1
“Oh for heaven’s sake David what are you on?” Helen’s remonstration was absolutely typical of her reaction to David’s arguments.
David was forever making bold and outlandish statements. Most of the things he came out with could not be argued proved or disproved and today’s statement was no exception.
David was the sort of person who would breeze through life working hard but without obvious effort. Blessed with a canny insight and an uncanny ability to find the easiest way to do a task, David always reached his objectives but to the casual observer it was never clear as to the method he had used.
Helen was an altogether different person.
For Helen, detail was everything. Helen required evidence, proof, detail and co-ordination. Helen’s perceptions of reality were based on a lifetime’s exposure to standards, ideals, and empirical evidence.
Helen was the image of colour co-ordinated sensible dress sense where David, with slightly out of shape jacket, bulging pockets, trousers that were more suited to a time when his waist was three inches bigger and curly collared shirt seemed to have dressed almost as an afterthought. For David, clothes were just something to keep a person warm and to carry things in. For Helen, clothes ‘maketh’ the man or in her case, woman.
That these two people should be such good friends was one of the biggest mysteries of the institution where they both earned their living.
“How can you possible say that there has to be at least one more dimension than we know about? That is so typical of the way you think. Go on then prove it!”
“I don’t have to prove it. It’s obvious, just think about it Helen. People claim to have seen ghosts, spacecraft, aliens, we experience unexplainable phenomena things happen that just cannot be explained and yet they can all be explained by the fact that there just has to be another dimension.”
“Rubbish! You can’t just say that all these things can be explained just by introducing another dimension. If there were we’d already know of it. We’d have reports and sightings. We’d already be exploring it and learning of its properties. Good grief, David, there’d be papers on it!”
David helped himself to two portions of sticky toffee pudding, which he put on his tray next to his soup and bread roll. Balancing the tray on his hip and holding it with one hand he used his other hand to rummage in his jacket looking for change. The tray shook precariously but in typical David style, remained securely lodged in place. Not a drop was spilled.
Helen’s tray contained a bottle of water, a clear plastic cup, a chilled salad a small pre packed biscuit and her purse.
Helen moved around the awkwardly shuffling David reaching the till first.
“I’ll show you what I mean over lunch.” “Okay David, thank-you (to the cashier), you show me over lunch.” And with that Helen moved to a table near to the exit.
When David caught up with Helen he had made some additions to his tray. He had three straws, two menus and a number of paper towels.
Helen passed him a spoon for his soup.
After a few moments and most of the soup, David continued where he left off. “Okay Helen. You say that if there were another dimension we’d already know about it. True?”
“Of course we would. How could we not know about it?”
“If I can prove to you that it is almost impossible to observe another dimension but at the same time demonstrate that an almost undetectable dimension exists, will you believe me when I say that there has to be another dimension? Well? Will you?”
Helen knows that whatever her answer, they are about to embark on one of their famous debates. Debates that force her to re-evaluate her ideas and test her understandings and her perceptions to the limit. Debates that have, over the years, helped to make her the person she is today.
She mumbles into her salad knowing that David will swing into action regardless of her reply. It’s why she loves him so much.