Chapter 61: On the Job

We were so used to starting out in either the glade or the cabana that it felt really weird starting in the living room. But Mom sort of needed an easy reference point. For starters she had to survey all of her scrap-booking paraphernalia, and there was a lot of it. Then we had to come up with the right 'magic bag' for her to put it all in. Then of course she had to organize it all so she could find it. At this point Allison could no longer contain herself.

"Mother!" she said in exasperation. (Uh oh, not a good start.) "It's a magic bag. All you have to do is think about what you want and stick your hand in; watch." She stuck her hand in and pulled out a sign that said, "SEE! It's easy."

Mom actually giggled. (Whew!) "Okay I guess I'm just a little nervous about all this. I don't even know this girl and I want to do it right."

Shannon was standing next to her and hugged her side. "You'll be just fine, Cindy. Just have fun. Think of every favorite aunt, Mary Poppins, fairy grandmother, wacky old bat you've ever seen or read about and just roll them all together. Remember, you're going to be a magical person, she'll be expecting you to do and say odd things. Pulling these things out of an empty bag is just the beginning. It will impress her at first but the novelty will wear off. Pulling out things that won't fit in the bag; remember the lamp and the plant Mary Poppins pulled out of hers? That will last a little longer. But when you really want to impress her, pull out an ice-cream sundae. Now that will make an impression on a six year old."

"What a wonderful idea. Yes, we'll have a snack after we finish the first page. Okay then, I guess I'm just about as ready as I will ever be. James, you run off and get things ready while I slip into my fairy godmother suit. And don't you dare tell your father I called it that."

That was the invitation I had been waiting for, but rather than move directly to Rachel's dream I stopped in to pick up Samantha first. It was a poignant moment. She was curled up in bed with Amanda; just spooned up in her sister's arms. They had the sheet drawn up covering most of them but their shoulders were bare so I wasn't sure what else they may have on. I made a mental note to stop dropping in on girls unannounced whenever possible. I stepped through the wall and then knocked on the door. Faster than I thought possible the door opened and Samantha stood naked before me. Her eyes were downcast as she stepped to one side to allow me to enter. It really pissed me off that she didn't even know who it was, but it didn't seem to matter. I stepped into the room and she closed the door behind me. As soon as the door was closed she began to drop to her knees, still without looking up.

"No, Samantha," I said and stuck my hand under her chin, "never for me."

As soon as I touched her she felt her bracelet change and knew it was me. She launched herself into my arms and hugged me close. The relief in her voice was wonderful to hear. Her naked breasts pressed against me were kind of nice too... but... I put a long shirt on her anyway.

"Oh, thank you for coming," she said as she pressed herself against me. "You have no idea how good it feels to know I am safe. That for a little while I can relax and not be afraid. I could just kiss you." She pulled back suddenly as she realized what she had said, "Oh God. I'm sorry. I didn't mean... I know you have two... I mean..."

I let my face fall and put on my best whipped puppy expression, "You mean... (sob)... you don't want to kiss me?" I let a tear trickle from my eye. Oh sure, I could have wiped away an imaginary one, but why bother when the real thing is available on demand. Then I laughed as she realized I was playing with her. "Don't worry about it, Samantha. I'm not going to be offended. Neither would Alice and Sharon. I make it a point to never turn down a kiss from a pretty girl. In fact, if one of them was here, I doubt they would turn you down either. Just as long as you're doing it because you want to and not because you feel you owe it too me or anything like that."

I thought I caught a bit of a glimmer in her eyes. "Really? They wouldn't care if I kissed you?"

"Not as long as you did it for the right reason. They'd be royally pissed if you did it for the wrong reason. So would I for that matter."

"And you wouldn't be upset if I kissed one of them?"

"Of course not, they kiss each other all the time. We don't really worry about things like that. Meanwhile, the reason I'm here..."

