, by this time, thoroughly engrossed in his video. He placed her hand on the back of Joshua’s neck.        "Just be open to it," MacArthur suggested. A warm glow emanated from the contact. Sally drifted into closeness with Joshua, an empathy that she had never felt before. After a minute, she pulled away.        Sally smiled and impulsively gave Joshua a hug. "That’s amazing. Thank you. How did you ever..." she broke off her question to hug Joshua once again. After a moment, she continued, "He really does feel something for me. Oh, I wish you could stay and show me more."        "But I can’t," he completed her thought and it was both a question and a statement. The Visitor waited for Sally to explain in her own words.        "No, that’s right, you can’t," Sally added regretfully. "I talked this over with Doug last night. He thought, that is, we thought that you’d be better off in a hotel. Just tell us how we can help. Really. Anything you need, you just ask."        Adam MacArthur smiled and turned back to his breakfast. "I’d like to see you and Joshua again. Maybe I could see that dolphin therapy you mentioned earlier."        "Certainly, I’ll be sure you have our number," Sally replied. "When Doug gets up, I’ll be taking Joshua to school. I can drop you off wherever you’d like. And I suppose you’ll be wanting a ride to the nearest shoe store?" They both had a good laugh, sharing a sense of camaraderie that completely belied their hours-old friendship.