Fence Key - Five

Under spiralling blue smoke, Jed and Johnny started on the road to a beautiful friendship. They listened to heavy metal and Jed told his new friend all about Dr. Kelly.

“I’d like to meet him,” Johnny said.

As the afternoon turned into evening and then night, the two pals had a great idea, they decided to go to a club

“What’s the blond thinking?” Johnny asked as he and Jed gyrated a drug-induced boogie.
“She thinks you… no hang on a minute, both of us are wankers.”
“Well she knows what she can do with that,”
Johnny said and started to rotate an imaginary lasso from his pelvis and throw it over the girls dancing with them. Jed’s mad laugh started. They both thought it was so funny that big tears rolled down their cheeks and they ended up a heaving shambles of arms and legs on the dance floor. They were still laughing when the bouncers threw them onto their backsides in the street.

Next day, Jed had an appointment with Dr. Kelly

“And how are you feeling today, Jed?”
“A bit rough doctor, but I’ve made a decision.”
“And what’s that?”
“I’m not going to take any more of your tranquillisers; I’ve read that they can turn off your sex drive.”
“Now, Jed, that’s not par for the course at all.”
“What!”
“Not the right thing to do at all Jed.”
“Well I’ve got something to tell you, Dr. Kelly… I know how you feel about me nd it’s not very professional.”
“Take off your hat Jed.”
“But you’ll see…”
“I want to see your forehead. I know I can read your thoughts there. I’ve been hiding from the truth, but I can’t go on like that. I must see what you think of me.”
“You might not like it.”
“That’s a risk I’ll have to take.”
Dr. Kelly didn’t react to Jed’s forehead writing the way he’d expected. Maybe he can’t read it through my fringe, he thought. After a long silence Dr. Kelly spoke.
“I’m not all you think I am Jed, but I might be able to help you with the forehead writing.”
“You mean you believe it’s there… you’re not going to deny it?”
“I have come across this sort of thing before, but your case is more advanced than the others, they only had plain fonts, they didn’t communicate emotion. I know someone who might be able to help you, but it will take money… a lot of money.”

Dr. Kelly or Damien, as Jed now called him, arranged to meet at Cuisine Actuelle, a trendy café near the clinic, an hour after the clinic closed.