This story dedicated to all the writers of TG Fiction.
by Kelly Davidson
Fade in...
There I was, in the file room working hard to make sense of the mess I had gotten myself into. I had accidentally misplaced a file and suddenly everything seemed to be out of whack, causing me a great deal of frustration. As a private investigator I was never good at filing, that had always been Al's job. Now, unfortunately, the job was mine and asking myself how it needed to be done didn't bring up any answers in my head. It was a sink or swim situation and I was slowly going down.
"Looks like you could use a hand," someone said, causing me to look up. It turned out to be Dennis Butz standing in the doorway with a pleasant smile on his face. "Happy Birthday, Linda!"
"You're a little late," I replied with a frown while turning back to the file cabinet. "My real birthday was three months ago."
Dennis laughed and said, "still fighting the system, huh, Linda? Sorry, I haven't had time to pick you up a present yet. Do you have anything in mind that you'd like me to get you?"
"Yeah." I looked up from the file bin and said, "how about giving me a "Get out of Andersonville for free" card; like the ones they have in the game of Monopoly? Because we both know this is just a big game we're playing here."
"Aww, you're upset with me," Dennis said in a slightly belittling voice. "I know how special turning 18 can be. Caught right between being a little girl and a young woman." He chuckled with amusement, but I ignored him, which caused him to prod me even more.
"I was thinking of picking you up some jewelry - or maybe a pretty dress with lots of lace and ruffles. Something you can wear on a big date."
I slammed the file drawer shut and raised my small, feminine fists at him.
"Alright, you want a fight Dennis?" I threatened. "I'll give you one right now!"
"Rough day?" he asked innocently.
"Yeah, you could say that," I told him. "For your information, I already got a pretty dress with lots of lace and ruffles today, from my mother. And since she made the dress herself, it means I'm going to have to wear it at least once a month, or else her feelings will be hurt. And my brother, you guessed it, jewelry! So let me give you fair warning Dennis, I'm nobody's sweetheart today!"
"Sorry," he apologized but still grinning from ear to ear. "However, that leaves me with a small problem; I have no idea what to give you now."
"How about finding me this damn file I'm looking for so I can put this report in it."
Dennis looked at the report in my hand. "Robinson, huh?" He reached into the long drawer and pulled out the correct file. "Here it is," he said grinning smugly.
"How in the hell did you find it so quickly?" I demanded to know, "I've been searching for that damned file for the last 30 minutes."
"It's just one of the many lovable traits I have," Dennis laughed. "Okay Linda, seriously, I'd like to get you something special for your eighteenth birthday. Anything you want, as long as it's not impractical or too expensive."
I thought about it carefully for a moment. "Alright Dennis. There's one thing I want, and it won't cost you one red cent."
"What's that?" he asked eagerly.
"I want to see where that elevator in the hallway leads to. I want a tour of the bunker that sits below the courthouse. And don't tell me it doesn't exist, because I know better. That's the birthday present I want from you, a free tour of below."
"That's it, nothing else" he asked. I nodded my head. "You realize I can't give you a full tour of the bunker?"
"You mean you're actually going to allow it?" I was shocked that he had even considered the idea. I had expected him to turn me down flat.
"Of course I'll allow it. How many times does my special little girl become a young woman?" he replied humorously.
"In Andersonville, it's as many times as you or the Judge want it to happen," I said with a glare. "And I told you to watch it with that little girl crap."
"Oh? I thought that was about buying jewelry or a pretty, lacy dresses for you."
"It's the same thing!" I growled. "So when do I get to see the bunker?"
"Why, right now. Follow me." He led me down the hallway to the elevator and pulled out his cell phone. He punched in a few numbers and waited for someone to answer it.
"Good morning, Colonel, I'm bringing a visitor down with me. As you can see, she's not armed nor do I have any weapons pointed at me. Authorization 13, code Bravo Tango. Level 4 visit. Got that? Thanks." The door to the elevator opened right up.
"After you, Linda," he said in a charming fashion. We got inside the elevator, and the door closed behind us.
Fade out...
******
Voice of Dennis Butz - Thousands of years ago there was a war in the heavens, between the gods of old and the new arrivals. During the process, the earth was almost destroyed by fire and flood as the war ran unchecked. Finally, after centuries of conflict, an uneasy peace was achieved between the two peoples. Both sides recognized that they needed the other, but neither side was willing to trust the other. However, as man grew in power and knowledge, he challenged the gods, themselves. To maintain the balance and keep the peace, a buffer zone was needed.
It's a small town - just like thousands of others spread across the land. Quiet streets, family-run businesses, and Saturday afternoon picnics. But this town is different. It's a place for lost souls, for misguided individuals, and for those who are in need of a second chance. It's also the last, best chance I have of freeing my people from their captors. The name of the project is Restoration. The name of the town is Andersonville!
******
Fade in...
We went down deep, at least three stories. I still couldn't believe Dennis was allowing me to visit the nerve center of Andersonville. It made me wonder if the director trusted me that much or if it was because he didn't think I could harm his project no matter how much I knew.
The elevator stopped, and the doors opened up to a wide hallway with benches on each side. There were two surveillance cameras located near the ceiling watching our every move. At the end of the hallway was a very impressive, metal door that stood ten feet high and was at least eight feet across.
"We're now underneath the Andersonville Courthouse parking lot," Dennis stated. "But if you're thinking of digging out, Linda, you can forget it. There are three thick sheets of lead between the outside and us. This bunker can survive a 20K nuke blast directly overhead."
"Impressive," I replied while filing that little bit of information away. "And I thought all this was built only a couple of years ago, but the bunker has been here since the 1960's."
"Late 50's actually," Dennis corrected. "It was abandoned in the 70's due to financial reasons. Then, a couple of years ago I dreamed up Andersonville, and the rest, as they say, is history."
He placed his hand on a palm reader and his eye up to a scope device. There was a slight clicking inside the wall and the door slowly opened up. A tall, distinguished-looking man whose hair was slightly graying met us at the door.
"Linda, this is Colonel Myers, our tour guide. Barry, I'm sure you know Linda Anderson from her file."
"Hello Linda," Colonel Myers greeted me warmly. "And Happy Birthday as well."
"You don't miss a trick do you?" I replied as I gazed into the large room behind him. It was filled with more then 70 people sitting in front of computer monitors. Off to the side I saw seven glass rooms, each of which contained a huge mainframe computer.
The main room, where the men were stationed, was set up like an office with plush carpeting and luxurious desks. On another side of the room was a row of false windows made to look like they overlooked the town. From where I was standing, I could see it was snowing outside, giving a peaceful feel to the room. Of course, I knew it wasn't snowing at all, since I had just come from upstairs, but down here the people didn't know that. What puzzled me was how they got them in and out of the bunker without drawing attention to those above. Then one of the men turned and I saw the twinkling in his eyes - they were all temps except for the Colonel and the three men I saw leaving each night.
"Why don't I introduce you to my staff?" Colonel Myers said as we walked to the front of the room. I noticed Dennis stayed behind to ask one of the temps a question.
"Linda, I would like to you meet Mac, Edward, and of course you've met Jeff already."
"Nice to see you again Linda," Sergeant Summers said. The other two men looked on with curiosity. So this was the girl their friend was so interested in. They gave him room to maneuver.
"You told me you didn't work for Dennis Butz," I said to Jeff with an accusing tone.
"Actually Linda, Jeff was telling you the truth," the Colonel intervened. "He works for me and I report to someone else. And we're not very formal down here unless we have a VIP in our presence that requires us to be. I hope you're not one of them?"
"I'm not, and I didn't realize you thought of me as a VIP."
"As you may have guessed," the Colonel smiled slightly, "we rarely get guests down here. So anyone who visits us is considered a VIP. Now, do you have any questions you want to ask - within reason, of course?"
"How do I know what's reasonable and what's not?"
"I'll politely let you know," Colonel Myers grinned.
"Okay, let's start with the town. Is it -"
"No, it's not real," the Colonel answered before I finished asking the question. "Well, the Courthouse is a real building, as are some of the houses, including the one you're living in. The rest of the town is like the placeholders; computer generated."
