The Permutation

Breakthrough (Part 12) Christopher

    Christopher paused. His first inclination was to say no and hang up the phone. He needed to get back to his research to clear his head. The last place he wanted to be was at a dinner table full of people forced to have social interaction, especially interactions with Jessica Kinghorn.

    However, he knew that he had to say yes. Raymond was responsible for securing Christopher a job at the high school. The school board was hesitant hiring somebody with no background in teaching, but Raymond assured them that Christopher was more than capable of handling the job.

    "Yes, I suppose I can do that. What time should I arrive?"

    "Excellent! Dinner's at 6:30 be there at 6."

    Christopher was confused why he would need to show up half an hour early, but he relented.

    "I will be there."

    Christopher hung up the phone. The day's events were unfolding before him and they were only getting stranger and stranger, but he had to admit his uncle-in-law had piqued his curiosity. Any opportunity to help out with a scientific puzzle got Christopher's heart racing with anticipation. It wasn't enough to counteract the agony of his day so far, but it a miniscule increment. Besides, human interaction may have the side effect of distracting him from the abnormalities of the day.

    The rest of the day passed by in much of the same fashion. The students ran amok and Christopher did his best to hold onto his fraying sanity. For the last hour of the day, he stared at the clock with rapt attention, urging the minute hand to pass over the three. When the bell rang, Christopher was the first one out.

    In the safety of his car, he decided to call Dr. Lewis and set up an appointment. Christopher would get all of this sorted out before he went to dinner, and then everything would be okay. Dr. Lewis' receptionist answered the phone and informed Christopher that Dr. Lewis did not have any openings until Tuesday of next week.

    Christopher tried to explain to her that his matter was urgent, and he only needed to talk to him for a second. All he needed was a couple of minutes to get his mind sorted.

    The receptionist repeated that the doctor did not have any openings until next week and hung up the phone.

    Christopher always suspected that she was not overly fond of him.

    He could feel his heart start racing, and the familiar blackness encroaching on his vision, so Christopher started blasting his music as loud as he could to drown out all other stimuli. One option remained to normalize himself; one person that could make everything else disappear. She made him feel like the best man in the world.

Gracie.
      ◈

    That's how Christopher found himself knocking on a maroon door every sixty-one seconds. At this point, it was just a matter of time before Kate or her mother would answer the door and ask him to leave, but he would plead with them and make them understand.

I'm not going to hurt anyone. I'm much better now.

    Two more minutes elapsed without a response, and Christopher wondered if they decided to call the cops. Kate had a restraining order against him, but he was sure it didn't apply if he didn't mean any harm. Everyone would be able see that and let him see Gracie for five minutes. Five minutes would not be a big deal, then he would wait patiently for the court case.

    A voice called from inside, Kate's mother, "Now is not a good time Christopher. Please go away. Kate doesn't want this to turn into a big deal."

    "Ms. Ward, Let me talk to Kate please. She'll understand if you just let me talk to her," Christopher replied.

Silence from behind the door implied that she was either thinking over Christopher's reply or going to get Kate.