She's Me (4 page)

“Now we’re cooking. These are what I’m talking about. Now for a top to go with them. Do you have anything a bit longer and not too fitted?”
Jenna scrambled through the piles of clothing she’d flung all over the room, until her eyes caught sight of a lovely blue cashmere sweater she’d passed over earlier. Preening in front of the mirror, a pastime never enjoyed by Lucy, Jenna gave a last pat to the unruly curls and decided she’d done all she could with what she had.

“Are you happy, now that I’m exhausted and we still have the tea tray to prepare?”

“Happy? No! But it’s the best I can do.”

Not surprisingly, they weren’t quite ready when John appeared with the shrink in tow, Dr. Andrews.

Lucy slipped away as soon as John showed up, and Jenna, feeling startlingly empty and alone without Lucy’s presence, nevertheless took an instant liking to the English version of Dr. Phil. His questions were blunt and inspired her to be completely open, giving him a more frank window into the shallowness of her life than she realized.

Dr. Andrews was a bit crusty, one of those men who seem to be born old. His conservative clothes and mannerisms were those of a person well read and well educated. There was an old-world gallantry about him that Jenna brought to the fore.

To Dr. Andrews, Jenna was baffling, a complex creature he studied and questioned. Was she suffering a true out-of-body experience, or was her mind somehow broken? And what of Lucy? From all accounts, Lucy McGillicuddy had lived an exemplary life up till now. She was quiet and well thought of by her neighbours and the people at work, nothing at all like the person who was now in control of her body.

They met day after day and he listened to Jenna babble on about how successful she was and the money she drew.

She went on about her modeling career and the number of gigs she’d ruthlessly stolen from “lesser-known wannabes,” as she termed them. His normally direct eye contact glazed over when she tried to introduce him to Lucy, who remained stubbornly silent.

At first he wanted to believe her about two beings in one body, but it was finally becoming clear to him what an incredible actress she must be. If it weren’t for all the facts she could produce about the future, he’d have no doubts at all. Somehow she always managed to intrigue him, and so he let the days float past.

“I’ll meet Lucy at another time,” he’d say each day, consolingly. Always, at the mention of Lucy, his respectful attitude diminished and he would treat her like a child.

At her bidding, John sat in on the consults, silent and brooding, obviously intrigued and amused by the verbal exchange between two sharp personalities. He took notes of his own while Dr. Andrews set up his cumbersome reel-to-reel tape recorder, a machine Jenna laughed at.

When questioned, she explained to the two men that in her world she could hold a tape recorder in the palm of her hand. She rambled on about her favourite technological toy, called a cell phone.

“Phones that are calculators, contain address books, work as computers and can take photographs and moving pictures?” Dr. Andrews’ eyebrows could hardly have risen any higher.

“Videos.”

“Yes, videos. And it can be used as a computer to send messages to anyone, anywhere in the world?”

“Yes. It’s the handiest little gadget, and I miss mine like crazy.”

“You miss your cell phone? Don’t you miss your family and friends?”

“Of course! Of course I miss my busy life. I miss my agent, Jake. He’s an old mother hen, a real pain, but he looks after me very well. He couldn’t make this trip with me—he had a tremendous cold and a high fever. Normally, he’s with me all the time. I miss my secretary, Marnie, who did come with me and must be frantic to find out where I went. She’s sharp as a whip and, between those two, my hectic life runs smoothly.”

“What about your family?”

“I have a very busy life modeling all over the globe. I’m well paid and I like the travel. It takes me away from having to spend much time in Seattle, where my mother lives. She’s a famous clothes designer and has her own fashion house.”

“Don’t you like your mother? You don’t seem to be missing her very much.”

“Of course I like her, she’s my mother, but I disliked her husbands, all four of the losers. Most were bloodsuckers, after her money, and they lived on the edge of her success. She was their key into the world of the rich and famous.”

“Hmm. And are you anyone’s key?”

The silence was complete and lasted for long, intense minutes.

Her skin turned pasty white.

“Dr. Andrews? I do believe Jenna needs a few minutes,” said a husky, hesitant voice unlike that of Jenna’s lighter, more firm tones.

Heads jerked up as the two men looked at each other, stunned, and then turned to the young woman with them. Finally Dr. Andrews spoke.

“Lucy? Is that you?”

Hesitantly, she said, “Yes. I suggest we finish this meeting for today.” A pleading look sent in John’s direction followed, and his nod of agreement closed the session.

From the day Jenna appeared in their lives, the worlds of both men had been wrapped up in hers. According to talkative Jenna, Lucy purposely retreated shyly before each of their gatherings. For weeks both doctors had tried to bring Lucy out, agreeing that either Lucy McGillicuddy was an incredible actress or she had multiple personalities. And what personalities! Jenna intrigued and excited them both. But to prove their case, they had needed to ascertain Lucy’s existence. What a medical miracle for them to witness!

However, the next day John appeared alone to confront Lucy. She felt pale and shaky and was her own normal prim self.

“Hello, Lucy?”

“Yes. Please come in.” He sat across from her, where the dim lighting in the room did little justice to his reasonably good looks. His receding hairline, chubby cheeks and rounded chin somehow fit with his compact body shape. His wire-rimmed glasses, perched over his insightful and demanding green eyes, allowed full view of their gentle golden lights.

“I’m sorry we upset Jenna yesterday. I’ve been worried about her and wanted to come and check on her before today’s appointment. I’ve been worried about you, also. How are you today?”

