"Finally," she said as she sat in her car and closed
the door. "It's over."
The 'it' in this case was the crazy trial for which she
had just served as a juror. With the press was all over
it, she had been sequestered for a month during the trial.
Practically all contact with the outside world was forbidden.
In fact, they couldn't even watch TV in their rooms; they
were only allowed to watch movies released before August.
Being shut off from the world would have been annoying
enough under normal circumstances, but these weren't
normal circumstances. Two weeks before she was called
for jury duty her nephew was in an awful accident. It
had placed him into a coma and had caused the whole family
to worry. And she, besides worrying about her nephew,
was extremely worried about her older sister.
But, for some reason, the fact that your nephew was
clinging on to life with the help of machines wasn't
enough to get you out of jury. She wasn't even sure
that her nephew's death would have gotten her out of
her mandatory service. She could only thank God that
she wasn't presented with the opportunity to find out.
She had been allowed one call to family per week, so
she knew that her nephew was awake and that her
sister was a total wreck. But that was all she knew.
No one seemed to be telling her the whole story. "You
have to deal with the case in front of you," they all
kept saying.
But, finally, it was over. She had checked out of the
hotel. Her car was packed...and she was on her way
to the hospital. Her older sister needed her, whether
she was ready to admit it or not. And, after everything
her sister had done for her, Georgia Jana Washington felt
it was time that she gave back.
Taking a deep breath, she started her car. As the
radio came on, she could hear Aretha Franklin belting
out, "Though you don't call anymore, I sit and wait
in vain. I guess I'll rap on your door, tap on your
windowpane. I wanna tell you baby, the changes I've
been going through, missing you. Listen you. Until
you come back to me, that's what I'm gonna do."
Jana laughed. "Rap on your Door, Tap on your
Windowpane. Dria's favorite 'stalker song'. Well, hold
on, sis. I'm coming and you can tell me all about
the changes you've been going through."
This Side of Living
Living as Part of a Set - chapter eight
As he settled back into bed, with less help than he
needed a week ago, he acknowledged that something
was different. Physical therapy was still pure
hell, but it seemed less...horrendous that day. He
figured it was in part because of who was beside him.
She looked less stressed today than she had in the
brief glimpses he'd had in the past. She smiled
a little more often, too...but there was still a
touch of sadness there. She still obviously missed
her Andrew, even though he put her through a lot,
but she was content to have a friend-son in Yusuke.
He shook his head. Their relationship after last
night was so strange, there wasn't even a word from
it.
As she place a fluffed up pillow behind his head,
he turned to look at her. "Thanks," he said
sincerely.
Alexandria smirked. "Forgiven me for hiring those
sadistic torturers?" she asked, referring to his
physical therapists.
Yusuke snorted, "I just keep telling myself that
when you hired them, you were planning on them
torturing Andrew, not me."
With anyone else he would never have uttered that
sentence. Most of them still saw as 'Andrew' but
were trying to help him through his 'Yusuke illusions'.
After last night, however, he and Alexandria had
reached some kind of agree. To her, he really was
Yusuke, not Andrew. At least, not for the moment.
It was as if she got something out of pretending
that Andrew's issues weren't his issues. For that
reason, he found that he could be honest with
her...in ways that he couldn't with anyone else.
His friends and siblings were, for the most part,
too young to really deal with his issues. And the
old lady had a ton of her own problems in this
reality. So Alexandria was his safe haven and
venting space.
If this wasn't real, if this world was a trick of
his mind, he'd miss Alexandria the most.
"Actually," Alexandria said as she sat down, "When
I hired the therapists, I was thinking of the insurance
company, because they were expensive. And I was
thinking about Keiko when I made sure none of the
therapists were pretty and female. I wasn't thinking
of Andrew at all. The torture sessions are just
a fringe benefit that you get to have all to yourself,
Yusuke." She laughed.
Hearing her laughter made him smile.
By now the rest of the family were probably beginning to
hear that he was talking to Alexandria now. He wasn't
sure how everyone was adjust to the news. On some level,
he didn't care. It was just nice to take the burden off
of someone else...and get cared for in return.
She'd cancelled her class to go to the torture session
with him that morning. He had woken up to her calling
her department to let them know that she wasn't coming
in. When he asked her why she did it, she claimed she
wasn't prepared to teach that day. When he said he didn't
want to cause her any trouble, she smiled and said her
students were probably very happy not to have class anyway.
He opened his mouth to make some comment, when there
was a sound at the door, "Knock? Knock? May I come
in?"
He and Alexandria turned to look at the person in the
doorway. He blinked as he recognized her. She looked
the same as he had last seen her...minus the fish ears,
tail, and revealing outfit. About the same shade as
Alexandria, she walked confidently into the room.
