"I see three children in your future," Irena told Lisa Cuddy to which her jaw dropped and she stared at the elderly woman in amazement.
"Three? As in three more?" Cuddy said astounded.
"Oh, no. Correction. Two more, besides Rachel." Irena smiled at the stunned woman whose hand she held in her own.
Cuddy stared at the lovely little woman. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"How did you know my daughter's name?"
"I don't exactly know. These things just sort of pop out of my mouth…"
"Wait. I'm going to adopt two more?" Cuddy said softly.
"Nope. You're going to give birth to them the old-fashioned, painful way. And they will be fraternal."
"Hold on! You mean twins?" Cuddy was shocked.
"Yes. A boy and a girl. Both with amazingly bluer-than-windex eyes!" Irena grinned. Cuddy was afraid of what she was thinking and tried to pull her hand back.
"Wait up, young lady, I have a whole lot more to tell you."
Cuddy was rethinking this whole get-together. The elderly woman was well-groomed andplayful, kind and yet edgy. Who the hell was she?
Cuddy revisited the moments leading up to the conversation. She had left a staff meeting in good spirits and remembered the request to join the older lady in the hospital cafeteria. Cuddy had been polite in her remarks to Irena earlier and had only meant to chat with her briefly before retiring to her office to eat a sparse salad over email when Irena had waived her over to her small booth near the front of the cafeteria. Cuddy had gently conversed with the woman while assessing her based on appearance and demeanor.
Irena Supinsky was certainly charismatic. Her pale blond – or was it gray – pony-tailed locks were secured in a sleek golden barrette. Her teal turtleneck sweater accentuated her hazel eyes to the point no one noticed her slight dowager hump, a symptom of osteoporosis. Cuddy was quite charmed by Irene. Add to that a slight Slavic accent and Cuddy was hooked and a little mesmerized.
"You see all that in my hand?" Cuddy asked incredulously.
"Oh honey, you have no idea! You happen to be one of the rare ones. An old soul. That's why your hands are a bit…well, wrinkled." Irene said pleasantly. Cuddy blushed.
"I've got hands like a shar pei puppy," Cuddy admitted. "I get that from my mother."
"Well, I wouldn't go that far but judging from the number of lines both faint and deep, you are definitely on a repeated journey on this planet…" Irene hesitated.
"What do you mean?" Cuddy was a little concerned at the careful tone she detected in Irene's speech.
"Well…uh, it means you haven't exactly learned what you need to learn to move forward," Irene said cautiously. "It's why you keep returning -- to learn what you need to know to … to…move forward."
Cuddy stared at her uncomprehendingly.
"What I mean is you're ignoring something major and until you get it, you're going to have to repeat your journey until you finally do get it," Irene looked away. Cuddy suddenly felt naked before this kind stranger. Rather an uncomfortable realization was taking shape.
"Well, this has been amusing but I'm not sure I understand or …completely buy into this." Cuddy made an effort to slide out of the booth but Irene wouldn't release her hand causing Cuddy to pause.
"Look, you're a beautiful woman and you scare the hell out of most men because they…well frankly, they can't measure up and yet….you keep pushing the ones away that do. You need to stop doing that. He…uh, they are the ones that you need to listen to."
Cuddy starred at the woman across the table. "What are you saying?"
"Lucas isn't the right man for you."
"Okay. Well this has been…."
"House has nothing to do with this." Irene read Cuddy's thoughts.
Cuddy stared at the woman more skeptically than before. "Yeah, right."
"I read his palm earlier in the clinic this morning," Irene hesitated. "Would you like to know what I saw?"
Cuddy was trapped. Of course she wanted to know! "Why not?"
"You were all over his past and his future. You've broken his heart twice." Irene smiled wickedly before picking up her mug of coffee and sipping at it quietly. Cuddy frowned.
"Why are you doing this?" Cuddy had lost patience and didn't believe for a single second this wasn't some sort of trick played upon her good nature by a misanthropic limping dick-head employed by her hospital.
"Gregory House has had a miserable life. His father-figure beat the hell out of him throughout his youth until he could escaped to college where he didn't know how to behave and pushed every limit that came his way until they finally threw him out. Unfortunately for both of you it happened the same day he was going to start a journey in a new direction. That's where you came in." Irene set her coffee mug down a little hard and the cup clattered noisily.
Cuddy waited.
"You met at the wrong time -- he wasn't ready to deal with you and quite honestly, you weren't prepared to deal with his baggage." Irene eyed Cuddy directly. Cuddy felt her face flush.
"Why are you telling me this?" Cuddy suddenly interjected. Irene chuckled softly to herself.
"A mutual acquaintance thought you needed my services," Irene answered as she slid her business card across the table to Cuddy. Cuddy read over the card and glanced back at Irene.
"Somebody hired you to meet with me?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
"Your mother."
Cuddy closed her eyes at the realization.
"Should I go on?" Irene asked Cuddy.
Cuddy sighed. "Sure, fire away. What else have you got?"
