Pollen

June 3rd, 2016

With a $60,000 deposit, Charles Frick was able to reserve the Presidential suite at the Seven Oaks in Maui for one week. There, hanging in the closet, was a red, custom-made Christiano Farai dress with a purse and matching red shoes. In her new dress, Barbara would stun. Charles hoped that, excited by the surprise, she might wear the lingerie he had bought her for their honeymoon (which he hadn’t seen since she opened its gift wrapping). The adrenaline from that idea alone painted an almost insane grin on Charles's face as he drove home from his office in Manhattan.

This trip would fix their marriage. In Maui, Barbara would get to know her husband’s new upgrade; Charlie.

Charles snapped out of his daydream and turned onto his street. His beloved 1994 Acura growled up the hill towards the last house on the right. His heart pattered in anxiety. He backed into his driveway and did a double take when he saw Barbara’s car, Rita the Red Mercedes, in its usual spot, covered in green pollen. She was home early from her spin class; today of all days.

He stepped out of his car, walked over to Rita’s driver-side door, and drew a big smiley-face in the pollen that covered her window. “Why, hello there, Rita,” Charles said with a wave. “Aren’t you just a dirty bird today.” 

Rita quipped back, something about his ass looking better than normal. Charles tittered. Such a flirt, he thought, and waved the car off. He crept up the steps to the front door of his house. 

Charles opened the door and expected to hear one of Barbara’s reality shows blaring in the living room, but there was silence. On the console table in the main foyer was a framed photo of Charles and Barbara on their honeymoon just eight months prior. He picked up the frame for a last look.

He pitied the man in the picture. The man had no style, no posture, and almost no hair. He looked like some perverse fan of Barbara’s. In a way, he was. In heels, she was almost a foot taller than him. With her tan skin, her bright make-up, and her majestic blond hair, she was glorious. No wonder she had never worn the honeymoon lingerie. Why would she need to wear uncomfortable lingerie for him? He was lucky to be sharing a bed with her.

That would all change today. Charles pictured himself as Charlie, strutting into the Presidential suite with a cool, nonchalant swagger. He imagined smoking a cigarette on their balcony, his brooding gaze fixed on the ocean. Charles didn’t smoke but, much to his chagrin, smoking appeared to be Barbara’s favorite activity (Charlie, however, could play along and he had even practiced smoking with one of iCell’s young lab techs). That by itself would shock her, but the next bit would be the best.

“There’s something in the closet,” he’d say, flicking the cigarette off the balcony. “Put it on and meet me in the lobby by eight.” Then, without another word, Charlie would walk out of the suite and have a scotch in the lobby (after finding the cigarette he’d flicked off the balcony and disposing of it, of course). How cool would that be?

Charles bent down towards the photo and waved at the old version of himself. “Say goodbye, buddy, Charlie’s coming to town.”

He straightened his back and snuck up the stairs in search of Barbara. Upstairs, muffled music played from the guest room. Barbara had spent the last three months redecorating that room at substantial cost. Picturing her inside, unaware and lost in her little project, the insane grin lit up Charles's face again.

Charles opened the door and entered.

For a split moment, from the virulent motion of her body, he thought she was being murdered; but once he saw the snake tattoo on the man’s buttocks, Charles understood what he was seeing.

Barbara caught sight of him and screamed. He wanted to scream himself, both at the sight of his wife having sex with another man and the ungodly exhibition. Instead of screaming, he grasped for air.

“Charles, I—it—it’s not what it looks like!” Barbara distanced herself from the naked man in the bed. “I—I—what are you doing home?!”

The naked man rolled his eyes and nodded at Barbara. “Babe, can you just shoosh!”

Barbara shrank.

The naked man turned his attention to Charles.

Charles's eyes shot to the floor, but the floor offered no solace. Crumpled up by his shoe was a pair of black panties with a red bow; the honeymoon lingerie.

The naked man came towards Charles and leaned into his ear. Not daring to look up, Charles closed his eyes from the horror of the man’s nudity. The smell of the man's breath finally answered the question of where Charles’s prized bottle of MacAlliser 50 scotch had gone.

Warm air puffed into Charles's eardrum sending chills throughout his body. Charles could feel the man grinning into his ear. 

“Tell me, Chucky,” the man’s leathery voice said with a titter. “What are you gonna do about it?”

Charles sat in his car and cried.

The last thing he remembered was the naked man tearing sheets off of Barbara and returning for more. The audacity! The cruelty! And she wasn’t even stopping him! Before witnessing anything else, he had escaped the room, ran down the stairs, and flew out the door. He cried in his driveway for fifteen minutes. The ridiculous smiley-face he had drawn into the pollen on Barbara’s car window further perpetuated his weeping. To think that only moments ago, his entire view of life was as naive as that smile. He was pathetic.

