Chapter 19: Completion

Despair was closing in on me when Alfred eventually called me towards the end of Elise's stay.

"Hi, Bert. Sorry for not calling you earlier and thank you for giving us all the time needed. Will you come to the island, my friend? And leave your bleak state of mind behind? More I am not allowed to tell you, but do come soon, my friend."

"Right, Alfred, I will be at the beach just now. And something will appear in the kitchen."

I did have a few goodly bottles to send over, wrapped them up and got them and myself on the way.

The island had not changed at all. The incredible beauty of it, the stillness gripped me like a physical jolt. Looking uphill I could detect some signs of activity, yet I dragged my feet. Alfred had sounded positive but the estrangement had been going on for so long that I was scared beyond measure.

"Berthold!"

Turning towards the sound I saw Elise walking slowly towards me from the gym. Her smile was radiant but her body language told me that she was weary of my reaction, afraid to be rejected. Damn, this had to stop. I ran to her, picked her up and held her close for what felt like an eternity, caressing her, not able to say anything other than her name, over and over, feeling the tremors of her body as she sobbed against my shoulder, her tears, and mine, a flood to flush all bleakness away.

"Come, dear, let us go for a walk, give us some time to re-acquaint ourselves. We have been under great duress those past weeks. Tell me of your ordeal. Please start right at the beginning, with your healing. That's were things got out of hand."

Holding hands like a couple of teenagers we went leisurely over to the lake and there, in the shade of those large trees, she told me what Alfred had discovered when he went over the healing logs and through the part of the programme where she was the subject. He had found out that for her the healing had indeed been terribly painful because the hacker had removed all of Alfred's features for pain suppression. These should have worked for her since she had no cancers or clotted arteries and veins to do battle with. In fact he had increased the pain level manifold by speeding up the process to the extent that I had to lose control, since the various stages merged into each other before one ill was cleared up.

"Berthold, Alfred cried frightfully when he told me of this. His torment was so great that I was the one consoling him, thereby helping myself because I then understood the complexity of the programme, how difficult it had been to work everything out and set it up.

"I told him that he should have waited before using the programme but realised also that it was not possible for him. He would have died within a few days, as you did tell me. He showed me his healing log, and yours, by the way. I really do understand now and I accept that neither of you is to blame, but I am still not quite over the fact that you never told me the complete truth about your health."

"Elise, of my major ills I only learned through Alfred, I had no idea of the seriousness. I knew about the failing joints, gout, arthritis and so on, the cranky blood circulation. I was even aware of the danger of a stroke. But I accepted all that as the result of my unhealthy way of living. And you know that I don't hold with surgery to fix all those things at my advanced age. That just means inviting more trouble.

"But do tell me more, please. Obviously, Alfred has succeeded where I failed. I would like to hear how he did it."

She told me that I did not fail, it was her who was prevented from listening.

"You know, Berthold, I have come to think of Alfred as just a boy in many respects. A very dear boy. But that notwithstanding he is very sneaky. After the fact, he was very open about it. This bio-feedback of his ... He apologised for using it on me all the time when I was there. He claimed that this was the only way for him to find out what really happened, since I could not talk openly."

Alfred had been exceedingly careful throughout. He would listen to her, audit her as it were, consciously and subconsciously, removing her doubts, her distrust and the effects of the brainwashing bit by tiny bit.

"I could not understand then what was happening to me. The others would not attempt to draw me out. They just told me what you guys had done, the tall stories about the cellar, Wilbur's paper business, the Christmas trees, that hilarious shopping spree of yours, your visit to the lezzy bar and such. It was great to hear all that and I was also able to listen to Lexa and her problems. You did very well there, I had nothing to add. And all the time Alfred was chipping away patiently, would often speak about something obliquely, or hint in passing, so that I had to be the one to ask direct questions or give direct answers. My load got lighter by the day but I started to worry more and more about you and me. I felt I had wronged you beyond endurance. What would become of us?"