"It's finally over and they let me out," she said with
a laugh. "I'm so glad to be out of there, that I'd
go anywhere, even a hospital. But, Dria, what's with
the security. I had to prove who I was at least five times
before I got up here!"
"Um, Gia-" Alexandria started to say.
But Yusuke's puzzled question cut her off. "Juri?" he asked
of the other African-American female in the room.
"Well, huh," Juri said, "I guess there is something to
the theory that people comas can hear you." She turned
to Alexandria. "He must have heard me say that I had
to leave him for jury duty and that the Commonwealth was
dragging me from his side. Probably wasn't that hard
to remember. Jana on a jury. Alliteration at its finest."
"Gia-" Alexandria started again, but Juri ignored her.
"How's my favorite nephew?" Juri asked as she ruffled
his hair. After which, she suddenly plotted down on his
bed.
"OW!" Yusuke shouted as the movement of the bed jarred
him.
"Sorry," Juri said. Then she smacked him lightly on
the leg. "But you deserve it," she insisted. "You
had me all worried about you! I mean, by the time
we got to jury deliberations, I was ready to vote with
the majority just to get out of there to see you. I
mean, I was ready to fry an innocent man or let loose
some monster on society. I didn't care." The other
woman paused. "I wasn't really proud of my attitude,
Drew. Your Aunt Jana doesn't like to compromise on her
ideals; just ask your mother," she confessed.
"Gia, about Drew-" Alexandria began again. And again,
she didn't get her sister's attention.
"Aunt Jana?" Yusuke asked, "Is that who you were to
Andrew?"
"Who I was to Andrew? Drew, that doesn't-" Juri looked
back and forth between Yusuke and Alexandria. "What
haven't you told me, Dria?" she said as she looked at
her Alexandria.
"How much free time to you have, sis?"
"I have no where to be, sister dear. The University gave
me the semester off. Stopped the tenure clock even." Juri
gave Alexandria a hard look, "So spill. Why is Drew
speaking about himself in the third person? And why doesn't
he know you I am?"
Alexandria just shook her head. She half smiled at
Yusuke and he half smiled back, knowing explaining
everything to Drew's Aunt Jana was not going to be
easy. Alexandria sighed. "If I only knew where to
begin."
The other woman's eyes narrowed. "Pick a place,"
she demanded.
- to be continued -
the door. "It's over."
The 'it' in this case was the crazy trial for which she
had just served as a juror. With the press was all over
it, she had been sequestered for a month during the trial.
Practically all contact with the outside world was forbidden.
In fact, they couldn't even watch TV in their rooms; they
were only allowed to watch movies released before August.
Being shut off from the world would have been annoying
enough under normal circumstances, but these weren't
normal circumstances. Two weeks before she was called
for jury duty her nephew was in an awful accident. It
had placed him into a coma and had caused the whole family
to worry. And she, besides worrying about her nephew,
was extremely worried about her older sister.
But, for some reason, the fact that your nephew was
clinging on to life with the help of machines wasn't
enough to get you out of jury. She wasn't even sure
that her nephew's death would have gotten her out of
her mandatory service. She could only thank God that
she wasn't presented with the opportunity to find out.
She had been allowed one call to family per week, so
she knew that her nephew was awake and that her
sister was a total wreck. But that was all she knew.
No one seemed to be telling her the whole story. "You
have to deal with the case in front of you," they all
kept saying.
But, finally, it was over. She had checked out of the
hotel. Her car was packed...and she was on her way
to the hospital. Her older sister needed her, whether
she was ready to admit it or not. And, after everything
her sister had done for her, Georgia Jana Washington felt
it was time that she gave back.
Taking a deep breath, she started her car. As the
radio came on, she could hear Aretha Franklin belting
out, "Though you don't call anymore, I sit and wait
in vain. I guess I'll rap on your door, tap on your
windowpane. I wanna tell you baby, the changes I've
been going through, missing you. Listen you. Until
you come back to me, that's what I'm gonna do."
Jana laughed. "Rap on your Door, Tap on your
Windowpane. Dria's favorite 'stalker song'. Well, hold
on, sis. I'm coming and you can tell me all about
the changes you've been going through."
This Side of Living
Living as Part of a Set - chapter eight
As he settled back into bed, with less help than he
needed a week ago, he acknowledged that something
was different. Physical therapy was still pure
hell, but it seemed less...horrendous that day. He
figured it was in part because of who was beside him.
She looked less stressed today than she had in the
brief glimpses he'd had in the past. She smiled
a little more often, too...but there was still a
touch of sadness there. She still obviously missed
her Andrew, even though he put her through a lot,
but she was content to have a friend-son in Yusuke.
