A Peculiar String of Bizarre Dreams

Chapter 31: Just Be and Deal

I walk back to the waiting lounge, without really intending to do so.

I sit by the window again. The sky has darkened to a midnight blue. A half moon hangs in the side of my vision of the vast sky.

I didn't find a Bijou Maven in this realm. I didn't get any advice about decision-making for Eli. 'Is all of this unnecessary?' I wonder, 'Am I going out of the way to get people gems that they probably don't need'. Life can be cumbersome and there are people in the world who don't get gems to help them along the way; they do just fine regardless. My reverie, is thus absolutely fruitless.

The door of the office across the lounge suddenly bangs shut. If someone went inside the room, I didn't notice them at all.

While I'm still thinking about what I want to do next, the office door opens and Ranson walks out.

"Do we have an appointment?" He quickly scans the portrait of me sitting by the window, now looking concerned.

He probably didn't realize before that I could be a patient. He probably thinks he gave me cancer with his smoke. No, he's a doctor, I'm sure he doesn't think that. It can't be scientific to get diseased just like that.

But then again, you get the flu just like that. One day you're walking by and someone else coming from the opposite direction sneezes past you, and BAM! You're infected. I realize quite belatedly that Ransom is still waiting for me to answer his question.

"I don't think so; I was told you're usually fully booked, so I didn't make an appointment to see you."

He goes back into the office and I hear him flipping through papers or folders or whatever else doctors do in their office. After a few minutes, he returns.

"Jemma, right?"

Isn't that nice? He has an entire conversation with me, using just that name and now he wants to confirm if he got it right.

"Yes, that's right."

I glance around the lounge once, what am I still doing in this realm?

"You wanted to see me for something? I know you didn't make an appointment. But I have some time before I see another patient."

"Umm," I hesitate. "No, it's fine. I'm okay."

"Right, okay," he promptly goes back into the office and comes back out, again. What is up with this man?

"You know when you asked earlier...about decisions and anxiety. And I said I take my chances?"

I nod at him wide-eyed.

"Well, I lied."

My pulse begins to quicken, "What do you mean?"

"I know it sounds stupid for a doctor to be superstitious," he studies me cautiously, "but whatever works, right? As long as there is nothing ethically wrong, I believe it's okay." His hair stands at ends and he looks almost embarrassed. A blush starts to colour his stubbled cheeks.

"You're...religious. That's wonderful, Ransom," I deduce.

At which, he shakes his head vigorously, "No, that's not it, you see."

He puts a hand in his coat pocket and removes something green, and drops it in my hand.

"A gemstone. It's jade." He admits softly.

I look at the gem in my hand. Shades of dark green mixed with black spots and lines. Ransom watches me admire the stone in my hand, and explains, "It's for clear thinking, which helps me make better decisions."

I nod in understanding, fascinated. And before I can internalize the thought, it pops out of my mouth.

"You're a Bijou Maven".

His dark eyes widen with astonishment, he looks around urgently to make sure no one has heard me. The corridor is empty, with the exception of the receptionist sitting at some distance.

"You're a voyageur de temps!" He declares in a whisper. I nod at him innocently, as he pulls at his hair.

"No wonder you went on and on about pop culture from the future. You're not from this realm, are you?"

"Well, I'm from this realm. Just not from 1998."

He runs a hand through his mad hair once more, before trying to groom them down.

"Would you happen to have more of these gemstones?" I gesture towards the jade in my hand.

"You said it yourself, just now. If you know what you said you know, then you also know that I do have more."

He ushers me into his office and I follow him in.

The calendar I saw before takes up a large chunk of one wall. A wooden desk with an old office chair sits on the other end of the room. A blue couch rests in the middle and I sit on it, waiting for him to get a stone for me.

"Didn't you know I was coming to see you?" I ask him.

"I knew, but I got distracted. I had that operation and then I just had to get outside after that. Meeting you there, I didn't even consider the possibility that it could've been you."

"Were you expecting an old wise lady to show up?"

"No. As a Bijou Maven, you see all sorts of crazy. You stop having expectations, you just be and deal with what comes your way."

"Sounds tough," I sigh.

"Naw, it's fun," he chuckles, shaking his head at a memory, and opens a drawer in his desk. He removes a black velvet jewel pouch, which looks quite dull and boring in comparison to Sachelle. I wonder if it talks.

He walks over to me and hands over a pristine stone. I return the one that belongs to him; lost in thought I had been toying around with it before the swap.

I take Sachelle out and it doesn't take long for his complaints to follow.

"Thanks for all that smoke earlier. Your jeans smell especially rancid now and I have to bear the horror quietly," he croaks melodramatically.

I give Ransom a tight smile and frown at Sachelle. I quickly drop the jade inside, hoping it will shut him up.

"You can't always ignore me, you know," he grumbles. Evidently, the gemstone stuffing did not shut him up.

"I'm not ignoring you." I say to him through gritted teeth and slide him back into my pocket.

I turn back to face the doctor, "Thanks for the stone, I'm glad we talked before."

He gives me a strange smile and nods appreciatively. "I'm glad too."

And with that procurement achieved, I resume my realm-hopping.