"I thought they were called temps?"
"That's the common term, but technically they're known as placeholders by the designers. As you know, we have lots of names to describe them."
"How do you create them...the computer images I mean?"
"Sorry." The Colonel made a buzzing noise. "That's classified. And even if I could tell you, you'd be bored to death by the time I was done. It's very technical."
"Can't you tell me anything? Like how many computers it takes to keep them going?" I said, pointing to the different mainframes close by.
"Well, it takes one computer to keep the town up and operational, but we have two backups. One of these backups is always running while the other waits offline. So two of the computers are running at the same time, although only one is really needed."
"So if one computer breaks down suddenly, the whole town doesn't suddenly disappear."
"Exactly," the Colonel answered. "I think you can understand Linda that even going off-line for a half-second would be devastating above. And to be honest, I think we really need at least two more backups for the town. Having five would almost guarantee such a disaster never happened."
"What about the people, the temps I mean?"
"Two computers, both with a backup." He saw the surprised look on my face and explained. "Keep in mind, Linda, it's easy to create a program of a building, all it does is stand there. But when you create a person, the program for them is huge. The temps are created to do everything a regular person does, right down to going to the bathroom."
"You're kidding me?" I chuckled slightly. "They really use the bathroom?"
"Why of course," Colonel Myers answered, as if it was a stupid question. "We want them to be as real as you or I, which is why each temp has its own personality."
"What about their eyes?"
"A small glitch the tech people are working on, we hope it'll be fixed soon. When that happens you won't be able to tell the real people from the temps. Then we won't have to be so secretive about our presence, as we were when Mr. Allen and Mr. Kohl showed up. It should reduce the stress level down here."
"Colonel," one of the men, I think his name was Mac, called out. "We have a target on the ramp."
Colonel Myers and I both walked over the computer screen that showed a picture of a man in a car driving down one of the back roads.
"A new citizen for us?" I asked directly. The Colonel frowned.
"I'm sorry Linda, but this is classified. Yes, it's a car that could end up in Andersonville. But if he's clean, we're going to do everything we can to make sure he avoids us. If you could please step over to where Jeff is."
"Come here, Linda," Dennis Butz told me as he gently grabbed my arm and pulled me away. "There's something over here I know you're really going to be interested in seeing." Dennis didn't release his grip on my arm until we had walked over to where Jeff Summers was sitting.
"Jeff, show me where Peggy Williams is," Dennis commanded. The young man looked at me then at the director with concern. "It's okay, I'm giving you the authorization to do so."
The Sergeant turned to his computer like a good little soldier and started typing in some information. A moment later, a layout of the High School building appeared and then changed to a room inside the school. There were three dots in the room, one pink and two blues. The pink dot was flashing.
"She's at the high school. Second floor, room 212. Want me to find out what class she's in?"
"No, that's alright," Dennis stated. "So Linda, what do you think?"
"You can track her movements."
"Pretty much, as long as she remains within our area of influence."
"How large is the area?"
Dennis smiled at the question. "Sorry, I can't tell you that. Let's just say it goes outside the town borders. The other two dots are also real people. The blue dots are boy residents and the pink represent girl residents naturally."
"What about me? Can you show me where I'm at on your screen?
"Of course," Dennis replied. "Jeff, you know her number, bring her up."
The young man blushed as if he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He silently typed in my access number that he knew from memory. The screen changed to show the room in the bunker, with only one red dot in it.
"Hey, why I am the only one showing up here? What about you and my secret admirer here?" Jeff hung his head in embarrassment while Dennis laughed loudly.
"When the Judge transformed you into Linda, you were tagged. We don't track the movement of our people down here, or the Andersonville police force, because there's no reason to. And, as you may have guessed already, we have surveillance cameras inside and outside of town watching various locations."
"So big brother is watching," I muttered softly.
"It's not what you think," Jeff spoke out in a defensive tone. "We only watch those who we think will be giving us trouble, like you would if you think someone is shoplifting from you. Normally, we don't pay any attention to the regular citizens."
"Unless you have a special interest in them," I added while giving him the evil eye. The man cringed a little. "By the way, why I am a red dot and not a pink one? Is there something special about me?"
Dennis answered the question. "You're in a restricted area that you don't have the clearance to be in. The computer is just sending us a warning to let us know that. When you get back upstairs your dot will change back to 'bright' pink." I gave Dennis a scowl that he ignored.
"Speaking of which, I believe Steve is most likely waiting for us by now. We should be getting back upstairs." I noticed Sergeant Summers breathed a slight sigh of relief.
"So soon? I was hoping to stay and explore for a couple of hours."
"I'm afraid so," Dennis replied. The Colonel walked over to us with a relaxed look on his face.
"Linda, you'll be happy to know that the person in the car kept on driving. From what we could tell, he was clean. Most likely, he decided to take a back road home and got lost. I guess we'll never know for sure."
"Barry, we need to get topside." Dennis shook the Colonel's hand.
"Always a pleasure to have you down here, sir," he replied with a warm smile. "And it was nice to finally meet you in person, Linda. I hope you can visit us again one day."
"How about tomorrow?" I commented. Both men laughed.
"You never give up, do you Linda?" Dennis replied. He turned to Colonel Myers. "By the way, Barry, I'm taking Linda and her brother, Steve, out of town for lunch to celebrate her birthday. I just wanted to give you a little 'heads up'."
"Fine, I'll let Jeff know," the Colonel replied. "He's going to be disappointed that he can't go with you."
"Tell him to come along," Dennis said giving me a wink. "You don't mind, do you, Linda?"
I gave the director an evil glare. The last thing I wanted was some lovesick male sergeant ogling me over lunch. The Colonel saw my disapproving expression and smiled.
"He's a little busy right now, Dennis," as he gave me a wink. I breathed a sigh of relief; at least I had one ally in this room.
"Maybe next time," Dennis replied. "Let's go Linda."
I followed Dennis back to the elevator while taking in everything that I could. It was truly amazing what they'd been able to accomplish in a couple of years. We got inside the elevator and went back up to the town.
"Linda," Dennis told me in a cautious tone, "I took a big chance by bringing you down here. I don't want you telling anyone about this place. If the new residents knew, it would only make it harder for them to adjust if they thought someone was spying on them all the time."
"But isn't that the truth?" I asked.
"No," Dennis remarked. "Unless they're trying to harm themselves or others; we leave them alone. The equipment in the bunker is being used to provide a safe and normal environment for everyone in Andersonville."
"I guess I'll just have to trust you on that, Dennis," I said, knowing that I didn't trust him at all. It wasn't that I had ever caught him in a lie before, I just didn't trust the director for some reason.
"That's all I ask," Dennis said as we got out of the elevator. Steve was already waiting for us when we got back to my office.
"Where have you guys been?" he wanted to know.
"Out shopping," I replied. He noticed I wasn't carrying anything and gave me a funny look.
"Well," Dennis stated, "I don't know about you two, but I'm starving. Let's get to the restaurant so we can eat."
His car was parked in front of the Courthouse in a reserved guest space. As planned, Steve got into the front passenger seat while I sat in the back. Dennis gave us both a funny glance.
"Is there something going on that I should know about?"
"I was hoping I could talk to you about something, Mr. Butz," Steve answered.
"Oh," he said with some reservation. "You mean about the football game last week?" He started the car and drove toward the town limits.
"Well no, but I'm sorry we lost to Peace River so badly. We tried our best, but we need help with our offensive line. No disrespect sir, but the temps aren't as good as the real thing."
Dennis grinned slightly and tried to bait the young man. "I'm not sure I can do anything about that. And 48 to 13, I think it's more than just the offensive line that needs work. If you want better players you should take it up with Judge Herns."
"I guess you're right about that, sir," Steve answered respectfully.
'Whatever he wanted, it was going to be big,' Dennis said to himself. He decided to stop playing with the young man and find out what this was all about. Besides, it wasn't any fun if they didn't play along.
"Alright Al, what are you looking for?"
Steve shot him a curious glance. "If it's all the same to you, Mr. Butz, I prefer you called me Steve. That's who I am now, and it's who I want to remain."