She cut me off, "Wait a minute. I mean... if it's okay, then..." Without another word she pulled me in close and kissed me very thoroughly. Her technique was very different from Allison and Shannon and I really enjoyed it. Fortunately it was a dream so it wasn't so obvious just how much. If I had been awake she would have gotten the message loud and clear.

She finally pulled back and said, "I have wanted to do that since the first time I saw you. I do feel that I owe you, but more importantly I feel that you deserve it. Just by being here and trying to help you have earned that and anything else I could give you. No, don't say it..." She stopped me before I could say what was building on my tongue. "I know that you do not do any of this for such reasons and that you do not desire that I feel obligated to you in any way, but I do, and this is the only way I have to even begin to repay you for what you are trying to do. I know that that bothers you but please, allow me to do what I can to express my gratitude. No one in all my life has cared enough to do what you are doing out of sheer kindness. Doctor Hendricks comes close, but he is the only one."

"Doctor Hendricks?" I asked.

"The doctor we see for our pills and checkups and such. He takes very good care of us; of me I mean, and Amanda before... you know. Not for sex, but just because that is who he is. He is a gentle and considerate lover. He is different from most of the others. I do not believe he does what he does by choice. I think he regrets being involved in it all of it but does the best he can for us."

"You think he is being forced to do this just as you are?"

"Well, not like I or any of the girls are, but yes, I think he is doing this against his will. Others may think differently, but I have seen it in his eyes, he would stop it if he could. I cannot speak for how he treats the other girls but he has always been decent and respectful to me. And I know he was that way with Amanda as well."

"Thank you for sharing that with me. I think it might be important later," I said. I thought before continuing, "Tell me, do you think the reason he lets you see it is that he trusts you? Or maybe wants you to trust him?"

"Yes. I mean, I think he trusts me not to tell anyone that he treats me nice. Do I think he wants me to trust him? Probably, I mean, doesn't everyone want to be trusted."

"I think so."

"Well, if he wants me to trust him he is going to be waiting for a long, long, time. I will never, ever trust anyone that is part of that group. It's one of the tricks they use most. They lull you into trusting them, sharing some secret with them, then wham! They turn on you. You go from trusted friend to object lesson with no warning. One day you are sharing secrets, the next you are in the chair, or worse."

"I don't know what could be worse than that chair thing you told us about."

She looked at me hard and for just a moment I had a vision of something in her eyes. "I pray you never have to find out."

I decided based on the look alone that I didn't want to know. "The reason I came is that we are starting a little project with Rachel tonight and I wanted your help setting it up."

"Project? What kind of project?"

"You remember those pictures we took?" She nodded. "Well, tonight we are having an expert come in and start working on scrapbooks for her. I need to get Rachel into the right dream state to think about Amanda. Based on what I've seen she won't have a very clear mental image of her, and that is when the fun starts. I thought you might like to come along. Tell me, has Rachel ever seen Cinderella? The cartoon version, from Disney?"

"Yes, it's one of her favorites."

"Well, tonight, Rachel gets her very own fairy godmother, sort of. She's just another friend who will only be here to help Rachel with her memory of Amanda, but that's the approach she's going to take."

"Really?"

"Sure, it should be fun to watch. So do you want to come along?"

"Of course, but where are we going? Do you have to take her somewhere? Are we going to the place you took me?"

"Nope, because the scrapbooks are for Rachel, to improve her memory, they need to be made in her dream. So you take me to her room, and then I'll take you to her dream, invisibly of course, wouldn't want to scare her; and then we have fun."

I took her hand and indicated she should lead. She hesitated only for a second and then took me down the hall to the next room. She opened the door and there was little Rachel holding a large stuffed octopus, asleep. I stopped her as she started to enter, pulled the door shut and said, "Now watch when I do it." I reopened the door but this time there was no bedroom on the other side. The door opened into a park where little Rachel was swinging. Behind her was the shadowy image of Amanda, but the image in Rachel's dream had faded to the point that instead of laughing and pushing her sister as she should have, she stood silently and watched. You could almost see her fading away as you watched.

