Chameleon 4

Leaning back John surveyed the cafe and beyond. The rain had stopped, sunlight was streaming through the windows again and the crush had dispersed, leaving puddles of spilt coffee, napkins and cups on the tables. The staff floated around tidying at last. " Well if we are all finished I think we should take the opportunity to move on" he announced. " Lets go home and fill out the questionnaires, what do you think Chris, ready to settle into your new home ? " Nodding happily Chris rose, I don't have to go to Elgin he was thinking absently. As John stood up Chris looked up. And up, wow, he was tall. Amy as well, Chris was used to looking over his mums head, but Amy could look him in the eye. They walked out together and along the broad stone pavement. As they walked Chris watched the people coming their way. Approaching women would look at John trying to catch and hold his gaze. Men of course glanced repeatedly, surreptitiously at Amy, although their looks somehow rarely made it as high as her face. As he walked between his new parents, Chris tried to copy the easy confidence of their walk, but of course nobody spared him a glance.
Heading downhill towards Stockbridge it wasn't far until they turned left up some stone steps between black railings and stopped in front of a black door. While John fished out his key Chris looked at the brass plates beside the door. " J & A Macdonald " announced one, " Future Mind " Frowning, he rolled the thought round inside his head, future mind, mind ? " Are you psychiatrists ? " he finally asked. "Psychiatrists ? No" John replied as they walked along the hallway towards the stone staircase, " But well thought out. We are psychologists " As they climbed he continued " we study the mind in everyday people you might say, unlike psychiatrists who study the illnesses of the mind. " It was like ascending from the depths of the sea, the gentle light filtering down from above reflected from the worn wooden handrail and shiny walls. Each front door they passed was a different colour, red, green, blue, but all dark shades and well kept despite their age. Muted, distant sounds could be heard beyond. " We lecture at the university and have our own research projects " He continued. " Some of these projects run for years. " "And one particular one is finally coming to fruition as we speak " Amy added.They continued to climb. The very last door on the top floor was black and here they halted once more while John again unlocked it. Above them an ancient oval cupola softened the light as it entered through glass frosted and scratched with age. The door open, John ushered Chris inside. A hallway stretched ahead, bare floor, softly off white walls, a faint smell of coffee. Amy slid past and disappeared ahead while John gave the tour. "The kitchen" he announced as they passed the first room on the right. Chris looked in to see an old fashioned kitchen, big pine table in the centre, painted units all around, one of those big painted fridges with the silly name and herbs growing abundantly on the windowsills of the two large windows through which the late afternoon light tumbled. " Our bedroom" John announced from the next room along, on the left. Old dark furniture this time and an iron bed with a big white fluffy duvet. Everything neatly arranged. " Our office ", the next on the right. This was where Amy had gone. As he passed Chris saw her shuffling papers at a big table in the centre of the room. Around the walls were neatly stacked piles of books and more papers under a series of black framed photographs of cauliflower. Weird thought Chris as he hurried to keep up with his host. "The sitting room" last on the left, a big airy, light room, squashy fabric sofas, television, bookcases, books, lots of books. They had reached the end of the hallway and John turned back, " The bathroom " he said pointing to the last room on the right, old fashioned again, white bath and one of those toilets with a chain. " And this is your room " next along, beside the office, opposite a closed door that had not been mentioned. Chris poked his head into the bedroom and saw, past a big dark wardrobe just inside the door, another big iron double bed with fluffy duvet. This, I am going to enjoy he started to think then caught his breath as, beyond the bed on a table to one side of the window, obviously just put there, not plugged in or set up yet, but it really was there - his computer !