He shook his head. Their relationship after last
night was so strange, there wasn't even a word from
it.
As she place a fluffed up pillow behind his head,
he turned to look at her. "Thanks," he said
sincerely.
Alexandria smirked. "Forgiven me for hiring those
sadistic torturers?" she asked, referring to his
physical therapists.
Yusuke snorted, "I just keep telling myself that
when you hired them, you were planning on them
torturing Andrew, not me."
With anyone else he would never have uttered that
sentence. Most of them still saw as 'Andrew' but
were trying to help him through his 'Yusuke illusions'.
After last night, however, he and Alexandria had
reached some kind of agree. To her, he really was
Yusuke, not Andrew. At least, not for the moment.
It was as if she got something out of pretending
that Andrew's issues weren't his issues. For that
reason, he found that he could be honest with
her...in ways that he couldn't with anyone else.
His friends and siblings were, for the most part,
too young to really deal with his issues. And the
old lady had a ton of her own problems in this
reality. So Alexandria was his safe haven and
venting space.
If this wasn't real, if this world was a trick of
his mind, he'd miss Alexandria the most.
"Actually," Alexandria said as she sat down, "When
I hired the therapists, I was thinking of the insurance
company, because they were expensive. And I was
thinking about Keiko when I made sure none of the
therapists were pretty and female. I wasn't thinking
of Andrew at all. The torture sessions are just
a fringe benefit that you get to have all to yourself,
Yusuke." She laughed.
Hearing her laughter made him smile.
By now the rest of the family were probably beginning to
hear that he was talking to Alexandria now. He wasn't
sure how everyone was adjust to the news. On some level,
he didn't care. It was just nice to take the burden off
of someone else...and get cared for in return.
She'd cancelled her class to go to the torture session
with him that morning. He had woken up to her calling
her department to let them know that she wasn't coming
in. When he asked her why she did it, she claimed she
wasn't prepared to teach that day. When he said he didn't
want to cause her any trouble, she smiled and said her
students were probably very happy not to have class anyway.
He opened his mouth to make some comment, when there
was a sound at the door, "Knock? Knock? May I come
in?"
He and Alexandria turned to look at the person in the
doorway. He blinked as he recognized her. She looked
the same as he had last seen her...minus the fish ears,
tail, and revealing outfit. About the same shade as
Alexandria, she walked confidently into the room.
"It's finally over and they let me out," she said with
a laugh. "I'm so glad to be out of there, that I'd
go anywhere, even a hospital. But, Dria, what's with
the security. I had to prove who I was at least five times
before I got up here!"
"Um, Gia-" Alexandria started to say.
But Yusuke's puzzled question cut her off. "Juri?" he asked
of the other African-American female in the room.
"Well, huh," Juri said, "I guess there is something to
the theory that people comas can hear you." She turned
to Alexandria. "He must have heard me say that I had
to leave him for jury duty and that the Commonwealth was
dragging me from his side. Probably wasn't that hard
to remember. Jana on a jury. Alliteration at its finest."
"Gia-" Alexandria started again, but Juri ignored her.
"How's my favorite nephew?" Juri asked as she ruffled
his hair. After which, she suddenly plotted down on his
bed.
"OW!" Yusuke shouted as the movement of the bed jarred
him.
"Sorry," Juri said. Then she smacked him lightly on
the leg. "But you deserve it," she insisted. "You
had me all worried about you! I mean, by the time
we got to jury deliberations, I was ready to vote with
the majority just to get out of there to see you. I
mean, I was ready to fry an innocent man or let loose
some monster on society. I didn't care." The other
woman paused. "I wasn't really proud of my attitude,
Drew. Your Aunt Jana doesn't like to compromise on her
ideals; just ask your mother," she confessed.
"Gia, about Drew-" Alexandria began again. And again,
she didn't get her sister's attention.
"Aunt Jana?" Yusuke asked, "Is that who you were to
Andrew?"
"Who I was to Andrew? Drew, that doesn't-" Juri looked
back and forth between Yusuke and Alexandria. "What
haven't you told me, Dria?" she said as she looked at
her Alexandria.
"How much free time to you have, sis?"
"I have no where to be, sister dear. The University gave
me the semester off. Stopped the tenure clock even." Juri
gave Alexandria a hard look, "So spill. Why is Drew
speaking about himself in the third person? And why doesn't
he know you I am?"
Alexandria just shook her head. She half smiled at
Yusuke and he half smiled back, knowing explaining
everything to Drew's Aunt Jana was not going to be
easy. Alexandria sighed. "If I only knew where to
begin."
The other woman's eyes narrowed. "Pick a place,"
she demanded.
- to be continued -