Knots Landing Again

by zooman

(my story is direct sequel to my other Knots Landing work: Knots Landing Revised, which was itself an updated version of an other Knots Landing story I did, called Knots Landing Revisited. Knots Landing Again, is about Karen facing a massive lawsuit, which she's surprised to find has been left on her shoulders by her late husband Sid.

KNOTS LANDING AGAIN (This Knots Landing story is a direct sequel to my earlier story Knots Landing Revised, which is an updated version of my other work-Knots Landing Revisited. This story again takes place sometime during the tenth season of Knots Landing). PROLOGUE-Ben Gibson sat silently in the white room. He sat perfectly still at a wooden table. A large, square barred up window was behind him. His dark green business suit was looking grimy with all the mud stains on it. Ben took a brown comb out of his left pants pocket and quickly combed back his dark hair. He then ran his hand over his clean shaven face, and then started slapping his hands on both his legs over and over again. The comb slipped off the table and onto the floor.

The door opened in front of him. A tall, gray haired man in an orange tweed suit walked carefully into the room. A large, male hospital orderly could be seen in the half opened doorway. The gray haired man nodded to the orderly who then shut the door. He slowly sat down in the chair, at the table, looking directly at Ben. He carried a blue, leather folder stuffed full with papers under his left arm. He smiled slightly at Ben. Ben turned his head and looked at the gray haired man sideways. Ben judged him to be about sixty or so. "Good evening...Ben...Gibson is it?" The man then laid the folder down on the paper shuffled through the papers. He finally settled on one, and was silent for a minute as he just sat there reading it. "Yes," answered Ben. "I'm Ben Gibson." The man made a glance at Ben. "I'm Dr. Ray Andison. I'm the chief shrink here. We can only hold you for 72 hours but..." Ben began singing the song, Living is Easy. He added to this by twirling his body around in his chair. The psychiatrist was stunned by this. He just shook his head, cleared his throat and looked back down at the paper on the folder. "You...were found by the police...wandering around the park at three in the morning, screaming something about...the bandits coming to get you?" Ben stopped singing and slowly hit is face with both fists. He was crying now.

The bandits had surrounded the camp. Ben jumped out of the tent in his jungle greens. He was shot in the knee.

He ran through a swamp. The jaguar leaped upon.

Ben folded his arms over the table and let it all out. He cried and cried and cried. "The...bandits...gunned down...some of my friends..." He cried again. "They burst into the camp!" Dr. Andison observed the tearful man, while closing up the folder. "A bad experience somewhere's huh?"

The bandits had surrounded the camp. Ben jumped out of the tent in his jungle greens. He was shot in the knee.

He ran through the swamp. The jaguar leaped upon him.

The one mean looking bandit dragged the pretty blonde jungle tracker into an empty tent with him. Ben could hear the woman screaming:"NO! NO! NO!" The sounds of clothes being ripped, and the bandit laughing maniacally.

He ran through the swamp. The jaguar leaped upon him.

At one point as he ran through a thicket, he fell into a deep hole in the mud. As he lay there dazed, he found twenty of the largest spiders you ever saw climbing all over him...

Ben screamed! He got up out of his seat at the table and ran around the room waving his arms and screaming and crying. "DON"T LET THEM GET ME!" he cried. "DON"T LET THEM GET ME!" He kneeled on the floor, laughing. "Hhahahahahhahahahhahahhahahahhahahah! My wife had babies with another man and has gone back to him!" He ran his hands all over his suit, as if searching for something. "The spiders!" Ben was dripping in cold sweat. "Help me out of the mud!"

Dr. Andison bolted to the door and whipped it open. "NURSE!" he shouted into the dimly lit, white hallway in front of him. There were various members of hospital staff coming and going. "NURSE! GET ME A SEDATIVE FOR THIS MAN! NOW!"

ACT ONE-It was late afternoon. Gary stood in the medium sized music store, just gazing at the giant sized poster of Ciji Dunne on the left wall of the shop, above the stacks of discount albums. In the poster Ciji was posing on the beach in a tan bathing suit, while drinking a tall glass of orange juice through a bright red straw. Both of her hands gripped the tube shaped glass. Her eyes seemingly sparkled in the sunlight on the poster. Gary's mouth slowly opened as he put his hands in the pockets of his brown overcoat, and studied the picture with ever increasing interest. Ciji's name was emblazoned in small, yellow block letters at the top right corner of the poster. Gary nodded a little then he turned and left the shop.

