by Remember Me
you.”
Even in his lowly state, Todd looked inviting to Laura. The shy and timid side of him had
never presented itself to her. It reminded her that they shared a common bond. Even the hero has
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human qualities and sometimes fails. Laura had a love for the underdog, and he suddenly
appealed to her more than she had realized. She could smell his cologne from where he stood and
she smiled softly at him. She had to fight to hold herself back from him.
Todd smiled back at his mistress. “Why are you laughing so hard?”
“You just have to listen to her,” Laura explained. “I never realized how conceited she
was. I don’t know how long I can go on like this. I know I’m gonna slip one of these times.”
“No, Laura. We need to keep things quiet about us for a few weeks. I don’t care if she
hates me, but the two of you are best friends. I don’t want to come between the two of you. Wait
for a few weeks until she finds a new boyfriend. Then we’ll act like we’re just starting to date. If
she found out about us now, she might never speak to you again.”
“All right, Todd, you’re right.” Laura stood against the wall staring up at Todd. Even
with the cool breeze drifting in from the opened windows, her tender blue eyes seemed to melt
him as she looked him over. Her laughter had ceased, but a smile remained across her gleaming
face. “You’re the best, Todd. I can’t believe things are working out so well for us. When can I
see you again?”
“Soon, Laura,” he answered. “I’ll give you a call. I promise.”
“I need to get to class,” informed Laura hesitantly. “I’ll talk to you soon, you promised.”
“Count on it.”
Laura ran back up the hallway towards her class. Todd watched her intently as she
departed. She dressed differently than Heather, much more modestly. Her beauty seemed more
natural, and he could hardly tell whether she wore make-up or not. She still couldn’t hide her
cute little figure from everyone, even with the unflattering attire.
Laura walked into the classroom a few seconds after the bell had rung. Her teacher
looked up at her with a slight glare of anger in his eyes. His expression changed slightly as the
surprise from her tardiness shocked him. It was very uncharacteristic of her to come late to class.
She walked to the other side of the room and sat down beside Heather. Laura felt much
more at ease now, regaining her composure. She leaned over towards Heather and whispered
quietly as her instructor began writing on the board.
“Guess who I ran into in the hallway,” remarked Laura as she tapped Heather on the
shoulder.
“Who?” questioned Heather, trying to avoid upsetting the teacher further. She could tell
by the tone of Laura’s voice that it was important.
“Todd.”
“You mean he didn’t run away this time?”
“I don’t think he’s afraid of me,” suggested Laura.
“So what did he have to say?”
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“I told him you weren’t interested in seeing him anymore.”
“What did he say to that?” asked Heather. The teacher stopped writing for a moment as
he waited for silence in the rowdy classroom. Laura had to whisper over Heather’s shoulder.
“He didn’t say very much, but he seemed really upset.”
“It figures. He’ll be crawling back to me in a matter of days.”
“Don’t worry, Heather,” assured Laura. “I’m sure by then you will have forgotten all
about him.”
The teacher turned to face his class and Laura looked down at her book. He informed the
class they would begin now, and the students started to settle down.
Laura tried to concentrate on the word’s her teacher spoke, but found herself drifting off
into a dreamy state of euphoria. The appeal of a boyfriend had never seemed like as good of an
idea as it felt right now. Her excitement overcame her and she had lost her sense of reality. She
felt like the luckiest girl in the world. She had everything, and her future looked promising. She
had never wanted anything more than a chance to go to college, which she still greatly
anticipated. The sudden allure of dating a wonderful guy had clouded that objective. Only one
thing mattered to her right now, and she could only wait to hear from him.
Dr. Raymond Drake jumped when he heard the doorbell ring. He sat in the living room,
lost in his thoughts when the noise interrupted his trance. Ray hadn’t accomplished much since
receiving the call an hour earlier. He did not expect the call and he had sat around anxiously
awaiting the arrival of his old roommate.
As he sat there, trying to recall the last time he had seen the man, he finally recalled the
event in 1967. Eight years had passed since then, and he had almost given up on ever seeing the
friend again. As he waited, a great longing had come over him. The memories of those careless
days they spent in college reminded him of how old he had become. He wished he could revisit
those days, even for a moment, and retaste his youth. He would get the chance now, as he
climbed from his seat with a flare of excitement.
Ray hurried down the hall and opened the front door to find his familiar old friend. The
contours of the man remained the same, though many small wrinkles now appeared on the
matured man’s face. Ray’s face lit up with a smile at the sight of the man.
