A Rose by Any Other Name

by

Barbara Sheridan

 

Allison Park smiled to herself when she saw Phil Overly approaching her father's hardware store. Though he was a good distance away, Allison knew it was Phil by the way the sunlight gleamed on his thick blond hair, bringing out the greenish highlights.

The fact that she had never in her life seen another human being with a green tint to their hair did not bother Allison at all. To her, Phil Overly was the most perfect man in the world. And besides, she once read of a rare form of anemia called chlorosis. Although the book said that the condition mainly affected the skin, Allison reasoned that it was different with Phil. There just couldn't be any other explanation. Phil was wdtking slowly along Main Street, obviously delighting in the warm spring sunshine, and Allison sighed wistfully as he came nearer. It was wrong to love a married man, but she couldn't help it. Her heart had belonged to no one else since she was nine years old and he helped her nurse a dying African violet back to life.

Allison put away her broom and smiled brightly when Phil was a few feet away. "Hi, Mr. Overly. It's good to see you again. When did you come back to Wyrmwood?"

"I arrived late last night. How have you been, Allison?"

Allison looked up into Phil's eyes. They were the most beautiful shade of dark green. "I've been okay. How is your family?"

"They're fine." He quickly changed the subject as he took a list from his trouser pocket. "I don't mean to be rude, but I have to get back to work at the sanitarium soon. I only came in to pick up a few things."

Allison followed Phil into the store. He went to the gardening section. "My Dad isn't in today, so if you need help, I'll be up at the counter." She felt warm all over when Phil smiled at her.

"Thank you, Allison."

Allison stood behind the old wooden counter watching closely as Phil Overly selected his gardening supplies. She was glad that his wife and family didn't come to Wyrmwood with him. She was also glad that he kept to himself a lot. It made her feel very special knowing that she and her father were the only residents of Wyrmwood with whom he associated on a regular basis.

Phil set his armful of bottles and boxes on the counter then went back for a few more things. "Put this on my account please."

Allison smiled. "Of course." She totaled the purchases, then placed them in two boxes. "Can I give you a ride back to the sanitarium?"

"1 don't want to impose. I'll manage," Phil said as he picked up the boxes.

"It's no trouble at all. I was going to go out to the house anyway to get Dad his lunch." Allison felt that delightful warmth again as Phil smiled.

"Thank you, Allison."

"It's my pleasure." Allison felt her heart race as a light breeze blew in the front door, carrying the woodsy scent of Phil's cologne towards her.

*****

Allison laughed as she pulled up near the wrought iron gates of the Wyrmwood Sanitarium. "It's crazy, but 1 could swear that those gargoyles on the roof are in a different position every time I see them."

Phil didn't laugh. "I doubt that. Not that I'm calling you a liar."

"It's okay. Like I said, it's just a crazy thought. I used to have nightmares about them flying over the town when I was little."

Phil quickly changed the subject. "Yes, well. Please give your father my regards." He got out of the pickup truck. Allison got out as well. Impulsively, she touched Phil's arm as he reached into the truck bed for his purchases. "Mr. Overly--Phil?"

He turned to face her. "Yes, Allison?"

Suddenly, the words she had rehearsed over the winter months refused to come. Instead, she stood on tiptoe and kissed Phil, feeling tingly all over when he responded.

Allison was ecstatic. Her fantasies had never been like this. Unfortunately, the look on Phil Overly's face when they parted made her feel ashamed. She couldn't understand why he seemed shocked.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly, handing him the boxes from the truck. "I'm so sorry." She hurried around to the driver's side of the pickup. She backed down the long, winding driveway and headed back into town as fast as she could.

*****

During the six months out of the year that he spent in Wyrmwood, Phil Overly stayed in the rooms he rented from the sanitarium's director, Malcolm Centinella. The rooms were along the sunny side of the building and had large windows. The windows were covered with a special reflective film that let in the sunlight yet prevented anyone from looking in.

It was no accident that the corridor which contained Phil's rooms was unused. The air there was heavy with the smell of chlorophyll. Phil took a deep breath when he entered the corridor, making certain to lock the door behind him. Living greenery rustled beneath his feet as Phil made his way to his rooms.