The director raised his eyebrows slightly. He knew Al Parker had taken well to his new life, the numbers from the computers had shown him that. Dennis just hadn't realized how well until now.
"Okay then Steve," Dennis replied smiling. "But you have to call me Dennis. Now, what can I do for you? Hold on a second." Dennis pulled out his cell phone and cleared their leaving with the people below. "Alright Steve, go ahead."
"I was wondering if you know what's going on with my ex-girlfriend, Sally Johnston?"
"A little," Dennis responded. The truth was, he had been looking over her files a few days ago and had decided to close it. Sally Johnston didn't appear to be a risk to his project, and both Linda and Steve had informed him they had never told her what had happened at Dr. Jensen's house. From what he had found out this appeared to be true.
"The last time I talked to her, she was getting married," Steve said. "I was wondering if you knew anything more."
'So that was it,' Dennis thought. He wanted his old girlfriend brought here. The director had thought about it himself. Sally Johnston had been a victim of all this and he did feel some responsibility toward her well being. But by the time he was ready to move her, she had already become engaged to another man. His agent had reported her soon-to-be husband was a real jerk; but if the woman loved him enough to get married to him, why should he interfere with her plans? Dennis had decided that, considering all things, she had moved on with her life and it didn't require him getting involved.
"From what I know, she's going to get married in two weeks. Her fiance' is a computer salesman. I'm sure they'll be happy together."
"I'm not so sure," Steve replied with a frown. "If I thought that was the case I would let her go. But talking to her as Jennifer, I know there are problems - big problems. You see, women tend to share things, personal things, that a piece of paper can't tell you."
"So what do you want me to do about it?" Dennis asked knowing full well what was coming next.
"Allow me to go visit and talk to her."
Dennis let out a sarcastic laugh. "Oh yea, I'm going to allow that to happen! I just turned down your sister's request for a 'get me out of Andersonville' card, but I'll grant you one! And what do you think you'll say when you see her? 'Hi, it's me your ex-boyfriend - slash - ex-girlfriend.' Sorry Steve, but it's not going to happen."
"Would you please hear me out, Dennis. I know what you're thinking, but you're wrong. I really want to stay in Andersonville. I really do love my new life here, and I can't thank you enough for giving it to me. I know I didn't do anything to deserve it, but I've never been so happy before, or felt so normal. Not even when I was living life as Al Parker, and certainly not when I was Jennifer. You don't know what's it like growing up without a mother and father. You miss something wonderful."
"I do know what it's like, Steve. You see, I was an orphan myself," Dennis explained.
"Then you know how much being here in Andersonville means to me. I have 'real' parents who love me!" Steve's voice cracked a little. "But as good as my life is, I can't stop thinking about Sally and how wonderful our life could have been together."
"I don't see how I can help you," Dennis answered, pulling up to the restaurant. "We've all lost loved ones in our lives. Why should you be the exception?"
"Because," Steve said, "you have the power to fix my mistake."
"Your mistake," Dennis replied with surprise.
"Yes," Steve answered. "It was my actions that caused me to become Jennifer and lose Sally. I don't blame anyone else for losing her but myself. And maybe I don't deserve a second chance at her, Dennis, but I'm begging you to let me have one. Because it's not just me who suffered when I was transformed into Jennifer, it was also Sally. I want a chance to fix that mistake."
"You're asking me to send you out there as young teenager." Steve tried to say something, but Dennis stopped him. "Yes, we both know you're older then 14, but not in your current physical state. While I have no doubts you have the 'wits' to survive out there, I don't think you'll fit in at your current age."
"Then make me older, at least while I'm out there."
Dennis shook his head with a frown. "I have no power to do that," he stated. "The only person who could help you is Judge Jasper."
"Why not Judge Herns?" I asked. The last person I wanted to see back in this town was that cranky son of a bitch.
"Because Judge Herns didn't transform you two," he answered in an exasperating tone. "Look, I'm breaking one of my own rules by telling you this. Judge Herns can make you younger but not any older than you currently are. The only one who can do that is Judge Jasper! And don't ask me why - that's just the way it is. She could make you both 4 years old today and turn you back to your current age tomorrow, but she can't make either of you 25 years old."
"What would it take -- "
Dennis shot my brother an angry glare. "Don't - even - ask," he said slowly and clearly. "You couldn't afford the price tag for a favor like that." He softened slightly and said, "Steve, I know it hurts, but you have to forget about her. In the big picture, she's not worth it."
"The hell she isn't," Steve said angrily, while opening the car door. He got out, slammed the door, and started heading back toward town.
"Where the hell are you going?" Dennis yelled at him angrily.
"Home," he shouted without looking back.
"The hell you are! You get back here right now!" Dennis ordered.
I looked at Dennis then turned and ran after my brother.
"Wait a minute. Where in hell do you think you're going, Linda?"
"With my BROTHER. Enjoy your lunch Dennis!"
"You two can't walk back to town all alone!" he screamed.
"Then follow us in your car. It should only take us an hour or two to get back."
"I told you I can't do anything to help you out," he pleaded. "And what about lunch? I said I was starving."
"Get it to go!" I yelled back and continued to walk.
I guess he could have ordered the Marines out after us, but that would have made him look pretty silly. What was he going to tell them? That we were walking back to town and he wanted us stopped?
"Alright! Alright!" he yelled to us in a pissy tone. "I'll talk to Judge Jasper and see if I can set up an interview for you. But that's all I'm going to do - understand? This will be in his hands. DEAL?"
We turned around. "Deal," Steve said. We walked back to him.
"You know, you guys can be a real pain in the ass sometimes," Dennis said as he opened up the restaurant door.
"No Dennis," I replied. "We just happen to play the game a little better than you do at times.
******
True to his word, Dennis set up a time the next week for Judge Jasper to meet with us. Judge Herns made her usual clever exit about 15 minutes before he was to arrive. Steve was waiting in a chair, wearing a suit and tie no less. Judge Jasper walked into my office, dominating, silently, and unsmiling. He stopped at my desk and gave me a cold stare.
"Are we ready to begin?" he asked in an even tone.
"Judge Herns said we could use her office, Your Honor." He nodded and we followed him in. The Judge took a seat behind Judge Herns' desk and looked at me.
"Close the door, Miss Anderson," he commanded, "with you on the other side."
"I beg your pardon, Your Honor," I said politely. "I would like to stay and represent my brother."
"This isn't a trial," Judge Jasper said crossly. "He doesn't need any representation."
"I understand, Your Honor, but with my brother being a minor," both Steve and the Judge shot me an evil look, "he should have a least one adult present with him." I stood stiffly with respect.
"Funny how you play both sides of the street," the Judge remarked dryly. "Your argument has always been that you're both older than you look, and thus should be given adult privileges."
"And yours has always been that we're not," I pointed out.
"Humph," he replied. "Alright then, we'll play it your way. Stand over there by the window and don't say anything else unless you're asked. Do you understand me?" I nodded my head and did as I was told.
"Mr. Anderson, this is a most unusual request. In fact, I must say I've never been asked to do something like this before. Can you tell me why I should honor your petition?"
"Because I love her, Judge," Steve answered truthfully. "And while I have a fulfilling life here in Andersonville, it's not complete without her."
"Suppose she decides not to join you here?" Judge Jasper asked. "I understand she's to be married this weekend."
"Then I'll put an end to this chapter in my life, Your Honor. I won't hold on to her memory anymore. I'll wish her luck and move on."
Judge Jasper sat silently in his chair for a minute debating before clearing his throat. "Despite what you may have heard about me," he shot me a frown, "I'm a fair Judge. Since Sally Johnston was a victim of this entire Jensen mess, I'm going to grant your request with restrictions. First, I'm going to change you back to your original body."
"Thank you, Your Honor," Steve smiled nervously. "I just hope seeing Al Parker again won't frighten her to much."
"Who said anything about changing you into Al Parker?" the Judge replied coldly. "When we first met you were Jennifer Anderson."
"Yes, but..." Steve searched for the words to continue.
"Your Honor," I interrupted.
Judge Jasper spotted me a cantankerous glance. "I didn't ask you anything, did I, Miss Anderson?"