That's when Alfred the Fixer came into his own. He guided her subtly into an admission that I was not to blame. Once Elise had realised that and accepted it, he got even more cunning. He included Lexa in the process, made her tell the story about Sabreena and the black eye, how she misread me totally and reacted strongly but wrongly. Lexa made the point that Sabreena had listened to me afterwards, let me explain what I had had in mind and that we were reconciled almost immediately, if quite drunkenly. The second point she made was the fact that I had asked Alfred to take some of the healing water back with us to take care of Sabreena's hangover.

"Berthold, Alfred pointed out that he had not realised at first the full extent of how successful you had been with your applications of that water. With himself of course, that beach incident, later with Wilbur but also with Sabreena. Not only did it cure her hangover immediately, it also removed the guilt she felt over hitting you. He claims he should have seen it right away: the healing water worked on the mind too. He must have used it in various applications on me as well, even if it was never mentioned and I did not ask.

"Alfred did no healing to me, as with the ponds, he says you should be the one to do it." Here she blushed a little. "I do remember the side effects. But would you mind if I asked him to do it? He thinks it is still necessary to be certain that no residues remain. I do agree and I want him to do it. I do not distrust you any longer, Berthold, but I would like to let him have this success because he needs it to become confident again."

"Yes, Elise, I agree. But don't you want him to set your clock back a bit? With the exception of Sabreena, who would have to be a bit younger still to carry out her master plan, and Lexa we would all be the same age. This does work well to induce harmony all round. But let me just check something quickly."

Alfred had told me that he did not prey on my mind but I had the distinct feeling that he had done just that right now. I had been wishing for a blanket to spread and some drinks. True enough, when I followed that hunch to the little hut there were a few blankets, a basket with some snacks and a bottle of wine, pre-opened, with a couple of glasses. Happily, I took everything back to Elise. But before the picnic got under way I made a concentrated effort to thank Alfred in my mind. Bloody hell, I distinctly could hear the guy chuckle.

We ate and drank and talked in the shade. I had to overcome some girlish resistance by Elise at first but we did make gentle love as well.

"Tell me, Elise, who is up there now? The whole gang or just Alfred?"

"No, Berthold, it's just Alfred but I had a feeling that Lexa would have liked to come too."

Immediately I concentrated very hard on Alfred's mind.

"Bert? Is somebody getting very clever here?"

"Yes, my friend, it must be this island air, others are affected by it as well it seems. Thanks for the nice picnic hamper. We appreciated it. But we have decided not to come up if you do not bring Lexa over, like right now."

Alfred laughed off my demand. "You are very slow today. She is already waiting for you near the gym, Bert, she refused to stay at home. Hurry up you two."

After a quick swim in the lake and after sending the hamper back up we went to meet Lexa. As soon as she saw us coming her way there was no holding back. She ran to meet us, we ran towards her and had a great joyful hug. She looked splendid, ecstatic, as I had never seen her before.

"I don't have to ask, love. You are a picture of radiance. It is very, very good to see you."

"Oh, Bert, now that Elise is with us again I could not wish for more. But let's go up quickly. I can feel that Alfred is getting impatient."

Sneaky indeed but on a level nobody could really mind. I offered both of them my arms and got us started uphill. He would not have been Alfred if he had sat still up there: he came running like a hare, his face for once entirely without any traces of pain or sorrow. Good to be back.

Alfred had set the table nicely. Coffee, pastries, fruit juices. We sat down and enjoyed being together once more, at the same time realising that not all had been told yet, not everything cleared up.

"Bert, I take it that you have talked with Elise about her stay with us, about what we did together and how we have been able to clear away some nasty cobwebs. I don't think that I could have achieved it so quickly if Lexa had not been able to break through Elise's mind block. In fact, all of us contributed. But once the suspicions that we were in cahoots against her had been waived it was comparatively easy to follow through. We did show her what we had to do with the people of CareWell, let Lexa and Sabreena into the secret as well. Now everything is in the open, the need to evade or lie a thing of the past. C. is still hanging in there; his wife is doing great, she at least found her true calling; the accountant died from his sepsis, and R. is lost to the world. That hacker in New York has, with my help, recovered some of his facilities and has signed up for basic woodworking classes. He seems to be reasonably happy.

