Suspended - Part XI

“Suspended” is a fictional story about a New York family — husband, wife and college-aged son — who’ve become disconnected from one another and lost their sense of purpose until a beautiful young woman who claims she’s a hands-on-healer enters their lives and shakes everything up.

THIS IS PART 11 of a FIFTEEN-PART STORY

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15

All night long Danny's mind burned with questions. What, exactly, was a healer? How did one know one had that gift? Was it possible he himself had it? Sometimes he picked up strange sensations from people, aches, pains, fears, flights of despair that he knew had nothing to do with him. In the morning he woke earlier than usual, drew on some pants and hurried into the kitchen. His father was there, reading the paper. Danny poured himself water from the cooler. "Where's Fee?" he asked casually.

"She went to her workshop."

Rich looked different than on other mornings, sharper, as if his clothes -- the same blue shirt and khakis he always wore -- fit him better. It occurred to Danny that something really might be going on between Rich and Fee. The idea seemed preposterous. Rich was lonely, yes, but Danny couldn't imagine him with anyone besides Marcia. He was too solid, too decent, too set in his ways. "When's she coming back?" he asked.

"Late this afternoon, I guess."

"You like her?"

Rich glanced up from his paper. The muscles of his face were tight, but for the briefest second Danny saw an expression of hopefulness and yearning in his eyes. "She's a nice person," Rich said carefully. He folded his paper and stood. "Gotta go. Early appointment."

That day Danny called in sick to his job at the restaurant and went to the library. He wanted to learn about healers. There was so much material, he didn't know where to begin. Pretty soon he had a stack of books in front of him. He went through them cafeteria style, read all afternoon. By the time he left, he'd only scratched the surface and not a single one of his questions had been answered. He hurried home to the apartment. Fee was in the living room. Her hair was wet, she must have just washed it. She’d pulled a chair up to one of the tall living room windows and was staring out, watching the light shift and change in the park below.

"How do you know you’re a healer?" he asked. "Is it like a calling?"

She turned and looked at him. "I guess you could say that."

"Like becoming a priest?"

She laughed. "No, it's something you feel in your body,”

“Explain.”

She took his hand, gently pulled him down on the chair beside her and began to rub his back. “My stomach goes cold or my scalp tightens up. My hands tingle. I get a gloomy feeling in my heart. That sort of stuff. It comes to me when I’m around certain people. I translate it into what they’re feeling.”

Danny coughed self-consciously. “What do you get from me?”

“That you’re so blocked up you can barely function.”

Cover Image: Jason Schjerven

Next: Read Suspended Part 12 >>