"No, Your Honor," I replied back in a frosty tone. "But you said you're going to return my brother back to his original body, and that would be Al Parker's body."
"Wrong, Miss Anderson, and I'm going to tell you why! The serum Dr. Jensen gave Al Parker changed his entire DNA to Jennifer Anderson's specifications. IN OTHER WORDS," he gave me another ill-natured look, "he may have been born Al Parker but he ended up becoming Jennifer Anderson, the person 'I' had to work with. I expect him to take some responsibility for his past actions and accept that as fact."
"I do," my brother said weakly.
"So, do you accept my proposal?"
I kept quiet this time. Only my brother could decide if it was worth it.
"Do I have to change at all? Can't I go there as Steve Anderson?" To my surprise Judge Jasper actually softened his tone.
"How would it look to have a 14-year-old approach a young woman in her mid-twenties and ask her to run away with him, Mr. Anderson?" the Judge explained calmly. "For your own benefit, it's better if I turn you into someone Miss Johnston knows and trusts if you are to have any chance at success. I know you've had some contact with Sally Johnston as Jennifer Anderson. She would listen to Jennifer, but not some stranger claiming to know her from a past life. And bringing a dead person back would complicate matters for everyone who knew Al Parker."
"But convincing her that I'm really Al Parker in a different body won't be, Your Honor?" Steve asked.
"That's another one of those restrictions I was talking about Mr. Anderson. You won't be permitted to tell Miss Johnston who you once were. You can try talking her out of this upcoming marriage and coming back with you, but you can't tell her why. Again, doing so would complicate things greatly, and I would be very, very angry if I found out you did tell her." He gave Steve a look that showed he meant business.
"Can I ask you something, Judge Jasper?"
"You can, my son."
Steve gathered up his nerve. "Does she love the guy? I mean, will she be happy being married to him?"
"No," Judge Jasper replied simply. "This marriage is a mistake on her part, and her future husband is what I would consider great material for my peaceful little town. But," he cautioned Steve, "I won't interfere with her life, young man, and neither will any of my people. I'll give you 48 hours to stop this marriage, plus travel time to get there. If you can't convince Miss Johnston to come back with you in that time, then that's it. No matter what else happens to her in the future, this is a one shot deal. She either comes with you to Andersonville or she doesn't. Do you agree to my rules?"
"I love her, Judge, I would agree to anything to get her back." A tear of his love for her formed in his eye. This caused the Judge to smile slightly "I thought you would. Stand still, please."
He lifted his hands and placed them together in front of my brother. Then he whispered a few words and a ball of light rose from his palms. Unlike the other times, this ball of energy/light entered my brother's chest at about half the speed it usually did. Almost immediately, Steve's entire body changed back into that of Jennifer Anderson's. Apparently it was easier for the Judge to transform a person back to their original form - although Judge Herns hadn't been able to do the same thing with Mr. Kohl weeks before.
My brother - now my sister - looked over her new body. Judge Jasper had decided she would wear a pretty red and white dress instead of the usual blue jeans she used to wear while I was married to her. The outfit just covered her calves, and to be honest, made her look very pretty. I had to admit the Judge did have taste in women's clothes. However, I don't think my brother was as enthused by the outfit as the Judge was.
"One more restriction that I haven't mentioned yet. It's too dangerous for a young woman to be traveling alone. So you'll have a traveling companion on this trip." My brother turned and looked hopefully at me.
"Don't even think about it, young lady!" he snorted. "Your traveling companion will be one of my choosing, someone I 'trust'." The last shot was directed at me. "I'll introduce you to her now."
Without lifting a finger the door opened and a familiar, blonde haired woman walked into the room. I gasped, why did he have to pick her?
"This is my daughter, Diane. She'll be at your side the entire time you're gone. I expect you to listen and follow any orders she gives you, young lady. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Your Honor," Jennifer answered respectfully. "I won't do anything to ruin your faith or trust in me."
"Good," the Judge managed a weak smile. "You will remain as Jennifer Anderson until you enter back into Andersonville. When that happens you will instantly become Steve again. And young man, I do wish you the best of luck!"
"Thank you, Your Honor." Jennifer turned and followed Diane out the door.
"I told you that you weren't needed," Judge Jasper said smugly while leaning back in his chair.
I thought about coming back with a smart reply but common sense got the better of me.
"I should get back to work," I replied, while making a hasty retreat to my office.
"You think I should have assigned someone else to go with your friend," he said to me. I stopped and turned to look at him.
"Yes," I said firmly. I sensed he was trying to bait me, but I wasn't going to let him, at least not enough to get me into his trap. "Having to take orders from the sister of the person who raped Jennifer every night - I think it's wrong. And I don't see how they can avoid not talking about it either."
"You're right, Miss Anderson," the Judge said half-smiling. "They can't avoid talking about it. And while you may be thinking I'm a sadistic bastard for doing this, I assure you that by the end of the trip, both of them will come back the better because of it."
"I hope for your sake that you're right," the voice of Judge Herns rang out. "Because if anything happens to that young child, I'll hold you personally responsible, you old goat. And you know what that means." She gave him a warning glare.
"Have you ever known me to be wrong, my dear?" Judge Jasper chuckled.
I decided to leave the room before the real fireworks started.
******
The two women drove silently down the open highway in a white Trans-Am that had been specially modified for high-speeds. While Jennifer was impressed with the car, she didn't let on. Instead she choose to stare out the car window. Finally Diane had had enough.
"Look Jennifer," she said calmly. "If we're going to work together we need to talk about it."
"Talk about what?" Jennifer asked knowing full well what she was referring to.
"My brother," Diane said in a serious tone. "I don't condone what he did to you, but he is being punished for what he did."
"Fine," Jennifer lashed out. "So what has that got to do with you and me?"
"Because you're punishing me for being his sister."
"NO!" Jennifer faced the other woman and said, "I just don't think the apple falls far from the tree. I think if your father can produce one piece of work like Gerald, then there have to be others out there just like him. So it's not a matter of punishing you, it's a matter of trust and respect. I don't trust or respect you, Diane!"
"You may not believe this," Diane replied, her voice rising a few decimals above normal, "but no one else in my family is like Gerald, including me! I happen to have a great deal of respect for other people's rights. If I had known what was going on two years ago, I would have stopped my brother immediately."
"Yeah, well those are real fine words Diane, only they don't do JACK SQUAT to help me get over what he did to me each night. Do you know what I feel like right now? Like I'm dirty! All I can think about is how your brother had his hands all over me all the time. Do you have any idea what it's like to be raped over and over with no reprieve? If it weren't for Tom I'd still be experiencing that horror. And you think I'm punishing you?" Jennifer snarled. "Trying living in my body with my memories for a while lady, then you can talk to me about being respectful to others."
"Okay, do you want to talk about respect and rights? Well do you MR. PARKER?" Diane yelled back while speeding the car up to over one hundred and twenty miles per hour. "What about Dr. Jensen's rights? Oh, you showed A HELL OF A LOT OF RESPECT for her rights when you were stealing from her. Tell me AL, how much respect does it take to go through a woman's underwear drawer looking for things to steal? Private, personal items, and you didn't give it a second thought now, did you?"
"I was wrong," Jennifer admitted harshly. "But I never said I wasn't. I have accepted that being turned into Jennifer was my punishment for that crime. But I didn't desire what your bastard brother did to me afterwards, no matter what I was planning to do."
"Punishment?" Diane said in mock surprise. "So you think being turned into Jennifer was a punishment? You don't know how lucky you were to be turned into a woman for a few years. It was the best thing that could have happened to you, you selfish piece of skin. Do you know how much stronger you are because of it?"
"All I know is that I feel dirty," Jennifer snapped back. "And no one in your family has ever taken responsibility, or apologized for what he did to me!"
Diane slammed on the car brakes hard and almost got rear-ended. The other driver flipped her the finger as he went by but Diane ignored it. She pulled the car onto the shoulder of the expressway and faced Jennifer "Is that all it's going to take to end this hostility?' she asked in a temperate tone. "A simple apology?"