“I’m fine, but Jenna has shut down. She won’t even talk with me. I’ve tried begging and pleading, but nothing happens. I can feel her, her sadness, but she won’t open up. It’s no use.” Tears gathered and her now-slim fingers linked and covered her eyes.

He leaned over to pat her shoulder. She flinched. He hurriedly removed his hand. “Maybe it’s best if we give her a few days. I’ll telephone you tomorrow. And I’ll ask Dr. Andrews not to come for a while, to give you both a rest.”

“You’re so kind, Dr. Norman.”

“Please, call me John. Jenna does, and I’d like for you to, also.”

“Yes, Jenna is a free spirit and holds nothing back. Myself, on the other hand, I’m rather contained, if you know what I mean.”

His head crooked to the side, questioningly.

“I’m shy.”

“I see. I understand about shyness. During medical school it tortured me until I realized a good doctor couldn’t afford the feeling, so I worked very hard to overcome it. It still takes over on occasion. Would you like me to teach you my methods? It would help you in your career and your social life.”

“I’d like that ever so much.” For the first time Lucy looked him straight in the eye.

He was taken aback at how very beautiful her big brown eyes appeared when she wasn’t hiding them under lowered lashes. He was a toucher, and he reached over to pat her hand again but pulled back when he remembered she had repulsed his touch earlier. He stood abruptly and stammered his goodbyes, but he stopped so suddenly at the doorway that she almost ran into his back. She had to put a hand on him to steady herself.

He turned, and in a hesitant voice he asked, “Would you do me the honour of dining with me on Saturday evening?”

Redness suffused her complexion and her hands clutched her chest as if she were stopping her heart from popping right out of its cavity.

“It, it’s very kind of you. I, I, yes, yes, please. Dinner would be very nice.” Power from within forced the words from her stunned lips.

“I shall pick you up at seven.”

“Yes, I’ll be here, of course I will, I mean, where else would I be, so, yes, fine. Right. Bye-bye.”

****

How endearing a shy woman is in the fast-paced world we now live in
, he thought to himself. Walking back to his clinic, he caught himself biting his lip, a habit he’d formed as a worried student. A habit he could have sworn he’d beaten years before. He stopped in his tracks and turned in the opposite direction to head towards the house at the end of the street, where Dr. Andrews lived.

The good doctor answered the door. “Come in, my dear fellow. You’re just the person I wanted to see.”

The two friends settled down for yet another consult on the mystery of the shy woman and her counter personality.

“I just left Lucy, and she’s very worried about Jenna,” said John.

An annoying sound of banging reverberated through the open side window. Looking out, the men saw Dr. Andrews’ cleaning woman hard at work.

“Mrs. Dorn, go and wallop that rug somewhere else. It’s very distracting.” Then he lowered his voice, adding more quietly, “Please.”

He turned to John and sighed. “I’m a bear to live with lately. That woman has me up half the night.”

“Mrs. Dorn?”

“Don’t be thick. Of course not Mrs. Dorn.” The woman was fiftyish and massively overweight, with a wart-like appendage smack dab on the end of her bulbous nose.

“It’s Lucy, isn’t it?”

“Of course. I want to help her, but I have to admit it’s Jenna who intrigues me. She’s too credible to be fake, but then that means our case can’t be described as split or multiple personality, or any kind of schizophrenia, but some sort of time travel nonsense.” He shook his head back and forth and collapsed onto his favourite rocking chair. “I’ve discussed the case with an old school friend who now works at McLean’s, the psychiatric facility affiliated with Harvard. He’s in agreement that intensive psychoanalytic therapy is the best course, but he’s flummoxed, also. He suggested Thorazine, a medication given to extreme patients, but I’ve explained that Lucy and Jenna are functioning and all the tests we’ve run show a healthy body.”

“Just a mind that’s cuckoo.” John grinned.

“I’m afraid that’s about right.” Dr. Andrews nodded, trying desperately to keep a straight face.

“I’ve told Lucy that we’ll let them rest a while, since Jenna still refuses to come out. I’ve invited Lucy out for a meal with me. She’s been cooped up in that house far too long. She’s fretting over Jenna’s withdrawal and is beside herself with worry.”

“My dear fellow, that isn’t a bit funny.”

“What? Oh sorry, didn’t quite mean it the way it sounded, but now that you mention it...” He broke into uncontrollable guffaws and the tension eased as Dr. Andrews joined in, his face split in a grin.

“Fine, then, if you won’t come out I shall go back to my old habits. Jenna, did you hear me?”

Silence.

“I’ve been good, haven’t I? I’ve followed your outlandish rules, and now I have nothing to wear that fits. I’ll have to go out shopping for new clothes by myself for the date you forced on me, and they’ll all be wrong. I promise you, my girl, you’ll hate everything we have to wear, and it’ll be in public. People will see us. And I’ll perm my hair again. It’ll be all frizzy like you hated it. It’s way too long, and I have no idea how to fix it up like you do.”

Silence.

“Jenna, I mean it. I do. Please, please talk to me. I know you’re there. I can feel you controlling me. No one meant to hurt you. Dr. Andrews is just a silly old charlatan. We don’t need him any longer. You can visit with John alone.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you, you little hussy.”

“Oh, thank goodness you’re back! Call me whatever you wish—I’m just so glad you’re talking with me again. Even though you’re a bother, I’ve missed you.”
The last was said meekly, affectionately—shyly.