Charles needed to tell someone, but he was alone. There was only one person who could help him process the pain; Dr. Gordon.

The next day, Charles sat on a beach in Maui as Dr. Gordon explained why he shouldn't resign from iCell. “Your mission ensures a greater good for mankind. Pardon my bluntness, but… the mistakes of one person can’t mean the demise of the world, can it?”

Charles scratched at a seashell and sighed. He hoped a dramatic exit from iCell might help win back Barbara, but Dr. Gordon had a point.

“Trust me,” Dr. Gordon said. “I flew here overnight from Indonesia because I love you. You think I won't find you two the best therapist on earth?” He stood up, dropped his cigar into a champagne flute, and took Charles by the back of the neck. “Life moves on, my friend, you’ve got to move on with it… or die. Simple as that. Now… let’s eat.”

A few hours later, Charles wound up drunk in bed, his pillow soaked in tears. When he awoke the following morning, Dr. Gordon had already departed and paid the remaining balance for Charles’s hotel stay. He also left a note.

Enjoy your trip on me. A gift from The Greater Good. Tap into Charlie. You earned some time to yourself. Things will work themselves out. They always do. Be The Greatest Good to All Mankind. - EJG

What else could Charles do? He couldn’t squander the gift and so, once his crying fits subsided, Charles tapped into Charlie. He dove off of a cliff, hiked with local guides, swam with dolphins, learned to dance, and he was even approached by a woman at the hotel bar (although he remained faithful). He cried a lot, but each day, he cried a little less and by the time the trip ended, Charles was strong enough to return home.

A week after the incident, trembling at the prospect of confronting Barbara, Charles pulled into his driveway. He sighed in relief once he saw that Rita the Red Mercedes was gone. In Rita’s place was the blanket of green pollen that always covered their driveway this time of year. Usually, the pollen left an outline of her car, but there was none.

Inside the house, Charles noticed that the picture of them was missing from the console in the foyer. He shook his head in outrage. To think she’d move their picture after what she did? But other photos were missing, too. Her portrait above the fireplace, the canvas wedding photo outside the bathroom, their wedding album, and the photo of her in a bikini on his office desk… gone. Along with their photos, throughout the entire house, her decorations, her clothing, and all her belongings were missing.

He checked the kitchen last and, after going through all the drawers and cabinets, Charles noticed an envelope on the counter. Inside was a hand-written letter.

Dear Charles,

I’m sorry for what I did to you. I’m in love with Jake and I never stopped loving Him. You didn’t dEserve what I did and I’m so sor[smudged]. Your a good man. Your [smudged]ng great things. I won’t stand in your way. I’m Leaving you for good. Your mission is imPortant and I don’t love you like I love [smudged]ke. I took all my stuff and all photos of me and us. You need to forget us and me. Y[smudged]ill never hear from me or see me again. We’re gonna start a new life together forever very far from here.

I’m Sorry,

Barbara

Charles wept. He tried to take comfort in the smudged ink, which he hoped came from Barbara’s tears hitting the page. She must have loved him somewhat to cry while writing it… right?

He later found in his credit card statement that she had hired a moving company and a cleaning crew the day after he left for Hawaii. Charles found solace in this. He saw it as a sign of love that she would go this far to help him move on. And, although she didn’t love him as much as he did, it felt good to know she cared enough to avoid the heartache and legal trouble of a divorce.

It took a long time, but Charles tried his best to move on from Barbara. He moved out of the house within two months and got an apartment in Manhattan. To forget her, it helped to remember the naked man, apparently named Jake. It helped him to remember The Greater Good, his community there, and all that Dr. Gordon and Juliette had done for him and his company. It helped to channel Charlie. It helped that when he tried calling Barbara, she had disconnected her phone. It helped that her parents hadn’t heard from her either. It helped that, even though he and Barbara’s parents donated enough money to the Greenwich Police Department to encourage a second full investigation, the police still could not find her. She was starting fresh somewhere far away and, although his heart ached to think of it, she was probably much happier now.

Charles returned to the iCell laboratories with a new focus on his company. He couldn’t allow Barbara’s betrayal to be a distraction. He would bring iCell to new heights as an Agent of Change for The Greater Good. The more iCell made, the more he could help Dr. Gordon raise money for The Human Restoration Project.

Things would work out. In fact, things would be great. Perhaps what Barbara had done was not as horrible as it seemed. Somehow, Charles thought, perhaps what she did was all for the greater good.