A Delaware Heaven

Egg Puddings

Chapter 9  A Delaware Heaven

They took the highway and headed north east. It was a clear day and the crisp air provided an added dimension to their experience of the scenery. Above, the baby blue sky descended lightly with a soft white light that played with their faces.

In the two weeks plus that they had been here, they couldn't avoid the sense of magic in the beauty of the place. It was as if, heaven had created a location for the man who wanted to achieve his dreams. It gave strength to a person's grasp of the ethereal and persuaded in him a faith in the joy of the experience. While it favored combining the sensation with an experience of reality, it seemed to be in no rush to do so.

It was still early evening, as they approached the ridge. Tom's cabin came into view, its red roof, commanded one's attention in stark contrast to the feeling of a pastel colored romance in the air. As planned, they slowed down and turned into the gravel road. They spied him at the back, chopping wood.

“This guy is coming close to 80,” Susan said, implying that he was still very active and strong. As they stopped the car and came out, Charles broke into a ' wild Tom Cruise ' and couldn't stop. For some curious reason, he suddenly remembered a comment Bob had made about the shape of the map of Delaware.

“What's so funny?” Bob asked. Susan's eyes searched for a picture of explanation and she smiled expectantly.

“Its nothing,” Charles responded, but he realized he would have to say something else quickly.

“I suddenly thought of Peter Pan coming to Neverland and meeting up with Tiger Lily.” He hoped it would pass.

They figured on Tom as Peter Pan and joined in laughing. The beer after lunch helped.

“Feels like a day for it,” Bob replied.

“Welcome pilgrims,” Tom called, with a hand raised.

They stood around while he finished chopping and then went in.

“Don't worry about it,” he was telling Susan. “It just takes some knocking out and paint job and the customer won't know the difference.”

Susan had bought a small crystal vase, while shopping and placed it on the dining table. Bob offered to pluck some flowers from the outside and Charles joined him in the stream of activity that they seemed to have fallen into.

 

When they returned with some wild flowers, Susan took them, cut the stems and got some water into the vase. They sat around the table and realized that the vase had come to occupy all their attention in the room.

“Its lovely,” said Tom as he smiled at Susan.

They drank the coffee but were suddenly consumed by an overwhelming feeling of impeccability of the moment. They sat in silence, their active natures ensnared in an apparent fulfillment of the moment. It was as if the Delaware heaven had delivered on its promise in the collective way in which they seemed to relate to Tom's individual lifestyle.

Tom broke the ice.

“So you survived a bear attack,” he asked or rather informed Bob.

Bob was only too pleased to relate the entire story again. Every time Bob told that story, it got a little better in terms of the nuances of the experience. It became a product of his thoughts, it included elements of the struggle of life and the enthusiasm that we bring to what we do.

He mentioned Charles's poultice, which made Tom nod his head.

“Its a mild form of acid,” he said, “ it diminishes the blood clotting and kills bacteria forming in the infected tissues. It helps with the body's immunization.” He looked at Charles.

“My father's recipe,” Charles said in anticipation of inquiry.

The talk eventually went into the research. Tom was curious as to how they would apply the research findings in resolving some of the social issues.

Charles responded that it is based on their contractual obligations with the university. That some form of arrangement would be agreed to with regards to their own continued participation in the outcome of the research.

“Commercially, there are opportunities for product branding and design, where a customer may respond better to a retail outlet that is named Manassa, for instance, that retails native souvenir products, cultural artifacts etc. because the customer has a unconscious relation to that word from an earlier time.”

'Wow!” Tom exclaimed.

Susan began,

“Its possible to design social programs that help the native population introduce new ritualization practices, to advance their cultural evolution, while participating freely in the economy. They would need assurances that we all have a self built system of defenses against changes to subtle experiences. These exist in everyone as platonic sensations and only allow changes by the will of the individual.”

Tom looked at Bob in anticipation.

 

“Political administration of native issues, understanding decision making and the avoidance of speech and design conflicts so as not to reduce the significance of existing phonetics in language and logos based perceptions.” Bob rattled it off like a list. His mind appeared elsewhere.

The sun was just setting when they left Tom's place. As they maneuvered over the narrow road, its rays reached out to the ridge in that final moment of descent, as if making its greatest struggle at the end, before leaving. Then, the sky turned purple.

Reviews

[Wendy Seames Garner]

Your characters seem to be more comfortable with each other and you with them.

[patricia]

A good chapter, especially how it started. Some of the conversations were a bit confusing, but it may just be that I have lost my thread because of the few days in between reviews. Thanks.