“Hello Edward,” welcomed Ray. “I have to look twice and make sure it’s really you. It’s
been a long time. Please, come in.”
“It wasn’t too hard to track you down,” replied the man as he walked into the large
entryway. He followed his host down the hallway and into the large living room. Ray and his
wife had furnished the room elegantly.
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Edward looked around the room with some interest while Ray fixed a couple of drinks.
He sat on one of the two large couches in the room. A beautiful Japanese rug with soft colors lay
at his feet. The comfortable sofa reminded Edward of the furniture the two men had in college.
Ray had furnished the room in a manner that made it perfect for reading.
A large fireplace held a soft flame to add a hint of heat to this region of the house. The
lightened shades of the room gave it a calming, earthy feel and the room contained many small
handmade crafts and collectibles. The opened blinds allowed a slight amount of sun inside to
brighten the room.
“Is anyone else home?” Edward asked, noticing the enticing smell of freshly baked food
emanating from the kitchen.
“My wife is upstairs taking a nap,” answered Ray. “She should wake up in a little while
and I’ll introduce you again. I think she’s only met you once before, and we didn’t have a chance
to talk very much.”
“I would enjoy that.”
“So how long has it been, Edward?” asked Ray.
“The last time I saw you was at your graduation from medical school,” answered Edward.
“That was over eight years ago. Looks like you’ve done well for yourself.”
“As long as people keep having children, I�
��ll be in business.”
“Business must be good. This is a beautiful home. I noticed pictures of children along the
walls. I assume they’re all yours.”
“Yes,” answered Ray with a smile. “My wife Alice and I have two small children. Frank
is three and Helen is only three months. Just a young family, we waited several years before we
started having any kids. They’ve been a wonderful addition to our family. How about you,
Edward? I think I remember you having a couple of children the last time I saw you.”
“Yes, my wife and I have three children now. They are all older. Alan, our youngest, is
six. We decided we wanted children a few months after we were married. I think three is our
limit. Alice has her hands full and wanted to quit.”
“I understand, Edward. I think we’ll wait a few years and have one more. We need to get
the second one out of diapers before then.”
Edward continued to survey his surroundings, interested in his old friend’s home. His
home seemed remarkably quiet, especially with two small children in the house. At this time in
the afternoon, they had probably joined their mother in a nap. Edward felt glad for the time alone
with his friend.
“Boy, you look so different,” noted Ray. “It really has been a while. What are you doing
these days? You were still doing research the last time I heard from you.”
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Ray walked over and handed the drink to his old friend. He remained unsure of the
reasoning for the sudden visit. He felt nervous seeing his old friend again after all these years.
An ambiguous sense of bewilderment made Ray feel weary that something had happened, and he
anxiously awaited to find out what it was.
Edward took a small sip and closed his eyes as he savored the taste. Ray knew the
wondrous flavor of the drink inside the glass. The warm sensation it gave as it worked its way to
one’s stomach was a sensation he remembered well. He joined his friend in savoring the flavor
of the drink.
“Ahhh, the taste of fine brandy,” remarked Edward.
“You didn’t think I would forget,” spoke Ray. “It was all we drank in college. Some of
the bad habits you pick up in school you just never can break. I still enjoy a glass of brandy once
a day.”
Edward looked up at his old friend. In his late thirties, Ray looked remarkably well. He
had taken good care of himself and had a wonderful home. Edward couldn’t spot a strand of gray
in Ray’s dark brown hair, and he envied his friend’s youthful appearance.
“Its been so long since school,” reflected Edward. “Things have changed an awful lot the
past few years.”
“How so? You’re still involved in your research, aren’t you?”
“Oh yes,” answered Edward without haste. “I’ve just chosen a new path in which to
study. I’m trying to break out of the old grind and try something new.”
“Aren’t you still working with Dr. Evans?”
“Dr. Evans passed away about a year ago,” answered Edward.
“I’m sorry, Ed, I hadn’t heard a thing,” remarked Ray as he sat down across from Edward
on the other couch.
Edward looked extremely tired, and rather worn for his age. His ambition had always
driven him to succeed at his ventures, and Ray felt quite certain that the years of painstaking
work and effort had taken some toll. Edward’s small frame and sharp, rough looking face hid the
warm character that Ray had known so well through college.