"The implosion of the CareWell building has been officially attributed to compound structural failure. Apparently substandard concrete had been used during construction. Wilbur's stuff had reduced a lot of the rubble to a powdery substance that they could not otherwise explain. Wilbur is very proud of his achievements, as he should be.

"Have you decided yet, Elise, how we should go about your renewed healing? It will be necessary to rectify the psychical damage, you know that. But there should be little or no pain this time since all your physical ills were taken care of during the first trial."

Elise spoke with great deliberation. "Alfred, Berthold and I agreed already that you should be the one to do it. No, wait. I do know that I have to be nude and I do know of the funny little side effects but they should not embarrass you or me overmuch. However I do want Berthold to be present to give us support. Will that be possible?"

Before Alfred could reply Lexa spoke up. "Alfred, I would like to have my healing, if it is at all necessary done too, by Bert. With all of us together, nothing shall go wrong, I am certain of that, especially if Elise will assist me in the pond after her cure."

This request came as a surprise to Alfred and myself but was eminently sensible. It spoke of deep understanding on Lexa's part of all the issues involved and made it easy for us to agree. I looked at Alfred and saw that he understood as well. A tiny nod was all that was needed, an intense communication on more than one level having taken place in mere seconds. It was agreed that we could do it in the morning, neither process considered to be very time consuming.

With those weighty issues cleared up our talk turned to other topics. Elise told of Wilbur's enthusiasm with his mill, his changed personality.

"Sabreena is so happy that he doesn't take out time anymore. He works a proper eight-hour day, enjoying lunch with us and coming back for a drink towards suppertime.

"I think that he is more than ready to make his first batch of paper. Why he should be procrastinating I don't know. He has studied your book from front to back cover more than once. His mill is a close copy of the set-up shown there. Apart from his high-tech power supply that is. Could it be that he would like to have you around when he does start?"

"Of course, Bert, that must be it. Poor Wilbur is suffering from stage fright. But really, there is a ready solution to his dilemma. You have to come with us after we are done here. It will be the first of many times that we will be all together. Of course, we must meet at our place too, in the near future."

Lexa could not hold back. "Oh Bert, you should see how much Alfred has achieved already. He is almost as bad as Wilbur was. Every time we go there I see something new. The whole front part of the property where it was open to the outside world is now fenced in, the place where we want our house to be already levelled. Building to start in the spring. I can hardly wait.

"By that I don't mean that you should use your time all the time, Alfred. I would like us to do more together. Hard work won't break me, you know."

Alfred conceded the point easily and said that he would have her mix concrete for the foundations next. And how about some blasting?

But Lexa had his measure. "We don't blast, silly. We use Wilbur's heavy stuff for that."

For the first time in weeks we were totally carefree even though I did not think that Lexa and Alfred had sorted out their problems yet. Perhaps tomorrow's healing sessions would work towards this end too.

Instead of breakfast we just had some fruit juice and coffee. For a backstop I prepared some of my magic elixir. Alfred set up his laptop next to the pond and went through the procedures with Elise. Go to the cleansing pond first for a quick dip, then to the second pond, more slowly, and after that I would attach the sensors for a complete scan. Once that was done she should put on the harness to be on the safe side. Was she ready?

"Yes, Alfred, I am." With that she gave him a little kiss as a vote of confidence, undressed with just moderate blushing and made a minor splash. As she went to the second pool Alfred told me that he had toned its strength down somewhat.

Elise let us know that she felt a few very tiny twinges here and there, but no pain really. Could she come out?

I dried her thoroughly and had her sit on the chair next to Alfred. With all the electrodes in place Alfred made the scan and was satisfied.