He then just walked up and down the street for a few minutes. His jaw ached, where Greg Sumner had slugged him. He cautiously rubbed his fingers over the red bruise. "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Gary moaned in pain.

He slowly turned around and saw, with much surprise, that he was standing in front of a bar. MARTINIS AT SEVEN, read the gigantic red letters just above the doorway of the place. A cartoon picture of a cocktail glass filled with green liquor was in place right between the letters. Gary stared at the bar for awhile, his face showing all the emotions of temptation, then he just turned and walked away.

Karen and Mac sat in the lawyer's green office looking at the young, overweight black woman, as if they'd just been told the world had ended. Mac wore his best blue suit , while Karen wore her best orange shirt and skirt. They sat at the table facing the lawyer at the other end. The woman had a huge pile of papers on the table before her. "I'm sorry Mr. and Mrs. Mckenzie," the overweight black woman in the green turtle neck sweater and five gold necklaces, just kept shaking her head in exasperation at the middle aged couple, "but facts are facts. The fact is that Sid Fairgate, or rather his business Knots Landing Motors, had one major lawsuit that was never solved before he...was...uh...died." The woman spoke with strong southern accent. "Somebody better pay up." She chuckled. "This is serious stuff here people." Karen and Mac both shared glances with each other, then Karen puffed out her cheeks for a second. She ran her hand over her forehead. Mac put his hand on her left leg. "Why wasn't this taken car of back in the day?" asked Mac as he slowly raised both his open palms above the table. Karen moved her body closer to the table. "Look lady," she said with a touch of hostility in her voice, "I never knew about any lawsuits against Knots Landing Motors, nobody ever said anything to Sid as far as I know, and nobody ever said anything during my playing captain there eitheir." "This is ridiculous," sighed Mac. "My hubby put his heart and soul into that business," explained Karen grimacing, "before that he'd worked as a mechanic in a branch of Knots Landing Garages, in Philadelphia." She broke out in a smile. Mac turned his head to look at a painting of a sailboat on the wall at the right of him. "He could have stayed employed at Knots Landing Garages if he chose but he wanted his own thing so he created Knots Landing Motors..." "Mrs. McKenzie," interrupted the black woman rudely, "this is a serious business matter. A customer made a bad lawsuit against your ex...uh...former husband..." Karen quickly pointed to the woman, and lowered her lip. "This man..."The lawyer raised a sheet of paper up to her eyes. Her southern accent becoming stronger than ever. "A ..M...is...ster Smith claims that he purchased a convertible from your hubby's business that was less than good. He..." The woman studied more of the fine print on the paper. "He said that the brakes and steering wheel on the car were very faulty and caused him quite a few collisions on the highway, though fortunately nothing that sent him off a cliff." The woman snickered a tiny bit. Karen and Mac both glared at her. "Anyways," said the woman as she stuffed the paper in with several other ones,"this Smith filed a lawsuit against Knots Landing Motors claiming reckless endangerment, selling him a bad piece of machinery..." The lawyer reached in amongst the papers and found the one she'd just been looking at. She showed it to Karen. Karen held up the paper to her eyes. Mac just leaned forwards and put his face in his hands.

LAWSUIT AGAINST KNOTS LANDING MOTORS, SPECIFICALLY ONE BILL 'SID' FAIRGATE

In July 12, 1977, a one Mr. Roy Smith purchased a pink Audi R8 Spyder from the display room of Knots Landing Motors. He was told by the sales staff involved in the purchase that the pink convertible was top notch, good quality. Mr. Smith claims that the 'top notch, good quality convertible failed him almost immediately. This lawsuit claims that the car would have much difficulty braking, the first crashing into a school bus (luckily nobody was hurt), then Mr. Smith found the steering wheel moved with much difficulty. Once on the main highway he found himself unable to properly turn the steering wheel, causing the convertible to crash into a hillside. Mr. Smith sufffered a gash on his fore...

Karen looked up from the paper and looked with surprise at the smug lawyer seated before her. She looked back down at the fine print.