Jennifer shook her head. "No! I want to know how Gerald became the piece of work that he is. I want to know where your father went wrong." Diane took a couple of deep breaths to calm down before explaining.
"I don't know, Jennifer," the goddess replied calmly and honestly. "Believe me, many of us have asked the same thing over and over again. Have you ever known someone who was just born to be in trouble all the time? I can't explain it; my younger brother didn't get away with much. My father certainly didn't treat him any differently than the rest of us. But for some reason, Gerald never learned to respect others. One day he pushed someone too far, and the person died because of it. My father was so horrified and angry by what my brother had done, as well as his lack of responsibility for what had happened, that he took away Gerald's powers and threw him out of our town. That's when my brother met Dennis Butz, who assigned him to watch over Dr. Jensen."
"So your father thought that taking away his powers and sending him away was punishment for murder?" Jennifer asked angrily.
"Al, I know you don't believe this, but losing his power was the worst thing my father could have done to Gerald. It was ten times worse for him than it was for you being turned into a woman and having him rape you each night! It's one of the worst things that can happen to us. Please, you have to trust me on this."
Jennifer was silent for a moment. "I want to believe that, Diane, I really do. Not because I want revenge, but because I want to believe that this was all one big mistake. That your father was really trying to punish Gerald when he kicked him out."
Diane looked deeply into the young woman's eyes. "It was a mistake, Jennifer, it was. And I'm sorry for all the things he did to you. It's been very painful for me and to my father. My family has spent a lifetime trying to stop people from becoming what my brother is. It's been a very shameful time for all of us, especially my father. He doesn't show it much, but I can tell how much this hurts him."
"I believe you, Diane," Jennifer sniffed. She felt a good cry coming on again. Those damned female hormones.
"Friends?" Diane asked softly.
"Oh God, yes," Jennifer said and reached over to hug her. The two ladies embraced on the side of the expressway while the cars buzzed by them at 75 mph.
******
"Jennifer! I didn't think you would make it." The bleach-blonde woman gave her old friend a hug.
"Hi Sally," Jennifer replied cheerfully. "This is my friend, Diane. We were driving up the coast and thought we'd stop in."
"You're not staying for the wedding?" Sally seemed a little disappointed that this was only a short visit.
"I'm afraid not," Jennifer told her. 'And neither are you if I can help it,' she didn't add.
Jennifer carefully looked over her ex-girlfriend who she hadn't seen in almost a year. It was the same old Sally, except that she was about 40 pounds heavier and had shorter hair. But her personality was still there, just a little beaten up.
"I heard about your baby," Sally said softly with a sad, respectful look. "I'm so sorry for you and Tom." The comment took Jennifer back; she had forgotten how much it hurt losing their son.
"Thank you, Sally, it means a lot coming from you." The older woman bit her lip and gave Jennifer a comforting stare.
"Let's go inside." Sally suggested.
Sally had moved out of the old apartment that they had once shared many nights together when Jennifer was still Al Parker. The move had occurred a couple months after their first meeting, the one where Jennifer had told Sally that Al was dead. It was true of course; the real Al Parker was dead. But having to tell Sally this so she could continue on with her life had been the hardest thing Jennifer had ever done. Sally's new apartment, while a step up from where she once lived, didn't seem as cozy as the old place.
"Nice place, Miss Johnston," Diane commented.
"Call me Sally," the older woman smiled. "Any friend of Jennifer's is a friend of mine."
"Sally, then," Diane replied with her own warm smile.
"What happened to your rocking horse collection?" Jennifer asked.
"Bill didn't like them messing up the place so I got rid of them," she said a little hurtful. Jennifer noticed there were several trophies and other sports memorabilia on the cabinet where Sally had once kept her collection.
"By the way, how is Tom doing?" Sally inquired.
Jennifer looked at Diane for guidance but got none. "I guess you didn't hear. We broke up."
"Oh no," Sally said sadly.
"It's okay, it's for the best. I still keep in contact with him on a daily basis. In fact we're great friends now." Jennifer gave Sally a reassuring smile to show that everything was okay. It was something she had found out while living as Jennifer; that woman worried and comforted each other.
"Well, Bill should be home any minute," said Sally. "I can't wait for you to meet him Jennifer. He's a computer salesman and last week he sold a 1.5 million-dollar system to a big manufacturing plant not far from here. The commission check from the sale is going to be tremendous - enough for a down payment on a house."
"Still working at your old job?" Jennifer asked.
"No, I'm a waitress at Denny's now," Sally answered while looking away.
"What?" Jennifer blurted out in surprise. Sally had been a purchasing clerk at a plumbing manufacture and a damn good one at that. She had been given several nice raises along with a few awards for outstanding performance. Sally's boss loved her attitude and work habits.
"I had to quit. You see, I was making a little bit more money than Bill was and well - you know how men are."
Jennifer couldn't believe her ears. What had happened to the old Sally she had once knew? If Al had asked Sally to quit her job on account that she was making more money than he was, she would have told him to go to hell. Now Sally was a waitress when she should have been managing the restaurant.
"Sounds like you love him a lot to give up your job for him," Diane observed.
"Oh yes, I do love Bill a lot." But Jennifer didn't hear the passion in the words like she did when Sally had talked about Al Parker.
"Sally. Can I -"
The sound of the front door opening and someone walking in interrupted Jennifer's train of thought. He was a big man, about 6"3' with a belly that indicated he was a heavy beer drinker. He wore a suit that didn't fit very well - obviously purchased when he was 20 pounds lighter. He gave both ladies a smile, but it was one out of politeness, not friendship. Jennifer found herself disliking Sally's fiancé immediately.
"You're home early," Sally said cautiously.
"Yeah, well, I decided to knock off a couple hours early to see you." He came over and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. "Where's my beer?"
"Sorry, I forgot." Sally went to the refrigerator and got him one. "Bill's such an important person down at the company. I was just telling my friends about the big deal you closed on last week. Did Harry say how much commission you're going to get out of it?"
Bill plopped down in a chair and took a long swig of his beer. "Those rotten bastards. The bigwigs are giving my commission money to Hank. They say he made the deal, not me. What a bunch of Bull Crap! I do all the shit work and he gets all the glory. If it wasn't for me calling the president of that company and wooing him along, we wouldn't have gotten this contract at all. But you think that matters? Nooo - 'good old Bill' gets the shaft again."
"But didn't you tell your boss about the conversations you had with their president?" Sally asked in a low, inoffensive tone.
"Boy, the blonde really does go to the roots on you, doesn't it," Bill snapped sarcastically. "Of course I told him. Do you think he believed me? Hank happens to lie better than I tell the truth. So he gets a big, fat commission check and I get almost nothing. If it weren't for me threatening to quit right then and there, I wouldn't have gotten anything. But they know who brings in the bread and butter for the company. They sidestep around the issue to calm me down. I had them on the ropes; you should have seen the old man begging me to stay. And since I'm such a nice guy, I forgot about what they did, and agreed to stay; but only if they give me the afternoon off."
His entire story turned Jennifer's stomach. She wouldn't be surprised if Bill came home the next day and told Sally he had been fired by those same ungrateful bastards. Al Parker had tracked down enough deadbeat fathers to know a loser when he saw one. If Bill was doing so great, why did Sally have to quit her job to make less money than him? But to Jennifer's amazement, the man wasn't through bitching about it.
"I tell you, I get half a dozen job offers each week. One day I'm going to quit and then they'll be sorry. To bad I can't prove it was me who made the deal honey, otherwise we'd be living high on the hog right now." Jennifer couldn't take it anymore.
"Why don't you just call the president of the company and ask him to call your boss? Then they would have to believe you." The man gave Jennifer a dirty glare.
"Boy, you don't know nothing about business, do you lady?" he stated rudely. "That may be how they teach you to do things in one of those fancy college books, but in the real world that kind of selfishness could cost my company this deal. How would it look to the president of the company buying the computer if I asked him to let my bosses know who made this deal? It would make us look like assholes."