"Perfect," I said and pulled out my phone.

"All set?" Allison asked.

"Ready when you are." Down the hall Samantha's door opened again and out walked Alice, Sharon, and my mother dressed as everyone's favorite grandmother. I thought the little round glasses were an especially nice touch. When they had joined us I widened the doorway so everyone could see.

"Oh, that's so sad," Sharon said, looking at the scene.

"Yes it certainly is. Jimmy, watch for my signal to make me visible, I may need you to help her a little setting up a place for us to work so don't leave right way." Without hesitation she crossed the threshold, disappeared, and entered Rachel's little park. She immediately started speaking.

"Tch, tch, tch, now that's not right, dearie. Why that's not how it was at all." She signaled me and I started her fading into the scene. "Now let's see, I know I have it here somewhere..." Rachel was now staring at her as she became more solid. "... Oh, now where did I put that? Oh! Here it is!" She pulled a photograph out of her bag; it was a carpet bag just like Mary Poppins had used. She walked over to Rachel and showed her the print. I knew which one it was because I had taken it myself. It showed Amanda laughing and pushing a much younger Rachel on the swing set. "See, dear, this is how it was, don't you remember."

"No, ma'am," Rachel answered in a sad voice. "I can't remember her that well anymore and it makes me sad."

"Sad? You can't be sad in your own dreams. Why, I'm almost certain it's against the rules. Here, you hold this while I look it up." She handed Rachel the picture and started rummaging around in her bag again. She started pulling out a book the size of a small table. It was clear immediately that it could never have fit in the bag. Rachel stared in awe as this strange little old lady set the bag on the ground, sat in the next swing and opened the huge book. She thumbed through a few pages before saying, "Ah, I was right, see here."

When she turned the book so Rachel could see, a face in the corner came to life and said, "Rule 42; It is against the rules to be sad in dreams."

"But Mandy is fading away. I can't remember her so well any more, and I miss her."

"Well sure you can, muffin, you just need a little help. Everyone needs help sometimes. That's what I'm here for." She reached into her bag and pulled out some more pictures of Rachel and Amanda in the park. "We're going to make you a memory book."

"A memory book, don't you mean a picture book?"

"Why it's the same thing, child. Isn't that what pictures are for, to help us remember things? Here, let's go over to that picnic table in the shade and see if we can't make some sense of all these." She handed the pictures to Rachel, closed the rule book and stuffed it back into her bag, then picked it up and, taking Rachel's little hand in her own, began leading her over to the little table.

The situation seemed under control so I closed the door and left them to their task. I was shocked when I turned and found Samantha with tears running down her face. Seeing my expression Alice turned to see what was going on.

You gotta love my sister; she has this knack for doing the right thing. Without a word she hugged Samantha to her. Sharon stepped behind the older girl, and wrapping her arms as far around both of them as she could, hugging her hard from behind, and pressing herself hard up against her for maximum contact. Samantha wept for a few moments and when she finally pulled back a little. The girls released her and Alice reached up and gently began to brush away the remaining tears.

Samantha started to speak, "Thank..." but Alice put a finger to the girl's lips.

"Shh. You don't need to say it. You're not used to seeing people do nice things for others, you've never had someone just be nice to you, have you?"

Samantha shook her head slightly. "Not since Mandy died."

"Well, there really are a lot of nice people in the world. People who just want to help. That's all we're doing here, not because we want something, but just because something needs to be done, and we can. You don't need to thank us for doing the right thing, everybody should. C'mon," she said, taking the older girl by the arm and turning her around, "I think you've had enough for one night. Why don't you come back to bed and I'll snuggle you for a while, okay?"

Samantha looked at Sharon and I to see if it really was alright. We both just smiled and nodded, and then Alice led her by the hand back down the hall to her own room, back to the bed she had never really left.

Shannon moved up close, slid her hand around my waist and said, "I really love her. Allison I mean. She just has the biggest heart."