To get to the point, after ten more car crash mishaps, Mr. Roy Smith is suing Knots Landing Motors-"Specifically Sid Fairgate and that drunk, Gary Ewing, the sum total of 12,000 dollars in damages from reckless endangerment, being sold a bad car that could have killed...

Karen dropped the paper down on the table and stared into space. "You get it now?" asked the lawyer with a note of sarcasm. She took the paper and stuffed it back in amongst the other papers. "As you read, the lawsuit's target is only Sid Fairgate." "This is too odd for words," said Mac as he put his arm around Karen. "It's too much." Karen and Mac both go to their feet. Karen and the lawyer shook hands. "Ok, well thanks for telling us," said Karen looking very uneasy. "Don't mention it," uttered the smug black woman, "let's try to settle this out of court."

Karen and Mac walked out of the sliding doorways of the law offices building and went straight for their car parked right outside the entrance. "That guy Smith has a bad ass case against you," warned Mac as he opened the door of the driver's side of the car. Karen just shrugged her shoulders. "I never believed that Sid could make a mistake like that," mentioned Karen as she opened the car door on the other side of the car. "Well it just goes to show you..."

It was hot August afternoon, that day sometime in early 1977. Sid was standing in the middle of the garage chatting nervously with an older guy in a brown business suit, about something or other. Some car that had a strict deadline to be fixed. Karen walked calmly out of the office in the back of the garage carrying a tall glass of lemonade. Both she and Sid were wearing blue overalls and white t shirts. She handed Sid the tall glass. The other man walked away, while Sid drank down the lemonade. Beads of sweat glistened all over his face.

Then, neither Sid nor Karen could believe their eyes who showed up next in the garage. The man wore a white jumpsuit and white helmet decorated with large blue stripes with white stars in them. The motorcycle he rode was also white and decorated with large blue swaths with images of large white stars in them. A blue and white Harley Davidson to be exact. Both Sid and Karen gasped with awe, their mouths wide open as they watched the rider drive his cycle slowly and smoothly into the garage. "Excuse me!" the man called to the astonished couple, "I could use a mechanic to have a look at my bike. I think something's wrong with it." "I hope you know who that is Karen?," said Sid, his mouth drooping wide open, as he handed the empty lemonade glass back to her. The man braked the Harley and got right off. Karen and Sid stood gazing at the rider. "Oh...my...God," said Karen, her mouth opening even wider.

Karen smiled as that brief memory came to her, while she slid into the car seat next to Mac.

Abby Sumner sat in her office behind her desk, busily doing some paperwork she had reluctantly put off till now. She sighed, as she sat there in her yellow and pink spotted dress wondering if the stacks of paperwork would never. The phone rang on her desk. She answered immediately. "Hello," she said abruptly into the phone, "this better be important as I'm up to my ass in paperwork at the moment...oh...it's you." Abby shifted her body and the wheeled chair she sat in away from the desk, and towards the window in her office. She studied the view outside the window. The row of stores outside. "Gary doesn't have any proof of that right now, but, he sure suspects it. I mean playing the lookalike woman has probably grown pretty stale about now." Abby looked at the sunny blue sky outside the window. "Yeah," Abby answered to whoever was on the phone, "yeah, yeah, sure whatever you say. I've had enough of the whole deal anyways. The reason why I started the whole shabang with you is over." Abby stood up and walked all around her desk, as if in a daze. "Everybody thought you were dead...and what we did was kind of felony...yeah...yeah...whatever you say," Abby repeated, "if you're still in love with him go right ahead. I got a new man now." She plucked a tissue from a desk on her desk and ran it over her nose. "Heck that didn't stop you, even when I was married to him. " Abby laughed. "Yeah...yeah...," Abby continued her chat with whoever was on the other end of the phone. "Whatever you say," she said again, "it got a bit too complicated if you ask me. I mean having to bribe the coroner office like that, to lie about having done an autopsy...yeah...yeah Gary probably looked into that." I don't like where this conversation is going, thought Abby. "Well...look...he's still divorced from Val...she lives in dreamland thinking that her prince charming will eventually come home from South America or wherever...so...yeah he's free. Sounds like you're still in love with him? Like you said when you called the other day..."

