The Probability Factor

Chapter Two-When the Hell is Friday?

I was dreaming again. Running like a bat out of hell down Howe Street, my eyes searching wildly for something I couldn’t see. I felt a great sense of panic as I drew closer to the waterfront. Suddenly I saw a blond figure in the distance. It was Haldur, or at least it looked like him. His hair had been shortened and he was wearing regular street clothes, but as I came closer I could recognize his features. I started waving madly, trying to yell out, but to no avail. My voice didn’t work. Haldur gave me a sad look and turning, he suddenly disappeared. My body jolted awake just as he vanished.

Sitting up in my bed, I panted from the imaginary exertion of my dream. As soon as my eyes were able to focus, I saw Haldur sitting at the edge of my bed. I let out a little yelp of surprise, before the memory of rescuing him from the irate driver and taking him to my home flooded back. What on earth was I thinking, taking home a complete stranger? This obvious lunatic was now sitting in my bedroom, watching me sleep. Who does that? Sickos, that’s who, and I had one of them sitting in front of me with a deeply intense look on his face. Just then Roxy chose to jump up onto the bed and lay her head down on his knee, daring me to challenge her judgement. I sighed. She was right. I still had the feeling he was okay and I was supposed to have him here and Roxy hadn’t changed her mind about his character. Resigned to the facts of evidence, I looked him over. He had removed his sword and belt, and his shirt was hanging loosely from his body. The lacing that kept his shirt closed had been untied and I saw a long expanse of bare chest. It struck me odd that he didn’t have any chest hair, and I wanted to have a closer look, but I stayed back. It would’ve been impolite to try and get see the rest of his chest. We’d been sitting there, staring at each other for several minutes, so I decided to get the conversation going, even though it would be one-sided.

“Good morning Haldur. Did you sleep well?” I slid across my bed to get out on the other side. I didn’t want to be too close to him and have him get a whiff of my morning breath.

Haldur just gave me a blank look. Roxy yipped and I got up to go get her breakfast. Yawning, I dragged my ass down the hall to the bathroom to make a morning pit-stop. Haldur followed me closely, slightly wigging me out with his proximity. I walked into my small bathroom and turned on the tap to brush my teeth, in order to get rid of my morning mouth. I picked up my toothbrush only to be stopped by a hand holding my wrist. I looked at Haldur, who was waaay to close for comfort. He towered over me, making me estimate that he was well over 6’5”. He gave a questioning look towards my toothbrush.

“It’s a toothbrush,” he looked quizzical and I reiterated, “A toothbrush. You brush your teeth with it, see?” I put some toothpaste on the brush and stuck it in my mouth. Brushing my top teeth thoroughly, I spoke through the foam, “It’s a part of good dental hygiene. Twice a day, maybe three times for cavity prevention and general good mouth health.” I finished brushing my teeth and spit out the foam, rinsing my mouth with a glass of water. “All done. See? Clean teeth. Now get out of my bathroom,” I shooed him out the door, “I have to use the loo.” I shut the door and locked it, to ensure no untimely surprise visits, and went about my business. I guess the flushing sound alerted him to my being finished, because he knocked on the door, making Roxy bark.

“Hang on, hang on. I’ll be out in a minute.” I washed my hands, dried them thoroughly and then opened the door. He was standing there with a strained look on his face. Something triggered inside me. Bathroom. I hadn’t heard any flushing this morning, and my toilet is loud. Plus, it runs if you don’t hold the handle down until it finishes flushing. His distressed look and my presence in the bathroom equalled an epiphany. “You need to use the toilet? Oh my god. You didn’t have to wait for me to get up. Go ahead,” I moved out of the way, “Please, be my guest. Just wait for the toilet to finish working before you let go of the handle.” He wandered in, clearly looking for something but not seeing it. “The toilet’s here,” I lifted the lid, “If you have to pee, lift the seat up,” I demonstrated, “and if you have to do the other, put the seat down and sit. Make sure you hold the handle down until it finishes flushing.” I flushed the toilet, making sure he was watching, and lifted the handle when the water finished running. “All right? I’ll leave you to it,” I walked out, closing the door behind me.
I moved down the hall a ways, so I wouldn’t be rude and listen to him, but close enough so that I could help him if he needed it. I couldn’t figure him out. He didn’t speak the language, showed up in weird clothing, was afraid of elevators and didn’t know how to use the toilet. Just where was he from anyway? I had never in my entire life encountered anyone who had not used, let alone seen a toilet before. Plus, he looked so damned surprised when I turned on the tap to brush my teeth and when I flushed the toilet. Had he never seen running water before? How on earth did he get all the way to Vancouver without using a toilet or turning on a tap? I heard a muffled word and then my name being called.

“Susan, Susan,” Haldur called from inside the bathroom.