I kissed her hair and said, "Yeah, she does. And an ass to die for."

She pinched my side and said, "That's not what I was talking about and you know it. Take me somewhere and make love to me. Cindy will be fine and Allison can join us when she's ready.

We moved to the island, but instead of using the cabana, we made love on the beach. We were cuddled up, basking in the afterglow when Allison showed up. She lay down beside me and hugged us both. We spent the rest of the night just enjoying the closeness and warmth.

Spring break was a bit of a bust. We ended up just staying home. The parents had to work and while we could have gone to one of the resorts on our own, that would have required pulling strings and would likely have attracted attention we didn't want. What really sucked was that we had a whole week off but Shannon and I still couldn't get together. Mark's love life had taken a dive shortly after Valentine's Day. Theresa had eventually left him in search of someone a little more mature emotionally. He had had one brief hook-up since but now was single again and therefore ended up hanging around with us all week. It was mid April, not quite eight weeks until school ended. Time seemed to be both crawling and flying at the same time. The days were flying; school seemed to be rushing past at breakneck speed as we prepared for upcoming finals, while the nights seemed to crawl by. I had spent weeks, literally, getting to know the top ten potential victims on the FBI's list. My first encounter with Elizabeth Street had made the job seem easy. I should have known better. Bob had warned me that it may not be as easy it is sounded. I should have listened. Separating fact from fantasy in the dream world is not easy.

'Easy' it turned out, was a nickname Elizabeth Street had picked out for herself. Paul had glossed over her profile by saying the name was self-explanatory. He was right but I now knew that everyone was selling this girl short as a target. Elizabeth had to be the most uninhibited, self assured girl I had ever encountered. She knew exactly what she wanted and didn't care who knew. She was a damn good basketball player. The only reason she didn't have more offers was that she played in a soft league that didn't challenge her and she played on a team made up of weak players who did nothing to help her. She had as many girlfriends as boyfriends, having slept with most of the athletes in the school at one time or another. At one time she lost a bet with the captain of the boys team and had blown the starting five players one day after practice. What he didn't know is that she staged the whole thing and lost on purpose just because she wanted to do it. I personally had moved her to the top of the list. My only reservation in doing so was that the killer might not see her as enough of a challenge.

That changed when I found out she had beaten up two boys that decided that 'Easy' meant easy for everyone. They were just two of the local losers who spent most of their time loaded and were barely scraping by academically. They had decided that they deserved a little better treatment and respect and since the hottest chick in school seemed to be a free for the taking... They watched her long enough to figure out her schedule, and then caught up with her leaving work late one night. They weren't the brightest bulbs on the family Christmas tree, that's for sure.

'Easy' decided who, when, and where she dispensed her favors, no one else. She beat the crap out of them, and then pressed charges for attempted rape. They tried to claim that she attacked them, but the surveillance video from the camera they failed to notice clearly showed them grabbing her. One held her while the other tried to kiss her. She bit his tongue almost off. He slapped her and tore her blouse. She went nuts. She was still kicking one of them when the cops arrived and pulled her off. It took two of them to hold her. One of the boys, the one that tore her blouse, needed emergency surgery to save the testicle she hadn't ruptured, the other spent several months with his arm and hand in a variety of casts and splints as they tried to get all the bones to line up correctly. She had stomped his hand repeatedly and crushed several of the bones. Their parents made threats of lawsuits until the video came out. It never made the papers because both she and one of her attackers were minors.

Like I said, 'Easy' Street had made my job seem simple. I had thought I had a pretty good grip on the female psyche; nope, not even close. I tried different scenarios; actually going into a dream and taking over a character; fly on the wall observation; all kinds of stuff. I just could not tell whether the scenes were reality based or just fantasies. I pulled the girls into a couple and that helped. They laughed their asses off at me over a some of them. The comments ranged from things like; "Oh yeah, that would happen..." to things like, "You're sure this is her fantasy and not his?"