ACT TWO-Ben Gibson sat on the cold floor of his white 'cell' in his hospital gown while Dr. Andison sat in the chair in front of him just droning on and on and on about whatever. Ben wasn't always paying attention. He just curled his knees up to his chin and put his face back in his hands. He wept.

He jumped out of his tent in the jungle to the sound of all the commotion in his jungle greens. He was shot in the knee......

Ben completely buried his face in his hands. Dr. Andison just looked down at him and sighed tiredly. He got out a cigarette from his jacket pocket and a match and lit it up. He puffed smoke. "Listen Mr. Gibson...Ben," Dr. Andison corrected in a soothing tone, "it's seems that your suffering from the most severe case of shell shock I have ever seen in my forty years of practice here. Obviously something more than horrible happened to you on some trip to the jungles of ...uh...Latin America? But the facts, you were found without any identification, so we don't know who you are. I don't know what you do for a living, for a job (a chuckle) if you even had one." Ben looked up at the psychiatrist and pouted like a child. "I could mabey have faced it all except...if it wasn't for Val," he said with anguish. "My wife Val. Got pregnant by another man and had his children." Dr, Andison just nodded. "I see," the shrink muttered with much interest. "Care to tell me about that?" Ben looked up at the ceiling. "No," he pouted simply.

It was evening. Gary paced back and forth in his bedroom. He wore a silver coloured bathrobe. "How exactly did Ciji manage to pull this off?" he thought to himself,"how? how? How did she and Abby go through with it? What's the connection?"

In the Mckenzie house, Karen and Mac just both sat, lazing on the couch together. Mac was reading the newspaper while Karen just lay there looking half asleep. "Don't worry about it," said Mac in a cheerful tone,"this lawsuit with you will be cleared up in no time. It does seem really silly though that Sid could have made a big mistake like that." Karen opened her eyes wide and looked straight at Mac. "I mean Sid letting a faulty convertible get by him like that. We're lucky that Smith guy didn't kill himself driving that thing." Mac smiled. Karen hung her head over the top edge of the sofa. "What a drag," said Karen," first I have all those business problems with Abby and Greg with Lotus Point and now this. It's too much. I haven't got any room on my plate to deal with a lawsuit right now. Mac's face suddenly lit up like a glowworm, and he grinned enthusiastically as he saw something that sparked his attention in the news. "Hey," he said excitedly, "let's watch the late late show! Conquest for the Planet of the apes!" Karen smiled. "For some reason Sid never liked that movie," she said. "Spending too much time in the past is a mistake," advised Mac. "Holds you back."

Karen got up and walked to the kitchen. She got herself a glass of water from the sink when the phone in the kitchen rang. She picked it and put it to her left ear. "Hello," she answered. "Mrs. Mckenzie? It's Joy Flimeno here." Karen nodded. I'd know that southern accent accent anywhere's, she thought to herself. "Yes," said Karen. "I'm headed for bed soon. It's been a long day." "I know but Mrs. Mckenzie...well ...here's the thing...it's the lawsuit that was aimed at Sid but left on your head, that guy Smith now wants another 12,000 added to the suit!" Karen closed her eyes for a moment. She swayed sideways. "Are you there Mrs. McKenzie?" Karen just hung up the phone. She walked like a zombie through the kitchen, up the stairs and into her bedroom.

She crawled on the floor and reached for a shoe box she had hidden under the bed. In the box was a smaller green box. She picked up the green box and opened it very very slowly. In the container were thousands of tiny light green capsules. I kept this a secret just in case I ever needed them again, Karen thought to herself, in case I ever needed something to help me over a rough spot and this is it. She took one of the green capsules and popped it into her mouth. I had promised Mac and everybody that I'd never, NEVER touch the pills again, Karen thought to herself, but I need one of these downers to relax me. All the problems with Lotus Point and now this massive lawsuit Sid left me...it's too much. Karen closed up the small box, dropped it back in the larger shoe box and pushed the whole thing back under the bed. She lay down on the floor on her back and her face took on the appearance of being somebody who's completely out of it. She stared up at the ceiling and made a really, really, really cooky smile. I just need it just this one time to help me get over this emotional roller coaster, she thought, lying to herself.

The limo drove up to the cul-de-sac outside the houses as quiet as a church mouse. The left rear door of the long, dark car opened. The lithe female in the black overcoat silently stepped out in front of the Ewing residence.