I opened the door, to see him lacing up his pants, standing over the toilet. It hadn’t been flushed yet. I walked over to him and took his hand, placing it on the handle. “Hold this down,” I pushed it down, “and wait for the water to stop.” Once the water finished, I took his hand off the handle and moved him over to the sink. “Turn on the water,” I turned on the tap, “and wash your hands with soap.” I squeezed a little soap from the dispenser onto his hands. Like I was teaching a child how to wash their hands, I lathered him up and then placed his hands under the water to rinse, making sure I got between his fingers and got the soapy residue off his wrists. I then took a towel from the rack and dried his hands thoroughly, “Then make sure your hands are dried completely.” I put the towel back on the rack. “All done,” I declared, walking out of the small room. “Would you like some breakfast? Oddly enough I have time to eat this morning, mostly due to you waking me up early. Whaddya want? Eggs? Don’t have any of those, havta put them on my grocery list. I can make up some toast. You like rye? I have loads of rye. Got it the day before yesterday, so it’s still fresh.” I wandered into the kitchen, pulling the toaster out of the cupboard. Pulling the rye bread out of the bread box, I put four slices in and pressed the button down. I don’t drink coffee, and thus have none in my home, so I called out, “Sorry, but I haven’t any coffee. Would you care for some juice instead?”

Not hearing a response, I poured two glasses of orange juice and put them out on the table. When the toast was ready, I lightly buttered the slices and put two slices on each plate. I got out the marmalade and the raspberry preserves and took them out to the table with the toast. Haldur had already seated himself and was taking a sip of the juice. A look came over him, and I wondered if he had ever had orange juice before. The situation was getting more and more strange. He ate the toast quickly, once I had spread a little marmalade over a piece and handed it to him. He took the knife to spread more on the other piece. I watched him curiously, but couldn’t get a handle on his behaviour. When I finished, I took my plate and glass to the sink. With him gathering up his dishware, following close at my heels. I washed up the breakfast dishes and put them in the rack to dry. Haldur watched every move I made very carefully, like he was making note of all my movements.

I turned to face him, “I have to get ready for work. Stay here.” I walked back to my bedroom and closed the door, shoving a chair under the knob to prevent any entrance.

I dressed quickly and opened the door to find him standing outside. “I have to go to work now. You can watch TV, read, whatever. But don’t leave the apartment. I don’t have an extra set of keys for you, and I don’t want to get robbed if you leave my place. So stay inside, and I’ll figure out something when I get home.” I walked down the hall to grab Roxy’s leash and bags, so I could take her on a quick morning walk. “Stay here. I’m just taking Roxy out for a minute.” I turned on the TV for him and waved him over to the couch. I snapped her leash on and took my excited dog out of the apartment.

I only took Roxy around the block, to make sure she’d be okay for the day; but when I came back, Haldur was standing in my living room half undressed, holding the t-shirt I had purchased for him the day before. He was right in front of the windows, giving anyone who cared to look, a full view of his naked chest and his pants undone, and hanging off his hips. I nearly freaked out, shutting the door with a thud and leaving Roxy by the door, to run over to the windows and close the curtains. Haldur just stood there, watching me implacably. It was unnerving, even though he was the one without the clothes. He made me feel terribly self conscious as I put the room into a dim ambient light. Roxy wandered into the room, dragging her leash behind her.

“Oh, I’m sorry Roxy. Lemme take your leash off,” I unclipped her leash and stood up to face the intimidating man before me, “And you. I cannot believe you. Exposing yourself like that. Are you nuts? There are people,” I waved my hand around, “living all around us. You can’t just strip down in front of a window any time you feel like it. It causes unwanted attention.” I grabbed his dirty shirt off the couch and wandered down the hall continuing my lecture. “I want you to put your dirty clothes in the laundry basket, here. It’s just inside the hall closet. I’m going to do a load tonight, but that doesn’t mean you should prance around in that getup. Seriously. It’s bad enough you almost got into an accident, but wearing this Robin Hood gear just takes the cake. Who do you think you are anyway?” I chucked his shirt into the laundry basket, only to turn around and find out he had taken off his pants and was holding them out to me. He still hadn’t put on his shirt, so I got an amazing eyeful and then some. With a sharp intake of breath, I grabbed his pants and tossed them into the basket, shutting the closet door. Keeping my eyes carefully trained on anything but his body, I marched back into the living room and handed him the sweat pants that were laid out on the couch. “Put these on please. I can’t be expected to leave knowing you are wandering around in all your glory. People could come knocking, and just how the hell would I explain that?”

He had the nerve to look amused as I turned to face the door. After a minute he walked into my field of vision, sweatpants hanging low off his hips and t-shirt hugging his sinewy chest. It occurred to me that he was a candidate for the large size, his previous outfit having disguised his musculature. I grabbed the strings hanging outside his waistband and tightened them so his pants wouldn’t be in such a precarious position. I looked up to see him smiling down at me. I believe he enjoyed this, and I quickly backed away. Straightening myself up, I grabbed Roxy’s leash off the coffee table and picked up my bag from the corner of the hallway entrance. I hung the leash up and opened the door, giving Roxy a goodbye pat.

“Stay inside,” I cautioned, “You mustn’t go out. Not until I get some things figured out.”

He looked at me uncomprehendingly, so I shooed him back to the still-on television, and bade him to sit on the couch. “Stay here. Do not leave. I will be back in nine hours.” I walked back over to the door. “There is food in the fridge if you are hungry. Don’t eat me out of house and home,” I warned.

I walked out of my apartment, with a sense of apprehension weighing in my heart. Haldur was a puzzle I wasn’t sure I could solve. I hoped I would get some clue as to what he was doing here and where he was from soon. He was proving to be somewhat problematic.