"You are still healthy, Elise. The only irregularity is with the gall bladder. Values have not been adjusted to correct levels; we have to clear some obstruction too. When that crook speeded up the process he had to cut a few corners to squeeze his mind bender into the sequence. Still, we shall go through the complete schedule at snail's pace, checking everything as we proceed. Whenever you want me to stop, say it. In fact, talk as much as you like. It will relax us all."

Going to put the harness on Elise, Lexa said to me that she would do it, stepping closer and shedding her clothes without much ado, a maidenly flush all over her young body the only indication of embarrassment. I tried very hard not to stare and since no active involvement was demanded of me, I made my place next to Alfred, checking progress against the schedule, watching out for anything untoward.

"Please don't mind me, Alfred, I am feeling a bit apprehensive and want to lend you my eyes for what they may be worth. But I will go elsewhere if I am in your way."

"Don't go, Bert, I do want you to be here."

Then I remembered the near catastrophe with our healing. "Alfred, Lexa has shed her clothes, did you tell her that she must not go into the pond with Elise?"

"Dammit, Bert, this was a close call." Alfred was quite nonplussed. "Lexa, dear, you cannot go into the pond with Elise, you have not been healed. Please lengthen the harness-ropes and guide Elise from the side."

This was not a good omen for the makeover. Her suddenly unwarranted nakedness made Lexa shudder and try to cover up unsuccessfully. A robe was hanging near her cave.

I went over and got it for her. "No need to get fully dressed yet, Lexa. The robe will be handy if Elise needs your assistance once the healing is over."

She accepted it gratefully and tied the sash with great care.

"Right, Elise, are you ready? Advance very, very slowly.

"Lexa, hold the reigns tight at all times and watch out for signs of trouble. We will check on the monitor."

Not surprisingly Elise went ahead with great trepidation, yet showing no signs of experiencing any pain.

Alfred asked her. "Elise, is the pain bearable? It says here, that some minor things are being adjusted."

"Oh, Alfred, this is nothing. A mere tickle. It must be those varicose veins again. Do fix them for once and for all please. — If it is possible," she added as an afterthought.

Nothing serious was coming up on the screen so I took time out to get us all a drink. My magic potion for Elise, plain fruit juice for the rest. Back on the monitor things were getting tighter. A slight obstruction in the biliary tract that should not have been there at all since it had been logged as healed previously, some biliary stasis.

Lexa did very well. She let Elise find her own pace most of the time, watching her closely and taking note of the signs Alfred made. Slower or quicker, hand up or down.

"Berthold, that is where everything went off the rails the last time, isn't it?" Elise's voice sounded distressed.

"Yes, go very slowly now. There, the obstruction is gone, I can see you felt this quite strongly and, now, the stasis has been removed as well. Was it bad, dear? Take your time before you carry on."

I gave her another small dose of potion and she continued wading deeper. Alfred was watching the screen like a hawk, but we need not have worried. The screw-up had occurred only here, now everything else should be fine. Nevertheless we went ahead in minute steps, Elise showing small signs of continuing action were none should have been necessary.

She was quick to take this up with us. "You, esteemed medics, should be able to tell me why I do feel some medium to severe pain where there should not be any. Pray do tell."

Thank God she could mention it without getting uptight and nasty again. Alfred told her what we found out.

"Elise, the small twinges you feel, even the heavier action indicate that it is necessary to cure some deterioration of your body. It happens with all of us. We will have to work all the time to stay fit and healthy. May I carry on?"

Elise thanked him for his explanations and submerged herself deeper step by step. Nothing unforeseen now, no screaming and shouting, just an expression of utmost concentration on her face. I sympathised with her: she did not want to make a spectacle of herself and bore her ordeal exceedingly well.

In the end Alfred showed me that Elise was healthy, completely so, the home team had won. But he also showed me that he wanted to add some panache to our doings.

"Look here, Bert. What do you say, shall we have a go?"

With those softly spoken words he drew my attention to a new module of the programme. Over the years Elise had put on quite a few kilos of matronly burden and he had set up the template Body Fat Balancing to take care of that. I did not like the idea of 'messing' with Elise after all those troubles and told Alfred that it had to be in the open. I would tell her.