Inside the house Gary continued his pace back and forth in his bedroom in his bathrobe, when he was interrupted by the door opening. Gary stopped his pace. His eyes opened wide as he just stood in bewilderment, hearing the door open and close. "What the heck?" he said with surprise to himself. He heard someone outside his bedroom door, walking around his home. The bedroom door opened slowly, and the beautiful blonde form of Cathy Geary appeared in the crack in the doorway. "Hi Gary," she smiled and waved as she stepped into the room. Gary just stood there silently. His face absolutely stunned. "Well who else would have the keys to your homes. I thought I'd surprise you in the home you used to share with Abby." Cathy's hair was tied in a bun and she wore a black overcoat and black boots and black pants. She and Gary both moved towards each other passionately kissed on the lips. "Ohhhhhhh God I missed you," crooned Gary in between kisses, "I'm glad I decided to buy back this house. I made the owner an offer he couldn't refuse." Cathy just laughed. "Im mixed pissed off at you...Ciji...and at the same time glad to see you again." He and Cathy/Ciji stopped kissing and just stared into each other's faces for a minute. "I was almost fried for your alleged murder." Cathy/Ciji looked down at the floor and frowned. "I'm sorry about that Gary. I didn't know about that at the time." "Well it was more Abby's fault than yours, "scowled Gary. "I know there are times one should just forget about the past and move into the present...but still..." Cathy/Ciji just grabbed Gary's head with both hands and kissed him more passionately than ever on his lips. The both of them fell onto Gary's bed together, embracing and laughing. "It was another of Abby's tricks to play mind games with you, so you wouldn't focus on your business stuff, which she could swipe under your nose..." "OWWWWWWWW!" Gary interrupted as Cathy's/Ciji's cheek rubbed over his bruised jaw.

In his white 'cell' Ben Gibson just paced around in a circle like a caged animal. Dr. Andison just sat watching him in his seat. Ben started singing again: "What...goes...up," he sang, his voice getting louder, "MUST...COME...DOWN! SPINNING WHEELS! GOT TO GO ROUND!" He did a primitive version of the funky chicken all over the room. Dr. Andison just puffed more clouds of smoke on his cigarette as he continued to observe him.

Ben ran through the steaming jungle as fast he could! The sound of gunfire all around him! The green foliage hitting him in the face every minute. He fell into the deep hole in the mud. The large spiders crawled all over him. Ben screamed! "BEN!" Dr. Andison's voice...

Ben was sitting on the floor of the room crying hysterically now. Dr. Andison leaned down to him. His face was inches away from Ben's. "Ben, we have alot of ground to cover..."

Ben was moving through the swamp. The jaguar leaped upon! the sharp teeth dug into his arm! Ben screamed in pain as his jungle green stained with blood...

Dr. Andison's voice took on a more kindlier tone than before. The doctor took another large puff on his cigarette. "You need to forget the past Ben. Put it all behind you...look you made a big step when you said that you stopped yourself from going inside to see Val. You realized that she had moved on with the other man. Now's that took some guts Ben! Now you need to do the samething with everything else in your past. try to put the past behind you..."

The psychiatrist never had a chance to finish. In that split second, Ben had jumped to his feet and raced for the door. He tore open the door and took off like a shot. Dr. Andison jumped up and tried to follow him outside into the corridor. "GUARDS!" shouted the doctor as he took a huge stride into the hospital hallway. He saw Ben pushing away nurses, other doctors , orderlies, and his goal was the main entrance of the building. Dr. Andison saw Ben push a security guard out of the way, as he leaped through the automatic sliding doors.

Outside the mental hospital, Ben just ran and ran and ran through the night darkness.

Dr. Andison ran out of the building a second later, and just stood there looking from left to right.

ACT THREE-Gary and Cathy/Ciji walked around in the backyard in the dark, holding hands and talking quietly, almost in whispers.

Val Gibson stood in her kitchen finishing up washing the dishes, when the phone rang in the living room. She set down the dishes and walked into the living room. She picked up the phone in her right hand. "Hello," she said. "Hi Honey, it's me." Val's face took on a shocked look of recognition. "It's your long lost hubby Ben..." Then the phone went dead. Val fainted and landed on the sofa.