"Actually," I started out in a lecturing tone. "You would be doing your company a favor by forcing out the truth. The president who bought the computer system would want to continue dealing with the person who talked them into buying it in the first place. Your bosses would benefit by knowing they have an employee like this Hank who steals sales from other people. And of course, you'd get the reward you so 'richly deserve'." Diane put her hand over her mouth to stop from laughing.
"Oh, and one more thing, Bill. I happen to hold a PHD in Business management and communications." That was a lie but Jennifer was convinced Bill wouldn't know the difference.
"You're way too young to hold a PHD!" he said uncertainly.
"I happen to be very smart, Bill. I started taking college classes when I was 16 and graduated from college by the time I was 20. I worked hard and took night courses, finishing in half the time. School was a breeze for me. And, as you can see," Jennifer said smartly while holding out a section of her long hair. "I don't have blonde roots!"
Bill's face turned red with anger. He wanted to explode but wasn't about to do so in front of them. Suddenly, Jennifer felt sorry for what she had said. It was Sally who would have to pay the price later on, but Jennifer wasn't about to let the SOB off the hook yet; she was going to expose him for the loser that he was.
"So give him a call, Bill," she told him firmly. "I'm sure the President will be happy to hear from you and set the record straight."
"I don't have the number, it's at work," he snapped.
"Then call information. I'm sure a company that buys a million dollar computer system is listed in the white pages."
"Look, who in the hell are you?" he demanded to know.
"This is Jennifer McClain and her friend, Diane," Sally said softly. Jennifer could see she was nervous.
"Look, Ms McClain," the man almost hissed. "At my company we do things a little differently. I'm a team player, see? The only reason why I didn't quit today is because the company wouldn't last a month without me. And if they go under, then all my friends I work with would be out of a job. So don't lecture me on what to do, I've made it this far on my own."
'And not very well,' Jennifer wanted to add. This man was filled with hot air.
"Now if you will excuse us, Sally and I have a private matter to discuss. Goodbye." Sally quickly led them to the door.
"He's just in a bad mood," she whispered to them. "We were really looking forward to that commission check. Bill spent a lot of hours making this deal come together, and he's just a little disappointed, that's all. Come back tomorrow, you'll see the real man I fell in love with." Jennifer doubted that coming back tomorrow would change anything.
"Sally, get me another damn beer," Bill yelled from the living room. "Then get your fat butt in here, I need to talk to you."
"I have to go guys, thanks for stopping by." She closed the door before Jennifer even had a chance to respond.
"Boy, he sure was pleasant to be around," Diane commented as they walked back to the car.
"Yeah. He left a real bad taste in my mouth. Now I know what your father meant by being great material for his town. What does she see in him anyway?"
"Her last chance at happiness," Diane said sadly. "Al Parker's death left a big void in her life. She was depressed and started eating a lot, which caused her to gain a lot of weight. She lost her self-esteem in the process, and didn't think any man would love her again. Then Bill came along, only he's not looking so much for a wife as for someone to boss around and serve him.
"But it shouldn't have been that way," replied Jennifer. "Sally used to be a strong woman."
"Even strong people have their breaking points," Diane replied while getting into the Trans-Am. "She cared about you deeply."
"Why are you telling me all this?" Jennifer asked tearfully. "To illustrate how much of a fool I was for leaving her?"
"No," Diane answered. "I'm trying to show you how important it is that we get Sally out of this destructive situation. Bill's not a wife beater, yet, but he's already started to beat her down mentally. We need to make sure he doesn't complete the job."
"Can't your father help? I mean, he did mention that this guy should be at Peace River. You can ask your father to pick him up, and then we could approach Sally and ask her to leave with us."
Diane shook her head sadly. "It doesn't work like that, Jennifer. First, we just don't grab people off the street; they have to come to us. Sometimes we lure them into our town but everything has to be just right before we do that. We just don't take anyone. Second, having Bill disappear would cause too many problems. Don't ask me why; just trust me on this. He needs to be where he is. And besides, my father doesn't want to get involved in this."
"But he let you and me come out here," Jennifer argued. "He's already made that commitment."
"No," Diane said shaking her head. "Dennis Butz made the commitment, my father only agreed to allow us to try. He didn't think it was such a good idea to begin with."
'So Dennis came through for me after-all', Jennifer said to herself. She would have to thank him properly when she saw him next.
"What about Dennis Butz, then?" Jennifer asked.
"He can't help us either. That was part of his agreement to my father in exchange for his help. I'm afraid you and I are Sally's last line of defense. If we fail, she will more than likely marry Bill in hope of finding happiness again."
"And fail miserably." Jennifer added glumly. "Diane, I don't know if we can do this alone."
"No one said this was going to be a cake walk, Jennifer." She stopped the car at a traffic light. "Do you want to go to the motel room now?"
Jennifer stared out at the buildings that made up downtown Seattle. This was her town, and it was like seeing an old friend again.
"Do you mind if we drive around some, Diane? I'd kind of like to see some of my old haunts again. Maybe it will help me think up a plan."
Diane smiled. "You're the boss lady."
******
The night out did Jennifer a lot of good. First, she took Diane to an old Italian restaurant that Al Parker and Sally used to go to all the time. It wasn't one of the fancier places in Seattle, but the food was incredible. That was one thing Jennifer regretted about living in Andersonville, it didn't have a good Italian restaurant.
Next, they went out to a few clubs where Al Parker had hung out. They hadn't changed a bit, something that Jennifer was grateful for. After a while, she realized that being around Diane had a good influence on her. By the end of the night, both ladies had let their hair down, and Jennifer found herself accepting invitations to dance with some of the male patrons, something the old Jennifer would never have done.
It was sad the way things had worked out, Jennifer thought to herself. If she had met Diane instead of Gerald after her transformation, then maybe she would have accepted living as Jennifer for the rest of her life. Instead, the old memories of being with Gerald kept coming back to haunt her.
Early in the morning, the two women made their way back to the motel room. Diane helped the exhausted girl remove her clothes and get into bed. In less than a minute, Jennifer was sound asleep, dreaming about how wonderful tonight had been as a woman. Diane smiled at the dreams Jennifer was having. The young girl, a victim of her brother's evil ways, needed a good night out as a woman to remember.
******
"Come on, Jennifer, time to wake up." The young woman rolled over to face Diane, who looked as fresh and pretty as the day before.
"Let me sleep some more," she moaned.
"You can't. We have to be at the restaurant in an hour and a half. Now get moving." Diane pulled the covers away, revealing Jennifer's half-naked body.
"Hey, what's the big idea," Jennifer said grabbing for a pillow to cover her naked breasts. "Can't you see I'm not properly dressed?"
"If you hadn't been so tired last night, you could have worn one of the pretty nightgowns I packed for you," Diane replied.
"Great, pretty! It always has to be pretty with you people, doesn't it? A pretty dress, pretty bras, pretty panties, pretty slips, pretty jewelry, pretty shoes. Why can't it just be practical, why does it always have to be pretty?
"Because there are too many 'practical things' today that make this world not very pretty at times," Diane explained. "So we do our best to add some color to it and to remind everyone it's not about being 'practical' that matters."
Diane could see Jennifer was back to her usual, grumpy self. She tossed Jennifer a robe to cover herself with.
"Now hit the showers so we can make you all pretty," Diane said smiling.
Jennifer grumbled as she put on the robe and went into the bathroom. Twenty minutes later, she came out in a slightly better mood, having been wakened up by the hot shower. She started rummaging through her suitcase.
"Need help?" Diane offered.
"I can manage, Mom!" Jennifer replied loudly. She looked around inside the suitcase for a few more moments and then shot Diane a glare. "There doesn't seem to be anything in here except skirts and dresses."
"Remember what I said?" Diane replied with a smile. "Pretty!"
"Can't I look pretty in a pair of jeans?" Jennifer moaned.
"I suggest the black dress," Diane answered in sweet tone that annoyed Jennifer even more than the lack of pants in the suitcase. "Skirts look good on you, but if you want my opinion, you're really a 'dress' girl."
"Great," Jennifer said, while pulling out the outfit Diane had mentioned. While the dress was respectable looking, it didn't come anywhere near her knees. She started to pout just a little.