"Elise, the healing procedure is finished. We can, if you like, do a little extra work to tone your body. No pain at all. Would you like to try it? All it takes is another slow walk around the pond."

Elise was undecided and it took some fierce whisperings and some girlish giggles from Lexa to get her started on her last round. The effect became obvious immediately. She lost her padding fast, her body becoming taut and firm once more. I liked how high her breasts rode on her chest now. The charm of perfection.

"Conclude healing of subject?"

Yes.

"Process new subject?"

Not yet. No.

"Elise, hot damn, that is it. We have done it. Your healing is finished. Come, let's have a little celebration right now."

Alas, the well-known side effects of healing caught up with her and appeared to be intensified by the slimming module. She became bashful and was much relieved when Lexa brought her a robe and relieved her of the harness.

Jubilantly, Alfred shut down his computer and disappeared into the cave while I grabbed Elise and kissed her soundly. She was shy in kissing me back, said that this is how she should have felt after the first session and perhaps Alfred should make the effort to eliminate the arousal part from his programme. What would people think of her?

That clever fellow just then reappeared from the cave bearing four champagne flutes brimful with 'my' drink on a platter and indicated for me to get the solid stuff onto the table as well. Which I did promptly: cold meats, smoked trout, asparagus, olives, baguettes, fruit. There certainly never were any half measures where Alfred was involved.

Elise sat close to him, obviously very happy that all had gone well and without much pain — but I sensed there was more. I could not quite define the emotions I saw sweeping through her. Joy? Gratitude? Some obscure motherly feelings? Love even? No matter, I could accept all that and rejoice in the fact that together we had prevailed against frightful odds. Our faces mirrored the huge relief and our bodies responded with a huge appetite for Alfred's goodies. Short thrift was made, the plates polished clean swiftly.

Elise raised her glass once more and turned to Alfred. "Thank you, dear, for making me whole again, for bringing to an end the worst time of my life, our lives. You have been so very patient and caring. I had the strongest misgivings about this adventure right from the start: it was so, so unreal, and when the first attempt produced those devastating results I saw my worst fears confirmed. Please, Alfred, let me say this. I do know now that Berthold is not to blame, nor are you. I also know the enormous burden all of you carried these long weeks. I am overjoyed that all is well now. At the same time I can feel that this is not so with you and Lexa. Can I help? Will you let me help? Please?"

Poor Alfred looked at me accusingly, lost for words. Lexa cried quietly, obviously sharing Alfred's opinion that I broke their confidence. I was upset at Elise for bringing it up now, would have preferred to speak to Alfred at my opportunity but had to take over to prevent yet another disaster of even greater magnitude.

"Alfred, Lexa, there is one additional side effect of this healing we have never mentioned before. Maybe we did not notice it because it has not been a negative until now. Lexa, I did not break the trust you placed in me, your secret is just that, secret, apart from what you have told Elise. But we are all tuned so strongly into each other that we do feel even the slightest undercurrents, be they good or bad. We have so often marvelled how well we get along, the occasional black eye notwithstanding. Wilbur mentioned the unbelievable odds of this happening. He is right, it cannot be coincidence.

"Consider it, Alfred. The bio-feedback you wrote into the programme must be the reason for our closeness. I have often been called callous before and do admit to having been rather self-centred. Elise will agree readily. But after my terrible healing session, the brutal pains, and your unthinking brave sacrifice when you jumped into the pond to safe me, I felt incredibly close to you. Yes, there is this physical likeness but there is more, much more. Alfred, I have never loved a man before, but that is what I felt then, is what I feel now.

"Consider this too. Wilbur did not heal me. I have known him only for a few weeks. Why then should I be able to gauge his emotions so exact, and Sabreena's, except that she is way too quick for me? And yours, Lexa? There is no semblance to be considered here. Yet I like Wilbur and Sabreena, very much so and I do love you too, Lexa, as you well know. And what about this sneaky business of yours, Alfred? I knew that you could do it, but now it appears that I can also tune in to you, to each of us. And Elise can feel your mind too.