Ben Gibson stood in his old office at the news building where he had once had his career as a reporter. He stood in front of his old desk by the phone and grinning like a madman. Walt, one of the camera men Ben had once worked with:the elderly, fat long gray haired man employed by the news building walked into the dark room and switched on the lights. "You sure your ok Mr. Gibson?" the man in the gray outfit said with concern. "I mean it's nice to see you again but..." "I'm fine," snickered Ben, as he kneeled down to a small safe under his desk, on the wall and turned the right combination. "I'm fine Walt,"he repeated. "See you tomorrow hahahahahahaha." "Sure thing," said Walt. "Goodnight. It's a good thing for you I decided to work after hours again, or nobody could have let you into the building..." "Goodnight," finished Ben, sounding as if he just wanted to get rid of him.

From the safe, Ben pulled out stacks of dollar bills in the ten thousand dollar category, along with a spare passport. "The first rule I always kept as a reporter, and the best and basic one...always have backup plans," he muttered to himself. "But Val...". He suddenly broke down and cried. "Val...Val...back to Gary again huh..." he sat on the floor crying. "My lost love."

In the Mckenzie house, Karen lay on her bedroom floor feeling herself going into a trance state. "Those green downers can really put a person way, way way into outer space," she laughed a little. She lay there staring at the ceiling. Her face forming the caricature of a silly ass grin. She saw the room fading around her.

Gary walked Cathy/Ciji back to her waiting limo. "Well anyways yes, I was an amnesiac for a long time in a mental hospital, before my memory came back..." Cathy/Ciji put her hands over the scar on her head, "right where that creep Chip smacked me." Gary put his arm around her. "Then Abby located me in the hospital..."

Ciji sat up in her hospital bed reading a page from the Sunday funnies which she held in both hands. She laughed as her eyes scanned the cartoons. She had the room all to herself that day. Then, Abby Cunningham walked into the room and sat down on the stool at the foot of the bed. Her gray and black dress dripping with water from the rain outside. Her hair sopping wet. Ciji looked at Abby then looked away. Abby made a sinister sneer. "Hello Ciji, Dr. Will tells me that you're feeling much better and your memory has come back." The large red scar was still plainly visible on Ciji's head. Ciji lay back down in the bed and looked with exasperation at Abby. "It's time for round two Ciji," said Abby, as she put her black purse on her lap. Ciji pulled the covers over herself and her light blue hospital dress...

Gary and Cathy/Ciji kissed passionately while standing behind the limo. "It wasn't that difficult," admitted Gary while kissing her. "Huh?" asked Cathy/Ciji. "Well think about it," probed Gary,"you and Ciji both looked exactly the same." Cathy/Ciji laughed and looked up at the night sky grinning. "Yeah," said Cathy/Ciji. "And you and Abby should have been more inventive." Cathy/Ciji turned away from Gary and moved to the rear door of the limo while smiling. "I mean, the name Ciji and the name Cathy Geary and the intitals...C.G! I mean c'mon! Why do you think I interrogated you so much when you first worked at my ranch." She and Gary both laughed. "Bye Gary," she said she got into the limo. "Bye Ciji," said Gary, blowing her a kiss. "Back to my tour then," added Cathy/Ciji to Gary, through the half opened car window, as the limo turned away from Gary. "Ciji's the past, let it go," whispered Gary to himself as he watched the limo drive away. "Too much living in the past. Time for the present."

Elsewhere, Ben Gibson ran out of the news building in the dark, wearing a gray security guard outfit he'd found in the security section of the news building. "Ok now," he thought to himself, "first back to my hotel to pick up my luggage, then off to Mexico." He ran through the street in the direction of his hotel. "No place for me in Val's life anymore. Time to stop living in the past and move back to the present. The past is gone. Let it be. Time for Ben Gibson to live only for the present now!" He ran past a supermarket. "Val and the kids are past, they're back with Gary, now only the present matters. Get as far away from Val as possible. Go to Mexico." And with that he disappeared into the dark.

Karen lay on the floor in her bedroom watching the room spinning all around her. Her face had a smile that was goofier than ever! Her eyes glazed over. "Those green downers can always knock me out, if I haven't used them for awhile," she thought to herself.

