survive? He’s in a residential neighbourhood, his shop is a double garage, and there’s no sign. How do people find him?”
Ben had to admit that he was asking himself the same questions. This was the first time he had ever brought his car for servicing to a house that was nicer than his own. He admired the towering white pines, estimating that they must be almost 100 years old. In the previous century, most of the Ottawa River valley was covered with trees like these. A thriving lumber industry clear-cut vast tracts of these giant pines to feed an insatiable market in Europe. The trees on the Webster property had somehow survived the onslaught. If they were a century old, thought Ben, they looked remarkably good for their age.
“What is this, Ben? What’s this guy going to do—meditate before he fixes your car? What’s that? Do you hear that? Is that one of those kids on a bike selling ice cream?”
“Wait, Max. Listen. It sounds like wind chimes, or something. Hey, here comes Parsnips. By the way, don’t call him that. You can call him Vic.”
Parsons walked briskly down the driveway as Max and Ben climbed out of the car, smiling and hand extended.
“Maxwell Farley,” he announced, shaking Max’s hand profusely. Max was taken aback by the warm greeting, and surprised that Parsons recognized him. As far as he knew, Ben hadn’t told him that he was bringing a friend.
“Mr. Pars—uh, Vic. Hi. How are you? You’re looking good.”
“I’ve never been better in my life, as I’m sure you have heard from our mutual friend here. Good morning, Ben.”
“Morning, Vic. This is the right place, isn’t it?” he asked, gesturing toward the trees and the rows of vases containing cut flowers lining both sides of the path leading to the front door of the log house.
“Oh, you found the right place, that’s for sure. Come on with me, I’ll introduce you to Daniel.”
Ben and Max followed Vic to the back of the house. They passed several large flower beds on their way to the corner of the yard where Daniel sat on a bench in the shade of a pine tree, watching the goldfish swimming lazily in the outdoor pond. The air was still, and only the call of a cardinal high in the tree broke the silence. Ben surveyed his surroundings and took a deep breath. He could not remember the last time he felt this relaxed. For a moment, he had forgotten that he was here to have the oil changed in his car. A slight breeze blew across the yard, tickling the wind chimes hanging from pine branches throughout the yard. Ben began to doubt that this man knew very much about cars, but at that moment, it really didn’t matter. Max, an amateur birder, was preoccupied trying to locate the cardinal in the top of the pine tree.
“Daniel,” said Vic. “I’d like you to meet Ben and Max. Two of the finest students ever produced by Confederation High School. Of course, I only say that now that I am no longer the VP and they are no longer my students.”
“How do you do, sir,” said Ben, shaking Daniel’s hand.
“Hi there,” said Max.
“Gentlemen,” said Daniel, “welcome to my little heaven in Wakefield.”
Ben watched a sparrow land in one of the many large bowls of water on the property. These were unusual birdbaths, thought Ben, but much of what he had seen so far was out of the ordinary.
“Let’s walk,” said Daniel, gesturing to a gently sloping path leading into a ravine on the edge of the property.
Daniel stopped at the edge of the ravine. “The energy is best at this spot,” he proclaimed. Ben looked at Max, who shifted his gaze to Vic. No one spoke as Daniel surveyed the landscape. The only sound was that of the trembling aspen leaves shivering in the breeze.
Finally Daniel turned to Ben and made full eye contact, locking him in his gaze. “What kind of car do you drive?” he asked unexpectedly. The sudden shift from the transcendental to the arcane caught Ben off-guard.
“A Toyota Celica,” Ben replied. “Yellow,” he added, as though that were significant.
“Why?” asked Daniel.
“Why….what?” asked Ben, unsure if Daniel was referring to the model or the colour.
“Why did you choose Toyota?” he asked.
“Because it has a solid reputation, it’s reliable and it’s good on gas,” explained Ben.
“Do you maintain it regularly?” asked Daniel.
“Religiously,” answered Ben proudly. “That’s why I’m here today—I’m due for an oil change.”
“Approximately how much money do you spend in a year on maintenance?” Daniel asked.
“Including tires, tune-ups, oil changes, belts, and all the usual stuff, I would guess about twelve hundred dollars. That doesn’t include gas, insurance and registration.”
“Approximately how much money do you spend in a year on personal maintenance?” Daniel asked.
“I’m sorry—what do you mean by ‘personal maintenance’?”
“You spend about twelve hundred dollars a year on preventive maintenance to keep your car running efficiently and to ensure that it has a long life. It must be important to you, since you do it ‘religiously’, as you put it. I just wondered how much money and effort you spend on yourself to ensure that your body works efficiently and that you have a long life. For example, how much do you spend on exercise equipment, or perhaps fitness club memberships or even your own fitness coach. Maybe a water filter for your home, good nutritious foods, books on wellness, those types of things.”
Ben looked at Max, who stared back blankly. He looked at Parsons, who seemed to enjoy this moment, waiting eagerly for Ben’s answer. “I’m not sure. I mean, I’d have to look through my records. I know I spent quite a bit on prescription medications last year, and I have records of that.”
“Mostly symptom relief and damage control,” stated Daniel.
“Pardon me?” asked Ben.
“Prescription drugs are used mostly for relieving symptoms and controlling damage that’s already been done, but they do very little for health enhancement. I was inquiring about preventive maintenance to enhance how your body functions and reduce the chances of developing health problems. Let’s have a look at your car.”
He turned and began to walk briskly toward the house, his three guests trailing behind.
Chapter 4: The secrets
Daniel flicked a switch as he entered the garage. The double doors slid open horizontally. That’s odd, thought Ben. Garage doors usually open vertically.
“Drive your vehicle in on the right hand side, Ben,” said Daniel.
The first thing that caught Ben’s eye as the doors slid open was a poster on the east wall of the garage, next to the window. At first glance it appeared to be one of those inspirational, self-help message posters encouraging people to be positive, have goals, never give up, or dig deep into their inner selves for inspiration. Such a message would have seemed appropriate, given what he knew about the Websters so far. He drove into the garage and parked next to the window. Before getting out he looked through the passenger window and read the quote on the poster:
“The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest her or his patients in the care of the human frame, in a proper diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.”
Interesting, he thought. What was surprising was the author, whose name appeared just below the quote: Thomas A. Edison. Surprising because