"That was the worst aspect of my strife with Elise. I could read her better than ever before, but could not understand her, could not approach her. And from what she said just now, I know that she has been affected the same way. She loves you too, both of you."

Alfred got up on very unsteady feet, uncertain of what to do, what to say. Elise knew. She got up as well, walked two quick steps and took him in her arms, quietly holding him, caressing his hair, his back, finally leading him away towards our cave. The message was clear.

"Come, love, let us go for a stroll."

I packed the prescribed bottles of no. 2 and 3 water and some other essentials, kissed Lexa's tear-streaked face and took to the path with her. This time we went to Wilbur's pond. The smallish trees around it lent sufficient shade and the view of the plains is especially lovely from there. I spread a kaross over the soft grass, shook up a cushion and invited Lexa to sit down. She did so with the greatest reluctance and started crying again.

"Bert, I have to ask, have to know what Elise is doing with Alfred."

If there were more difficult situations in human relations than the one I found myself in, I sure would want to avoid them. But I could not avoid answering Lexa.

"She is healing Alfred, dear."

"But..."

"Yes, Lexa, I know. Elise is not only very wise, she is also a very compassionate and generous woman. I would have spoken to Alfred and you, separately mind you, but she obviously could not stand by any longer. Maybe she is right, you don't seem to have made much progress since we had our talk, did you?"

"No, Bert, as much as we love each other and enjoy our life together, the planning and building and dreaming, we both seize up when it comes to the bedroom. He because he has only his whores for experience and I ... well you know how horrible everything to do with sex was for me. We just withdraw into our shells, the walls getting higher and stronger all the time. Eventually I would have asked Elise for help but had to wait till now, of course. Sabreena, great as she is as a companion, does not understand the problem. She told me to grab Alfred and seduce him, he would get the message. But how can I do that if I am afraid to touch him, if he turns away when I undress?"

Suddenly she jumped to her feet and pulled her blouse over head, pushed her shorts and panties down and stood before me naked, her splendid body tensed like a spring, her sweet face a grotesque image of anguish and despair.

"Am I so ugly that he cannot bear to look at me, is my skin diseased, my smell repulsive? Must I hide my face even? Has that caricature of a foster 'father' won after all, has he despoiled me forever?"

Sobbing forlornly she crumpled onto the blanket. I dared not move, above all dared not touch her yet wanted to hold her so badly it hurt. But she would have to come to me.

Which she did. With a hoarse cry she turned to me as I lay on my back opening my arms for her.

"Yes, dear, come. Let me hold and cherish you."

"Bert, will you..."

"No, love, I won't. Alfred will have great need of you when the time is right, we must not take that away from him."

She buried her face in my shoulder then, crying softly, and let me put both my arms around her, holding her close, caressing her back with only my fingertips, smoothing her hair away from her face, sheltering her from even the slightest breeze. Trying all the time to forget what a beautiful creature I held in my arms, the marvellous body pressed against mine. In the end, after her crying had subsided into an occasional sob, she fell asleep.

I did not notice when she woke up, but realised from her gentle movements that she turned her face upwards to look at me.

"Bert?"

"Yes, dear."

"Sorry, I fell asleep. May I ask a favour of you?"

"Certainly, if it is in my power. What is it?"

She averted her eyes shyly when she uttered the few words, as if afraid of rejection. But rejection of what?

"Bert, will you please take your clothes off too? That I may feel your skin against mine?"

By comparison, the many temptations of Saint Anthony must have been a mere trifle. I dared not refuse her, yet was aware enough of my own weaknesses to give in to her request. A compromise was indicated if my honour was to survive intact.

"Lexa dear, I will take off my shirt but please let me have at least a token of modesty. I am but human and the male of the species is well known for his inherent feebleness and lack of willpower."