Suddenly she wasn't in her bedroom, but walking through some clouds high in the sky. She wore a shiny white dress with gold shines all over it. She was greeted by her husband Sid, and her other husband Mac, and her old friend Laura, and Richard, and Ben, and Greg, and followed by Gary and Val and Abby (the bitch) she whispered to herself, and Paige, and her old friends Kenny and Ginger and then Ciji (but no Cathy? Hmmmmmmm, Karen whispered to herself), and the black couple Frank and Pat and Anne (keep her away from Mac, she thought to herself) and Jill (bitch the second, Karen thought to herself), then Val's mother Lilimae Clements, then all of Karen's children and both of Abby's children...all of them wore the same shiny white dresses with gold shines on them. She and Sid embraced and kissed on the lips. "I died and went to the afterlife," laughed Karen, "is that it?" "How can it be you Sid? And Mac who was still alive last I saw." Mac walked over, smiling and hugged both Karen and Sid together. "We wanted to give you some advice," spoke Anne, smiling as she walked slowly towards Karen. "You have to stop living in the past so much. You have to let go," Anne slowly waved her arms about her, "the past is just holding you back. You have to move back to the present Karen." "To the present Karen," said Lilimae, as she took a step to Karen and hugged her. "TO THE PRESENT KAREN" Everybody there all chimed in together. Then Frank took a step towards her. "Karen, I'm not aware of this back on Earth," Frank made a glance down, a tone of regret in his voice, "but I'm HIV positive." Karen pulled Frank close to her and hugged him. "It's something that will ultimately end my life...the docs will call it renal kidney failure. My time will end. I won't have a present." He and Karen looked each other in the eye. "But you do my dear," said Pat as she moved towards Karen in a melodious tone of voice. "My present will soon be gone," confessed Frank as he took Karen's hand and led her a little ways away from the group, they walked right over a cloud, "but yours is still around you Karen. Embrace it. Move on from the past. Stop letting the past run your life." It was Gary's turn. He moved carefully over another cloud to where Karen and Frank. "Listen to me Karen," Gary pointed to his chest, to a shiny spot of gold light, "I'm just as guilty as you. I couldn't forget Ciji..." Ciji skipped over to them when Gary said her name, "but i didn't realize that that was past. Ciji moved on. I was too focused on past events with her." Then Sid moved towards Karen. "We're here to help you Karen," said Sid gently, as he ran his hands through Karen's hair, "you spend too much still thinking about me. I'm the third one here who's the genuine one, and I want to tell you that we had was beautiful but it's past. Our life, our marriage is past. You have to live in the present." Mac stepped to Karen. "I'm the present Karen," he said to Karen while nodding his head to her. "I took a chance on an operation to be with you in life, but I failed," remembered Sid, his face lowering in sadness, "but it's past. Now you have to move to the present. And going back to drugs is not the answer." Kenny and Ginger both approached her. "Live in the present Karen," said Kenny as he embraced her. Then Ginger embraced both of them. "Too much time in the past isn't good Karen," warned Ginger with a smile. Then all of them together, as if in a song,: "THE PRESENT FOR YOU KAREN!" all of them said at the same time. A twinkling sound could be heard in the distance. "MOVE BACK TO THE PRESENT KAREN!" they all repeated. Karen cried in happiness, blushed and put her hands over her face. "TIME TO GO BACK TO THE PRESENT!" All of them said the words together. Then Jill walked towards Karen. "I was a disturbed bitch in my life," admitted Jill with a look of sadness and remorse on her face, "I hurt others and myself most of all." Sid came towards her and put his hand on Jill's left shoulder. He looked right at Karen who just stared at him in amazement. "But I have been helping Jill and I want to help you now Karen. I want you to let go of the past and close down memory lane and move back to the present. You almost blew it again by going back to drugs." Then all of the crowd gathered around Karen. Karen went from person to person and hugged them all. "Time to go back now Karen," instructed Laura. "And no Karen, I'm not Paige's real father," included Greg as Karen and everybody laughed.

Karen suddenly came out of it! She found herself lying on her bedroom floor feeling rather woozy. She crawled back under the bed and pulled out the shoe box. Then she reopened it and took out the smaller box of green capsules. She took the small container in her right hand, walked into the bathroom and dumped out the whole box of capsules into the trash box by the sink. "Stupid girl," she whispered to herself.