Pictures of the Soul
It was a week before the first year medical students began classes, and Jackie Thomas was hurrying to get moved into her new apartment in time to get settled before her real work began.
She’d only found a place to stay a few days earlier, and she was nervous about her new roommate. She knew that the girl was another medical student, in her same class, and she’d seemed nice on the phone. That made Jackie hopeful that they would get along, or at least be busy enough not to bother each other too much over the next year, but she was still a little anxious. If things were really bad between them, it would be hard to find new accommodations in the middle of the school year.
As Jackie pulled into the driveway of the apartment complex, she noticed a small car, loaded down with stuff like her truck was and attached to a small trailer, being unloaded into the apartment she was to share with the stranger. It looked like her roommate was just as rushed as she was to get moved in. The apartment had been occupied by other students until recently, and so the move-in window for the two new tenants was very small. Jackie sighed. It wouldn’t be fun to try to get two people moved in in just a few days, but they would manage.
As Jackie pulled into a parking spot as close as she could get to her new home, she noticed that her roommate had help moving in, and Jackie smiled. If she could get them to give her a hand, she might get everything into the apartment tonight, and that would help out a lot. Jackie’s parents hadn’t been involved in her life in a long time, and she had no other family to speak of, so she was used to doing most things on her own. This might be a pleasant surprise.
After heading upstairs to the apartment for a minute to get a look around and introduce herself, Jackie was feeling better about everything. Her new roommate, whose name was Madison Miller, seemed nice, and had even been waiting for Jackie to get there to pick rooms in the tiny two bedroom apartment. Madison’s stuff, or rather the small portion of it that was already unloaded, was sitting in the common space of the living quarters. After Madison and Jackie had chosen rooms with a coin toss, the older adults that had been just sortof hanging around suddenly reminded the young women of their presence.
A tall, mocha skinned, wild haired man who reminded Jackie of a cross between a Jamaican and a Marine spoke first. “Hey, Mad, you ready to get this show on the road? I don’t have all day.”
The man’s voice was like honey, and Jackie couldn’t help but wonder where her roommate knew this guy from. There certainly was no family resemblance.
Madison answered from behind the kitchen counter. “Sure, Ronon. Just tell mom which room is mine. She’ll get you started.”
The big man turned and left without another word, and Jackie headed down to her truck to start bringing her own stuff in. As she started to lift the first load, a slightly shorter, very lean man with black spiky hair stepped up behind Jackie, startling her a little. His hair was beginning to grey at the temples, but he still made quite the picture himself, and again Jackie wondered where her new roommate got such good-looking help.
“Here, let me get that for you,” the man offered.
Jackie wasn’t going to turn down the help, and gladly gave up her box, grabbing another.
With the help of the two men and Madison’s parents, the new medical students were moved in in no time, and Jackie smiled as she looked around her new home. If the smoothness of the move-in was any indication, it seemed she and her roommate were going to work out great.
As Jackie began to unpack some of her dishes and put them into the kitchen cabinets, she overheard Madison saying goodbye to her helpers.
“Thanks for all your help, guys. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
The spiky haired one answered. “Ah, it was nothing. You really think we would let our favorite niece go off to med school without helping?”
Madison sighed. “Well, I don’t see my ACTUAL uncle anywhere, do you?”
The Jamaican Marine spoke next. “Yeah, well, you know Rodney…probably got his head stuck in some computer somewhere and doesn’t even know what time it is, unless it’s time to eat.”
The group laughed out loud then, and Madison hugged both men tightly, then turned to her parents. “We still on for breakfast tomorrow before you head back?”
Madison’s mom answered. “Sure thing, and I’ll try to get that useless brother of mine up here, too. You know the promise of food will do the trick.”
Madison laughed again, and her four helpers all exchanged another hug before leaving.
As the door shut behind them, Madison sighed and leaned back on the doorframe.
Jackie couldn’t resist coming out of the kitchen and asking the only question on her mind.
“Those guys are your uncles?”
Madison looked at Jackie with a puzzled expression on her face briefly before realizing that there were certainly no common looks to her friends.
“Ah. Well, you see, John and Ronon are very good friends of my mom’s brother. They’ve been around most of my life. So, yeah, they’re my uncles.”
Jackie nodded and smiled. “Cool.”
Madison smiled back. “Yeah. It is.”
The two young women stayed up most of the night unpacking and talking. Every now and then, Madison would yawn and make some comment about how she should go to bed because she had to meet her parents early for breakfast, but then forget all about that and get busy doing something else. By three thirty the following morning, both girls had decided it would be easier just to stay up and finish the job. Madison could sleep after breakfast. Their house was nearly completely unpacked and while things would take a while to find the best places to stay, it was progressive.
As Madison arranged a few pictures on top of the entertainment center, Jackie smiled, noting several photos of the two men who had helped them move in. Most included another man, who was shorter, a bit overweight, and slightly balding. The shorter one was obviously Madison’s biological uncle. He did indeed look like he was related to Madison’s mother. In fact, the resemblance was a little uncanny.
Jackie asked Madison to confirm her suspicions, pointing to the shorter man. “This your mom’s brother?”
Madison looked up from where she sat on the floor unpacking another box for only a second before answering. “Yeah. That’s Rodney.”
Jackie nodded to herself and continued to look at the framed photographs. There was another picture that intrigued her. A dark haired man, with very blue eyes, stood with an arm draped over Rodney’s shoulders, smiling broadly. Rodney looked happier in that photo than he did in any other, and the blue eyes of the other man shone out from the picture with joy.
As Jackie marveled at how alive the photo seemed, at how it perfectly captured a moment in the lives of two men, and at how it seemed she could literally see into their souls through the glass, her hand involuntarily traced the edge of the frame, noticing that it was chipped and worn, as if it had traveled a lot.
Jackie’s voice came out as a whisper. “Madison?”
Madison looked up, this time for a long moment, before answering. “Yeah?”
“Who’s this?”
Madison stood, and came to stand next to her roommate.
“That…is my Uncle Carson. He was a doctor, you know.”
Thus began the first time that Jackie Thomas heard the tale of Doctor Carson Beckett.
The two young women didn’t know it then, but Jackie would hear stories of Carson’s adventures many more times, and her friendship with Madison would grow in the years to come until the two women were like sisters. Many years later, the friends would wonder out loud if a certain Scottish spirit had had anything to do with their meeting in the first place, and they would smile wistfully, wanting to believe.
Somewhere, much closer than the women thought, a cherished uncle smiled back.
The End