As he carefully arranged the bottles and cartons of plant food and pesticide on his lichen-covered dressing table, Phil decided that he needed a good, stiff drink. He got a glass from the bathroom, not bothering to wash away the film of algae from the glass's bottom. Phil selected a few of the bottles from his dresser and poured a little of each into his glass then topped it off with a sprinkling of diazinon crystals before gulping it down in two swallows. Afterward, he lay on his bed (which was little more than an ivy-covered pallet) and thought of what to do about Allison.

*****

Allison went straight to her room when she got home that evening, telling her father that she thought she might be coming down with his cold. She buried her face In her pillow and cried, telling herself how stupid it was to come on to a married man that way.

Soon she pushed aside her conscience as she remembered how it felt to be in Phil Overly's arms. She licked her lips and wondered what brand of mouth wash he used. She could still taste the strong spearmint flavor.

****

Malcolm Centinella stood, looking out his office window at at the full moon while he considered the implications of what Phil Overly just suggested. He turned. "It certainly will make an interesting study in genetics--if you can pull it off."

There was a perverse gleam in Phil's dark green eyes when he smiled. "I will."

Allison was walking on air throughout the spring and summer months after becoming Phil Overly's secret lover. She no longer felt guilty over the fact that he was a married man and was hopeful that he would remain In Wyrmwood instead of returning to Louisiana for the winter as he usually did. It crushed her to learn otherwise. They were at a motel in the neighboring town of One Oak when he told her he would be leaving. He offered no explanation, saying only that he couldn't spend the winter In Wyrmwood.

A few days after that incident Allison slipped a note to Phil Inside a box of plant food he had ordered, which her father was delivering to the sanitarium with some other supplies.

Late that night Allison wafted in the bushes just outslde the gates near the employee entrance.

She prayed that Phil would come. He was the only one she could turn to. She looked at her watch.

It was quarter past eleven. She had asked Phil to meet her at eleven sharp.

Allison wiped the tears from her eyes and pulled her jacket tighter around her. She looked up at the sanitarlum roof. She could swear that the right gargoyle statue's wings had been closer to his body when she last looked.

Shortly after midnight Allison started walking down the hill away from the sanitarium. She was going to go to the Despirit River. It wasn't that deep but Allison hoped that she would be able to drown herself.

She stopped walking when she heard movement. The bushes were rustling some distance behind her. She was being followed. She stood frozen as the sound neared. Maybe the murderer she read about In the Gazette really was roaming around. Maybe he'd kill her.

Allison stood facing away from the approaching sound, holding her breath. Being murdered by Jon Walters certainly would solve her problem. She hoped It would be quick, that he'd slice her throat and get it over with. She closed her eyes and clenched her fists at her sides as the bushes directly behind her suddenly parted.

"Allison?"

She spun around. It was Phil. She ran into his arms and held him tightly.

"I'm sorry to be so late, but Keith Sanders dldn't show up. I had to take his shift."

Allison's eyes were brimming with tears. "You came, you love me."

"I do love you, Allison, but 1 have to leave soon. The autumnal equinox will be here in a few days. I won't be back until spring."

Allison began to cry. "You can't leave me, Phil, you can't." She paused. "I'm pregnant," She bit her lip as she looked into his green eyes, afraid of what his reaction would be. She was stunned when he lifted her off the ground and spun her around.

"That's wonderful!" An odd look suddenly passed over Phil's face.

Allison became alarmed. "What's the matter? You aren't mad?" She felt better when Phil smiled at her.

"I'm not angry at all. I was just wondering what it will be." Phil quickly changed the subject.

"Make love with me."

"Here?"

There was a gleam in Phil's eye when he answered. "Yes. It's appropriate."

Allison smiled at Phil. She had never been happier. She ran her fingers through his blond hair.

Even in the moonlight it had that greenish tint. She wondered if their baby would have his beautiful eyes.

It was fortunate that Phil arranged for Dr. Centinella to look after Allison while he was away. It was also fortunate that she was welcomed so eagerly into the secluded safety of the sanitarium, because Allison's sanity seemed to be slipping away as her pregnancy progressed,

It began with the morning sickness. Regardless of what she ate or drank, Allison was always left with a strong licorice taste in her mouth after vomiting. It reminded her of the fennel her father often grew for the Lamberts at the Finer Diner.