"Cheer up, Jennifer, it could be worse. If my adopted Aunt were here, you'd be walking around in something both pretty and revealing. She's real big on promoting love between the sexes."
"Yea," Jennifer responded sarcastically, "and what's her name, Venus?"
"How did you know?" Diane grinned. Jennifer shot the woman another dirty look and grabbed at the lacy bra and panties Diane had packed for her, both quite pretty.
******
At this time of the day Denny's wasn't very busy. The breakfast crowd had just left, and the lunch crowd wouldn't start coming in for another hour. Diane had planned it that way so they could talk to Sally uninterrupted. Al's ex-girlfriend greeted them at the door.
"Jennifer and Diane, did you come here to see me or to eat?
"Both," Diane said cheerfully. "We're hoping you would join us."
"I'm sorry, I can't," she said disappointedly. "My boss won't let me take my break this early."
"Oh, I think I can get him to change his mind," Diane said. "Where is he?"
"Over at that table checking out the morning receipts," Sally said, while pointing to him.
"Let me handle this while you get us a seat where we can talk in private."
"Okay then," Sally smiled cheerfully. "By the way, both of you ladies look nice today, especially you, Jennifer. I love the dress you're wearing."
"Kind of makes her look 'pretty', doesn't it," Diane giggled slightly. Jennifer turned to give Diane an evil glare, but she was already walking away to see the manager.
"Well, don't look so mad about it, Jennifer," Sally said, "She's right. It does make you look pretty. I wish I looked as nice in a dress as you did."
'I wish that I didn't,' Jennifer told herself.
"You look nice wearing a dress," Jennifer stated.
"Right," Sally said while picking up a couple of menus and leading Jennifer into the back room. "I'm a fat pig, no one wants to see me in a dress."
"That's not true," Jennifer said as she watched Diane reach into her purse and pull something out. "That uniform doesn't look bad on you. Besides, it's what's inside that counts."
"Please," Sally responded sarcastically. "Men want to see girls like you in those kinds of dresses, and women like me in these kinds of uniforms. That's the way it is."
"What happened, Sally?" Jennifer asked carefully. "I know Al's death upset you, but why did you give up? You weren't this heavy when we first met, but you've changed since then, and I don't mean just physically." Tears formed in the older woman's eyes.
"You don't understand, about me or Al, or what we had; so don't judge me," she said defensively.
"I want to understand," Jennifer answered back. About this time Diane showed up at the table.
"Your boss said we can have you for an hour. Do you mind taking our order? I'm a good tipper!"
"Sure," Sally answered while wiping the tears from her eyes and taking out her pad. Diane and Jennifer ordered breakfast and Sally went off to hang it up.
"How did you get her boss to let her take off an hour?" Jennifer asked.
"Simple, I slipped him a hundred-dollar bill," Diane explained.
"You gave him a hundred?" Jennifer gasped.
"Relax, it's not going to break me. By the way, I thought we agreed you wouldn't talk to Sally unless I was present." Jennifer had forgotten about that.
"I'm sorry Diane, I really am. It just kind of happened and, to be honest, I forgot about our agreement." Diane flashed her smiled.
"It's okay, Jennifer, I forgive you. Just remember the next time. You know how much of a stickler my father is on rules."
"So Linda's told me. Besides, you didn't miss much. Sally was just telling me how pretty I looked, and I was trying to tell her that beauty is in the soul of the individual."
Diane looked at the young girl thoughtfully. "That's very good Jennifer. You don't know how refreshing it is to hear someone say that besides me. Is that how you see Sally?"
"Yes," Jennifer answered. "Diane, even if she doesn't come back with us, I want more then anything to make sure she's happy. It's what I always wanted." Diane frowned at the suggestion "You can't make someone be happy, Jennifer," she cautioned.
"Are you saying this isn't going to work?"
"What I'm saying," Diane replied carefully, "is that you're not responsible for making sure Sally is happy all the time. Sally may be struggling with a lot of things in her life, but she's still responsible for her own happiness. If she doesn't like something, then she needs to change it. You can't be the one who does that for her. If you think taking her back to Andersonville will be the end to all her problems, then you're going to be sadly disappointed. Sally needs to take control of her life again."
"But I'm the reason she's like this. It was my death that changed her."
"No," Diane stated firmly. "It may have triggered the event but the trouble was always there. Sally leaned on you for support far too much. It's not wrong for two people to support each other, but it is wrong to have one person be responsible for how the other person feels all the time. Do you understand the difference here?"
"Yes, a little." Jennifer replied.
Diane grabbed Jennifer's hands. "Jennifer, sometimes people make their own hell and blame others for it. But the truth of the matter is, they always have the freedom to change directions. Sadly, I've found that most of your kind doesn't do that. They become trapped and then later on, bitter."
"Is that what's going to happen to Sally?"
"I don't know," Diane said softly, "I'm not a fortune-teller, but if I was a betting man like Officer Merrick, I would put good odds on it."
"Then we need to break Sally from this cycle."
"That may be easier said than done. Only Sally has the power to do that. Keep quiet, she's coming back."
Sally gave them a slight grin and asked, "what are you two ladies talking about?"
"About marriage," Diane started out. "Jennifer was telling me how much of a commitment it is. She thinks I'm not serious about the matter."
"All I said, Diane, is that you need to make sure you find the right person before you marry them. You shouldn't get married just because someone asked you. Explore a little; make sure you really love the guy before you make the plunge. Don't you agree, Sally?"
"I guess," Sally said, a little reluctant to join the conversation. "But sometimes finding that Mr. Right doesn't always happen. There are other things to consider, like how good of a person they are, or how much they love you. Sometimes love has to take a back seat to practical things." Jennifer noticed Diane gave her an "I told you so" stare.
"Come on Sally," Jennifer tossed out. "Without love you really can't have a good relationship."
"What is love?" Sally asked defensively. "Is it about two people who can't stand to be apart from each other? Because if it is, then I had love once and lost it. I LOVED AL PARKER!" Tears formed in Sally's eyes, and Jennifer's, too.
"But Al's gone, and it tore my heart apart," Sally continued. "So now I have Bill. Do I love him the same way as I did Al? No, I don't. But I love him in other ways. At least he's here with me today. At least he comes home each night. Okay, so Bill has his bad points - guess what, so did Al. He was always working on the evenings I was off. He always had time to take off a night to see a ball game with his buddies, but never had the time to take off and have a romantic evening with me. And then he left on this big trip of his and never returned. Sometimes I wonder how much he really cared about me."
"He went on that trip to buy you an expensive engagement ring," Jennifer commented. "What more could he have done to prove his love for you?"
Sally gave them a weak laugh. "An expensive ring, huh? Did he really think an expensive ring mattered to me? I would've been happy with a $20 ring from Wal-Mart! Damn him! I loved the bastard, but sometimes Al pissed me off so much. And sometimes Bill pisses me off, too, but that's that way life is."
"Sally, it doesn't have to be that way," Jennifer countered.
"Yes it does," Sally pointed out strongly. "You came here to talk me out of getting married to Bill but it's not going to work. He loves me and that's all that matters."
"He doesn't love you," Jennifer said in a low tone. "You're his servant, nothing more. You need to find someone who loves you just as much as you love them."
"Easy for you to say, Jennifer. You were born pretty; you have men falling all over themselves to be with you. Well, for the 'plain' Jane's of the world, it's a little different; we can't be so choosy. Sometimes we only meet one or two men in our lives who we really like and who really like us. I found my one true love and lost him, so now I'm moving on.
"Sally, I know this is painful, but you need to think about what you're really doing. You need to remember how it felt to be in love with Al."
"It's too painful."
"I know it is," Jennifer replied in a comforting tone. "But you've been carrying around this pain inside you for too long. You need to talk about it."
"Fine then," Sally snapped. "You first!"
"What do you mean?" Jennifer asked.
"Just what I said. You told me a long time ago it was too painful to talk about how Al died, so you've been carrying your pain inside you for way too long now. I want you to let it out, I want you tell me how Al died."
"No, you really don't," Jennifer replied softly.
"Yes, I DO!" Sally insisted. "And I think you need to talk about it, too. Every time we meet I can always tell there is something bothering you about his death, so spit it out. How did it happen?"