Irene was use to the sarcasm. This wasn't her first "rodeo."
"Well, lets see. You got three men who are in love with you."
"Is that all?" Cuddy said sarcastically. Mentally, Cuddy guessed Lucas and House might be on the palmist's radar. "Who's number three?"
"Wilson."
"No way!" Cuddy practically shouted. "You know, this isn't fun any more and I'm so not buying into this little skit of yours. I'm calling my mother…."
"Lisa Ann Cuddy, please shut up and pay attention!" Irene snapped. "Your mother cares about your life and wants you to be happy. You're not obligated in any way to make these men happy! You need to decide what is best for YOU. Not what's best for Lucas, or Greg or James. Not even Rachel! You need to decide what Lisa Ann Cuddy needs and then accept it and pursue it.
Cuddy was mystified. "Okay, let me get this straight. I'm screwing up my life?"
"Pretty much."
"What do you advise I do to stop 'screwing' it up?
"We both know you know what you need to do." Irene glanced at the now empty coffee cup. "Would you mind getting me a refill?"
Cuddy laughed at the woman's audacity. "Allow me!" Cuddy took the woman's mug and exited the booth. Irena watched Cuddy's languid strides and took note of the male individuals noticing the attractive Dean's movements as they tracked her to the coffee station and back. Cuddy clearly was oblivious to her physical powers, at least while on hospital grounds.
Upon returning to the booth, Cuddy made a mental note to mention Irena Supinsky to Lucas and ask him to run a full background check on her. It wouldn't be the first time a grifter or swindler had tried to pull one over on her.
"You know the worse part of being a palm reader," Irena said suddenly. Cuddy was fascinated. This had to be good.
"Please go on," Cuddy urged.
"Knowing when people are going to die…early."
Cuddy stared at Irena. "What do you mean?"
"When I was much younger, I served in Viet Nam as a nurse, doing triage, assisting in surgery, standard medical stuff, you know?" Irene paused to take a sip of the hot coffee. Cuddy waited.
"I got to know the guys, the wounded soldiers. They didn't even realize how often they'd just reach out to take my hand and hold on for dear life from their stretchers." Irena's expression seemed to be far away in a distant place of hard memories.
"Of course, I couldn't help myself. I had to look…at their palms. I knew who was going to make it and who wouldn't. So many didn't get out alive. Short lifelines, you know?"
Cuddy swallowed hard. "Are you saying you knew who'd die and who'd go home alive?"
"Exactly."
Cuddy found herself glancing at her own palms without realizing it.
"Relax, Lisa. You're going to die just like everyone else but not for many, many years." Cuddy jerked her head up and looked at the old woman.
"Will I be happy?"
"That depends on you," Irena said gently.
"I'd like to be happy." Cuddy said more to herself.
"Wouldn't we all?" Irena added. Cuddy chuckled bitterly.
"I have never had a relationship last longer than a year," Cuddy was surprised to hear herself admit aloud.
"That's because you had no idea what you wanted," Irena said knowingly. "Now you do, thanks to Rachel."
Cuddy was confused.
"Your foster daughter," Irena said flatly. "Without her in your life you'd keep making the same stupid mistakes you've always made. She's made it clear to you what you need to look for, yet somehow you've managed to put Rachel's needs ahead of your own and now you're making new mistakes."
Cuddy frowned. "What are you saying?"
"I'm telling you Lucas looks good on paper but he's not the right man for you."
Cuddy could feel her temper rising. "Look, if Dr. House hired you to screw with my head, it's not working! He can go to hell!"
"Dr. Cuddy, Gregory House is living in Hell as we speak. You have no idea how hard it is for him to stay away from you. He wants you to be happy even if it means he's miserable."
Cuddy couldn't take another moment and began to slide out of the booth. Irena grabbed her wrist.
"I only just met Dr. House this morning, in the clinic. He's a sad soul, isn't he?"
Something in the way Irena defined Gregory House caught Cuddy's attention. House was a sad soul. Miserable, unhappy, lonely. Sad.
"I can't help him anymore. It hurts too much," Cuddy blurted out. "And for the record, James isn't in love with me, he's in love with the idea of House and me being in love. Please, I need to go!" Cuddy managed to yank her wrist away and scurry out of the cafeteria. Irena shook her head sadly as the lovely yet conflicted brunette hurried away.
Cuddy raced back to her office angry with herself for being sucked into such an asinine conversation with what had to be some crazed old woman or a pathetic actor hired by House to embarrass her or worse, expose her somehow.
Cuddy sat behind her desk and felt safer almost immediately. Her cell phone rang on cue and she snatched open her desk drawer to see Lucas's caller ID flash on the phone's small screen.
"Hi baby," Cuddy said in a husky voice. Lucas felt himself get excited at the sensuality in her voice.
"Hey Gorgeous, what's up?" Cuddy felt herself relaxing at the sound of his mellifluous voice.
"It's been a completely crazy day. What's going on with you?" Cuddy knew her voice was a little shaky but prayed Lucas wouldn't notice. He did. He noticed everything.