That was odd enough, but Allison couldn't understand why the color of what her stomach rejected matched that of the autumn leaves, changing as they did. Dr. Centinella assured her that things were progressing normally. Allison innocently accepted this, and was glad when the morning sickness stopped at the end of her third month.

Her respite was only temporary, however, for soon, the cravings began. Allison just couldn't pass by a potted plant without taking a handful of soil and eating it. She also began drinking enormous quantities of water.

Dr. Centinella again assured her that she was quite healthy. He referred to her condition as pica, saying that many pregnant women experienced such unusual cravings. He prescribed a special vitamin liquid which had the same pinkish color as the popular brand of plant food her father sold in his hardware store. The taste was decidedly organic as well.

Allison also developed a liking for long baths tha bordered on the fanatic. Dr. Centinella indulged her, installing a small hot tub in her room along with special fluorescent lighting because Allison loved to follow her baths with a nap in the sun. She became quite upset when the days began growing shorter.

Near the end of her pregnancy Allison became concerned over the changes in her breasts. She knew that Dr. Centinella was correct when he told her that It was "Mother Nature's" way of preparing for the birth, and she managed to accept the swelling and discomfort, but she couldn't understand why the small amount of mother's milk that occasionally leaked from her breasts resembled tree sap.

Allison breathed a sigh of relief when Phil Overly returned as promised on March 21. She was becoming apprehensive as the projected date of the baby's birth neared.

"I'm afraid, Phil. Dr. Centinella keeps saying that everything is fine, but I'm not so sure."

"Why?*

"I don't know, really. It's just--" Allison paused, trying to collect her thoughts. She had to do that a lot lately. She went to her closet and removed a large medical text. "I sort of borrowed this from Dr. Centinella's office. My pregnancy is nothing like what's in this book,"

Phil took the heavy volume. "This is twenty years out of date," he said quickly. "Besides, every woman is different."

"Maybe, but--" Allison broke off as she felt an unusual sensation. "1-1 think it's time."

Phil smiled. "Lie down. I'll get Malcolm."

As Allison made her way slowly across the room, she felt a rush of fluid as her water broke. She stopped dead in her tracks and closed her eyes, knowing in her heart that the amniotic fluid which surrounded the baby would not be clear like the medical book said. She slowly opened her eyes and looked down, screaming when she saw the murky puddle forming at her feet. It was a brownish green and resembled pond scum.

She was still screaming when Phil, Dr. Centinella and head nurse Joanne Van Oker arrived.

"What's wrong? What's happening?" Allison shrieked.

Malcolm Centinella smiled condescendingly. "Everything is as it should be."

Allison screamed again as Phil and Nurse Van Oker carried her to the bed and placed her in restraints. She called them every filthy name she could think of until the contractions became unbearable.

She began to sob when Phil suggested that they operate. Malcolm Centinella wiped his hands on a towel. He had just done an internal exam on Allison and his hands were covered with a wet, sticky moss. "Yes, we'll have to do a C-section. The fetus seems to have taken root," he said casually.

Matt Park put down the telephone receiver when Phil Overly entered the hardware store. "Hi, Phil," he said glumly. "1 was just about to call out to Wyrmwood. That miniature greenhouse came in this morning. I got that new plant food, too."

"That's great," Phil said as he took out his credit card and placed It on the counter. "Any word from Allison yet?"

"Nothing, and it's been three months," Matt Park said as he wrote up the charge slip.

"Well, you know how kids are. Maybe she wanted to see the world a bit. She'll probably be back in no time."

Matt sighed. "I doubt it. If she was coming back, she'd never have taken that violet you helped her grow. That was her favorite thing in the world." He quickly changed the subject, knowing that he would cry otherwise. "So, what are you doing up at Wyrmwood, starting a plant nursery?"

Phil Overly's dark green eyes sparkled with fatherly pride. "Yes. I came across a new variety of flower quite by accident, it's some type of rose, I think. I have one seedling and plan to plant another soon. I was thinking of naming it in Allison's honor."

Matt started walking to the stock room. "Too bad she isn't here. She'd be pretty excited about that."

Phil smiled to himself. "She'd be absolutely crazy over it all right," he agreed. In fact, she already is, he added silently.

The End