My
Journal
By
Harriman Nelson
~In
God We Trust~
16
The
call from Emmie finally came through. I was still in the lab so I had to speak
with her standing in front of the wall monitor.
“Harry,
I’m sorry, but is Lee out of his mind?” Then realizing what she’s said, “I
didn’t mean it that way. Not his fault he was nearly assassinated.”
“You
don’t believe in near death experiences anymore?”
“Well,
not when Lee thinks he visited Seaview as a ghost and as whatever to our unborn
twins in Heaven!!”
“I
thought you believed in Heaven,” I responded to her sarcasm.
“Of
course I do! But just because Lee flat lined briefly doesn’t mean he took a
couple of little side trips to the afterlife to pat his damn boat and engage in
a hearty discussion about names with a couple of fetus’s! Ten to one he chose
the names himself and just wanted to take more control of our lives than he
already has!”
“You
can’t mean that, Emmie,” I said coolly, trying to remain calm.
“You
bend over backwards for him!”
“He’s
the president of the United States!”
“Well,
he isn’t now, and it looks like he won’t ever be again! It’s time to stop
trying to please him! His ridiculous tale about what the twins want! It’s what
he wants!”
“Did
I say I wanted us
to name the children Aurora and Jimmy? I don’t recall calling you and demanding
it.”
“Oh.”
“Sweetheart,
I just think we need to keep an open mind...”
“Bahh!”
“If,
in the great scheme of things, our unborn children are fully cognizant, why the
hell shouldn’t they ask Lee to mention their desires to us.”
“Oh
good grief! You can’t possibly believe they have any kind of conscious
thought!”
“I
can’t deny the possibility. Even comatose patients awake citing what they’ve
heard, and sometimes
seen, and nobody denied that unexplained mystery. Why not the unborn?”
“Because
it’s impossible!”
“The
bible is full of stories about dreams and visions and nobody doubts them.”
“Nobody
doubts the stories are in the bible, but it doesn’t mean anyone believes in
them.”
“Sorry,
didn’t know I married a heathen...look, dear, I won’t argue the point with you.
I believe Lee did indeed die, or at least have some near death experiences.
It’s happened before... I just don’t have the time to discuss the details in
full right now. But Lee was granted a fabulous gift. Our children don’t
like the names we’ve been thinking about giving them. Why can’t we at least add
Aurora and Jimmy to the list. You don’t have to
believe what Lee said happened. Just
consider the names as possible choices...can’t you do that much?”
“See?
You’ve already taken Lee’s side!”
“I’ve
taken his side in that I trust him.”
“He’s
got brain damage! You heard the surgeon general!”
“MRI’s
are not 100%. And I, for one, want to know just where this so called brain
damage is. Might not even be in the area that controls intelligence or....”
“For
God’s sake, leave it, already...I feel sorry for Lee, really I do. I love him too, but Harry, I
refuse to name my little girl after a fairy tale princes...and yes, I know the
name didn’t originate as one, but it’s what everyone would think! Poor kid would be taunted, and teased,
especially as she grows up. Jimmy?
Pretty juvenile, I think. He’d have to live with it, for Pete’s sake.”
“Not
so juvenile...what about Jimmy Stewart? Accomplished actor, wartime ace....”
“What
about Jimmy Olsen, Superman’s friend?” she retorted.
“Jimmy
Carter, president.”
“Jimmy
Hoffa, organized crime!”
“Jim
Kirk? Captain of the Enterprise?”
“Jim
was a nickname, his real name was James Tiberius Kirk. And you said Lee said
that our boy doesn’t want James.”
“Just
as well, as Kirk’s pure fiction.”
“Still,
kids can taunt.”
“I
think we have a problem,” I sighed. “Very well, take the names off the list.”
“Thank
you.”
“So,
how’s the little mama to be holding up?”
“Little?”
“Term
of affection, my dear.”
“Well,
having my husband at sea during the war, you can imagine. Thank God this war
hasn’t escalated into a full nuclear war with atom bombs smashing our country
and our allies to bits, so far, anyway?”
“There’ve
been some close calls. And remember, you have to thank Lee for that first
eyeball intercept.”
“Yes,
yes, we all remember how he used one of his early digital eyeballs on Seaview’s
intercept missiles to remotely control their missile guidance systems...and all
our intercepts are using the same thing now, bully for Lee...”
“For
someone who owes her life to Lee’s ingenuity, skills, and professionalism, as
captain and as president, several times over, don’t you think you’re being a
bit cruel?”
“Yes,
yes, you’re right. I’m sorry...I do love him, Harry, but...I just can’t get
compulsive obsessive about him, like you are.”
“Love
me anyway?”
“Always...take
care, sweetheart...and, if it means anything to you, I’ll pray for you...and
Lee.”
“There
may be hope for you yet...”
“I
never said that I don’t believe in God...it’s just those near death visits of
Lee that I have a problem with...I’d better let you get back to work on your
calculations in order to save the world.”
“God
willing.”
“Yes,
dear,” she said, adding, “God willing.”
~***~