Jennifer looked at Diane for guidance but the other woman seemed just as interested in what Jennifer was going to say.
"Alright then," Jennifer started out. "They were experimenting on Al, giving him this untested drug. He was changing as a result of it."
"Changing? How?" Sally demanded to know. Diane gave Jennifer a warning glance.
"It's hard to describe. The doctor in charge was trying to change the way a person looked. Sort of like plastic surgery but without the surgery. She was using a genetically engineered drug that contained another person's DNA sample. I don't know how it worked, only that the changes weren't painful, just life-threatening. She would try a few changes and let him rest for a while. Then the doctor would start it up again. It was horrible to see it happening. Al begged the doctor to stop but she ignored his pleas."
"What kind of changes?" Sally wanted to know, now engrossed in the story.
"Facial changes, body changes. The doctor was slowly turning Al into a woman." The waitress got a shocked look on her face. Diane was even less comfortable, but held her tongue.
"What happened next?" Sally pushed, now totally involved in the fate of her ex-lover.
"Al couldn't take it, he died. He told me how much he loved you, and then he died."
"And what was your involvement in all this?" Sally now demanded to know.
"I was the DNA dummy. They were using my DNA to change Al into me. They were holding me hostage and I couldn't get away. Believe me Sally, I tried to stop them."
"You BITCH!" Sally yelled, standing up suddenly. "You helped murder him. And I treated you as a friend. How dare you act like you're my friend and lead me on this way!"
"Please Sally," Jennifer said standing up. "I didn't mean for this to happen. He told me so much about you, he loved you."
"Damn you, SHUT UP!" Sally slapped Jennifer hard on the cheek. "I never want to see you again, do you hear me? NEVER!"
The waitress turned and ran out the restaurant, crying. Diane got up and put her arms around Jennifer. "It's okay, Jennifer, you did your best."
"No I didn't," Jennifer cried out. "I failed."
"Come on," Diane said softly. "I'm taking you back to the motel."
The entire way back Jennifer sat in her seat crying. She hadn't expected Sally to react this way and figured now she would never talk to her again. But it was much worse than Jennifer knew, and the goddess didn't want to tell her friend why. Diane got Jennifer back into the room and sat her down on the bed.
"Jennifer, I have to go right now. I want you to promise me you won't leave this room until I get back."
"But why?" she sniffed.
"I can't tell you. It has to do with Sally."
"I want to go then," Jennifer answered trying to get up. Diane pushed her back down with incredible strength.
"Not this time. I need you to stay here. Promise me!"
"I promise." Jennifer looked at Diane with hope in her eyes, but the goddess didn't have any to give.
"I'll be back." Diane closed the door and got into her car. She let her instincts lead the way.
******
It was a lonely area overlooking Puget Sound. Diane was parked about a quarter-mile away from where she needed to be as she watched the site with a sad expression. There was still a chance.
"Hello Diane."
"Apollo!" Diane rushed over and fell into his arms.
"Tough case?" he asked.
"Yes," Diane replied with tears in her eyes. "Why does it have to end this way?"
"There's still hope!" Apollo offered, while knowing there wasn't any.
"I can feel it. She's going to do it."
"I know sister, I know. I feel it, too, and it saddens me."
"Then why can't we do something? Why won't daddy let us stop this from happening? Every life is sacred - every life is unique! That's what he's always taught us. So why can't I save this one soul."
"Because it's not our lot in life. We help them make decisions; sometimes they even make good ones but other times they don't. We can't be personally responsible for their happiness."
"That's what I told Jennifer," Diane sniffed.
"And you were right to do so. We may be gods, but we can't interfere with every life we run into."
"Then let's take her back to Peace River," Diane suggested. "She's not a bad soul, certainly daddy can see that."
"For some reason, he doesn't think she has a place in Peace River. We have to abide by his decision."
"But I don't want to," she cried slamming her fist into her twin brother's chest. "I want her to live."
"I want them all to live," Apollo replied. "But sometimes they choose death anyway, despite my best efforts. I don't understand why, but I do have to accept it." They heard a car accelerating in the distance.
"It's her," Diane said softly to her brother. Apollo wrapped his massive arm around her.
"Be strong sister."
The car was going much too fast to make the curve. Sally simply hadn't been paying attention to her driving, and the laws of motion took over. She hit the brakes hard but the car slid on the wet pavement and slammed into the guardrail, forcing the car to flip up and over it. The car tumbled end-over-end down the steep hillside to the ocean below. No one could have survived the crash.
"Goodbye, Sally," Diane said with tears streaming from her eyes. Apollo had a few tears of his own.
"Do you want me to go back with you?" he asked softly.
"No, I need to do this by myself. Thanks for being here with me, Apollo."
"You've been there for me," he replied, giving her one last supporting hug. "I'll see you tonight, we can talk about it then."
"Thank you, brother."
******
Diane didn't go back to the motel room right away. She had to drive around for a while to get her wits back. She had lost people before, but this one hurt. Why did it have to end this way? And how would she tell Jennifer the bad news? As it turned out, she didn't need to. When Diane stepped into the room, the news was on, showing the crash. Jennifer was sitting in front of the TV with tears falling down her face.
"Tell me this isn't real," she begged. "Tell me she's safe!"
"I'm sorry Jennifer, I tried."
"You're LYING!" Jennifer screamed, and ran over to slam her fists into Diane's chest; but the goddess grabbed both of Jennifer's arms before she could do so.
"You're lying," Jennifer repeated over and over again. "You're fucking lying! You're playing with my mind. Tell me she's alive, tell me her death is a LIE. Please!"
"I can't, Jennifer," Diane answered softly, comforting. "Sally is dead, I can't change that."
"I killed her then! My words killed her. She killed herself because of what I said, didn't she?"
"No honey, she didn't." Diane carefully sat Jennifer down on the bed. "She was driving too fast and not being careful. It was an accident, I swear it was."
"But she was upset about what I said."
"No," Diane corrected, "she was upset about what her life had become. That's what she was thinking about when she crashed. Sally had realized you were right. You saved her soul."
"She's dead. I didn't do anything. Maybe if she had lived," Jennifer broke down. "It's not FAIR!" she sobbed.
Diane let go of Jennifer's arms and hugged her tightly.
"It's not fair, it's not fair," Jennifer kept repeating, while keeping her face buried in Diane's breast.
"No honey, it's not fair," Diane cooed softly, while rocking Jennifer slowly in her arms. "It's called 'life', and sometimes we don't get what we deserve, but we have to keep going. Do you understand what I'm saying."
Jennifer couldn't answer; she was too busy crying.
******
It had been one of those long, exhausting days. It wasn't that there had been a lot more to do than normal, it was the new dress that my mother had made for me. It wasn't the most comfortable dress I owned, and half of my time was spent trying to keep it from riding up my butt. The dress wasn't real short, but it was shorter than I liked them. I figured it was my mother's latest strategy in our, 'getting me a date' war. Wearing shorter outfits would cause me to attract more men. I found myself both amused and annoyed by her latest efforts.
I had just reached into my purse to pull out my car keys when I saw a sporty Trans-Am pull up and stop about ten feet from me. The door opened up and my brother got out. He looked sad.
"Steve," I shouted with glee, hoping that would cheer him up. While I knew going after Sally was a long shot, I had hoped he would've succeeded. Seeing him step out alone indicated that he hadn't been successful.
"Hey brother, I know this hurts, but you can't win them all," I told him. "Maybe Judge Jasper is wrong and Sally will be happy with this guy she's marrying. To be honest, I don't think Judge Jasper knows as much as he thinks."
"She dead," Steve said to me with almost no emotion.
"What?" I asked with disbelief.
"I said Sally's dead." Tears formed in my brother's eyes. "There was car crash and she was killed. Oh God, Linda, I lost her a second time. IT HURTS!"
Steve wrapped his arms around me in pain, just like he had years ago when he lost Sally the first time. I held on to him tightly, not knowing what to say. Then I realized there wasn't anything I could say to someone who had lost the love of their life for a second time.
Fade out...