"I can relate. I've been thinking about you, your beautifully face, your gorgeous body and can't wait to get home to you tonight." Lucas rolled the words off his tongue as Cuddy drank in his adoration.
"Ahem. Cough. Cough. Hello!?" House suddenly appeared across her desk, standing within earshot of Cuddy's phone conversation. Had he heard Lucas clearly through Cuddy's phone?
Cuddy spun her chair a quarter turn and realized House was standing less than two feet from her.
"If you're done giving sad phone sex to your boy toy, I have a real-life situation that needs your approval." House intoned. Cuddy glared at him.
"Lucas, darling. I have to go. A major problem just showed up," Cuddy snarked and Lucas realized House had somehow imposed himself on their conversation.
"Tell House to suck my left nut," Lucas said cheekily.
Cuddy snorted and hung up.
"Tell Mucas he can teabag my nutsack!" House countered.
Cuddy's jaw dropped.
"I can hear a mouse piss on a cotton ball from twenty feet away," House said proudly. Cuddy ignored him as she tried to hide her burgeoning smile.
"What do you want, House?"
"World Peace, that extra inch so I can brag about my ten-inch peen, and… a hot boss. Oh wait. I've already got a ten-inch penis. Never mind." House grinned.
Cuddy rolled her eyes. "Seriously, why are you here?
"A little old lady read my palm today and told me to take pity on spinsters by offering to service them."
"House!"
"Cuddy! Cuddles. Cuddilicious! Cuddlestein! CuddleBunny! CuddleWuddle!
Cuddy lost her patience. "Why can't you ever just be normal?"
"Normal is way overrated," House sighed. "A great man once said, 'Beat me, bore me but don't ignore me!'"
"I'd settle for normal."
"No you wouldn't! You need uncertainty. You need mystery and excitement, you need ….well, shit, not Lucas. Talk about your boring guys!"
Cuddy was lit by his rudeness. "If you don't hobble the hell out of here, you're going to be walking funnier than usual after I shove that cane up your …"
"Uh, uh, uh! Cuddles! That's no way to talk to your employee!" House scoffed. "Now, if you don't care about being fired, I can think of plenty of ways that are lots more fun for both of us…"
"Leave!"
House shut up and stared at her.
Cuddy waited. "Well?"
"Can I see your right hand?" House asked. "I hear you're missing a love line." Cuddy closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip before sighing. House loved it when she did that.
"I see you've met Irene."
"Little humped-back lady with a pony-tail?" House asked innocently.
"That would be her," Cuddy answered.
"She says you're in love with me."
"No, she didn't."
"Well, she implied it," House countered. "You had to be there." Cuddy smirked.
"You don't have a patient," Cuddy suddenly remembered.
"Uh, actually no."
"So why are you bugging me?" Cuddy sat up straighter and glanced up at him from beneath her long lush brown lashes. He couldn't stand it when she did that. Did she know how hot that made her look?
"Patty and Selma called out to me telepathically." House said lamely.
"Goodbye, House." Cuddy said firmly as she turned to her computer to log in to her email account.
"Mind if I take a nap on your sofa?" House asked as he headed over to it.
"Yes, I do."
"Wake me if something interesting happens," House said ignoring her.
"House! Go to the clinic. Do something that validates why we pay you such exhorbitant fees!"
"I've done all my clinic hours, mommy. I'm tired and I need my afternoon nappy-poo. You can join me if you're getting sleepy," House said as he stretched out across her modern modular sofa.
"So help me, God, House! If you even think of snoozing in here I'll …"
"You'll what?" House countered.
"Do you really want to find out the hard way?" Cuddy threatened.
"Somethings' simply have to be experienced." House admitted as he slipped out of his shoes and took off his sports coat before stretching out on her sofa. Cuddy was stupefied.
"House! Don't even think of snoring! You need to go. Right. Now." Cuddy was more than serious but House ignored her.
House cocked open one eye and glanced her way. He began to pat the couch area before him to invite her to come over and snuggle up. Cuddy got up and made her way over to him. House closed his eyes smugly just seconds before feeling two very cool fingers snatch his left ear and pull him to a standing position.
"Owwww!"
"Get up and get out!" Cuddy hissed. Her hand held firmly to his outstretched ear.
"Cuddy, why so mean?" House asked in a whiny voice.
"Leave! This instant!" Cuddy demanded and House complied.
"Foreplay should be fun for both of us!" House added as Cuddy slapped the back of head.
"Go away!"
How did you like this latest installment? Should I continue? I truly appreciate all the great feedback, reviews and ideas. Please keep them coming and I promise to do all I can to incorporate them. Hope you enjoy this. Much of the palm-reader dialogue is based on a real-life situation when I was 18 and playing around with this as a past-time before going to college. So far, the amazing Mr. Diamond hit it out of the ballpark! Yes, cheesy name but the freak got it right! More to come if you review and want to read more. Thanks again for reading.