“It’s not a big deal. He was an old man when we were in college. I never expected the
man to live forever. His death wasn’t a surprise, he had been diagnosed with cancer several years
earlier and slowly gone downhill. I needed to break away from his work eventually. This has
given me the chance to work with some of my own ideas for a change. The opportunity has been
most rewarding to me. Now it’s time for me to move on and make my own name.”
“Well,” began Ray hesitantly. “I don’t mean to sound so uninformed, but what exactly
were you involved in with Dr. Evans? The last I heard he was still studying biological pathways
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of the human fetus. Forgive my ignorance, but I don’t know where he was headed with his
work.”
“Dr. Evans was deeply involved in late stage pregnancy growth,” explained Edward. “By
studying the reactions taking place in the unborn child, he hoped to extend the medical
boundaries in maintaining premature children. His work was highly acclaimed.”
“It sounds very interesting.”
“It was incredibly interesting,” assured Edward. “Much of what we learned is already
applied in enhancing the environments for children born prematurely. We know many of the
compounds needed by the young child to finish the cycles of growth that should have taken place
inside the mother. We were able to finish many of the developments that needed to take place to
ensure healthy babies. The wonder of it was that we could do this after the child had been
delivered. We did extensive work with underdeveloped organs. It’s incredible what you can do
with the right environment to stimulate growth.”
“You were working at a hospital back west with Dr. Evans, right?”
“Yes, we ran a special trauma center that treated premature children. Dr. Evans helped
work with the doctors at the center to apply much of what we learned in our research. He was
truly a leader in his field. I worked side by side with many of these small infants and their
various physiological problems. It was very rewarding work, but it had heartbreaks also. You’re
involved in obstetrics, aren’t you, Ray?”
“Yes,” answered Ray. “I kept to the course through medical school. Now I live my dream
of bringing new children into the world and working with mothers throughout their pregnancy. I
still find myself mystified by the whole experience. Nothing could take me away from that. It
sounds like you didn’t falter to far off the path from working with children.”
“Birth is one fascination of mine that I couldn’t let slip away. Ever since college, it has
been the focus of my research. Bringing children into the world and extending the limits where
premature children might safely come into the world is my passion. I think I’ll keep myself
specializing in that part of research for many more years to come.”
Ray stared over at his friend. The man looked older, but he could still remember the days
of their youth, and it came back to him in a flurry. The awkwardness of the visit had already
subsided, and he felt as if he could talk as openly with his friend as they did in college. They
were the best of friends once, and a common bond still existed between them. Ray wanted to
know what had happened in his old friend’s life.
“So what do you do now?” questioned Ray. “Do you still work at the trauma center?”
“No,” answered Edward. “I’m not a certified physician. I never finished medical school.
Dr. Evans performed the procedures with the specialists at the center. I was in charge of the
research end of our work. Dr. Evans applied what we learned from our work in the laboratory for
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use by the medical community. There was no longer any work for me there with him gone. I had
offers from several other physicians to stay on and begin work with them, but it wouldn’t be the
same. I don’t want to have to work for anyone else anymore. So I left the trauma center about
eight months ago.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. It sounds like you really enjoyed your work, not to mention you
probably were working with some really nice medical equipment at the center. Most labs aren’t
as technologically furnished as modern trauma centers. I often wish that we had some of the
fancy equipment they have. That must be devastating to have your life’s work drop out from
under you.”
“Not really,” answered Edward. “It’s given me the opportunity to return to the lab and
continue the work I wanted to do in the first place. You see, once Dr. Evans made the
breakthroughs in the field of late fetal development, he wanted to go into the hospitals and apply
what we had learned. I wanted to remain in the lab and continue the research. We were just
beginning to learn about what was going on and there was so much more we could have
uncovered. Now with him gone, I’ve been able to do that.”
“Where do you get your funding from?” asked Ray.
“I get limited funding through some of the organizations I worked with in the past, but
even they want me to do specific work, and it isn’t what I want to do. I transferred out here to a
hospital upstate. I’m a medical technician in their trauma unit and I help the coroner perform
some of his autopsies. They pay me pretty good money and I don’t mind the work. I do my
research in my free time.”
“Do you use the technologies at the hospital for your research then?”
“No,” answered Edward. “I work out of my own home. Most of the instruments I worked
with while I was with Dr. Evans were his own that he had purchased with special grants.
Towards the height of his career, he never even stepped into the laboratory. I was the only person
operating the instruments. I took care of everything and managed all the maintenance. When Dr.
Evans found out he was dying of terminal cancer, he made out his will to leave all the equipment