The party appeared to go on as usual, with the dancing, chatting, and drinking appearing to fill everyone with energy and enthusiasm. Not one of the guests noticed how different Jackie Tyler's behavior had gotten, nor how frightened Rose was getting about the whole situation.
"Are you sure you don't know me? Even though you've seen me every day for six years?" Rose asked.
"Of course, I'm sure, child. In fact, if you didn't remind me so much of my own daughter, I wouldn't be paying much attention to you," Jackie said. "Could it be because I look like your mother?"
"You are my mother!" Rose yelled. "In fact, I know plenty of stuff about you that could prove it."
"All right, then tell me," Jackie challenged.
"Well, you went to school at Katherine Orwell Primary School, you sometimes like getting up early in the morning to have a good cup of tea, and when you were in high school, you had a crush on Simon Le Bon from the band Duran Duran, but you kept it a secret because you didn't want your friends thinking you were too silly."
"My dear, the only thing you're right about is how I like fresh tea in the mornings. I attended school at Lucy Mansfield's School for Girls, and I've never heard of either that singer nor that group you mentioned. Is it a French orchestra by any chance? Because that's what it sounds like to me."
Victoria, who was listening in on this investigation, couldn't help chuckling upon hearing this version of Jackie Tyler thinking Duran Duran was a French orchestra. Having played nearly all their songs when she'd worked as a disk jockey in the eighties, she knew their music (and especially the videos that went with them) wasn't something respectable ladies from the twenties would have tolerated.
"No," Rose said. "It's a pop band that used to been seen a lot on MTV…"
"Why do you speak in such an odd manner? From what I've noticed, your accent is British, but your vocabulary sounds so unusual that the only explanation would be that either you've been raised overseas or you're just plain bonkers," Jackie said.
"There's nothing wrong with me! Like I've said before, I know you!" Rose said.
"Jackie, there's something going on which you won't be able to understand on your own, and we just want to help you through it," Victoria explained, stepping in for Rose.
"The way I see things, I'm not the one in need of help. And I think I know the best place to bring you over for you to get it," Jackie said, taking Rose's hand and escorting her over to the same door leading to where Rose had first seen the twins. "This is where we place all the lost children in this hotel. You're sure to find several other little girls who could help you feel better about the little problem you got yourself into." Looking at Victoria, she said, "Since I figure you're probably her nurse or aunt, I insist you join her over there. And if you could take any advice, don't let that girl's imagination run too wild. She seems to have developed such peculiar fancies that would have any reasonable adult concerned about her."
"No!" Rose protested. "You have to listen to me! You can't…"
Rose, that's enough.
It was John Smith once again, speaking to Rose after going dormant for what seemed like too long for her.
But John Smith, my mummy can't remember me anymore! I must do something about it.
But you won't be able to do it alone, Rose. Helping your mother's memory clear up can't be accomplished by yelling at her and saying things that don't make sense to someone of this time. It may not make sense right now, but it's what's best for her.
Do you know why this might have happened to her?
I see it as a coping mechanism, or something someone does to make difficult situations easier for them. Having found herself trapped in the twenties once again, your mum might have started interacting with the party guests more than was good for her. As a result, her mind might have become accustomed to her current surroundings and started getting her to believe that she was just another guest. The alcohol and sinister characters that linger around here probably helped much with it as well.
So, what do you think I should do?
I want you to do as you're told, just as I always tell my other friends to act when they have no other choice. Go into that room, where I think you'll find some much needed help.
Are you saying that the twins will be there again?
You must go in there and see for yourself, Rose.
Then he spoke no more, probably to allow Rose to face whatever was there before it was too late.
She found Victoria staring curiously at her. "Rose, did you just…?" she whispered.
"Talk to the Doctor? Yes, I did, Victoria," Rose said, whispering back.
"And what does he want us to do?"
"He wants us to do as we're told."
Victoria smiled. "I think that was one of the rules he had in place for anyone who traveled with him, although I think that usually applied to his orders only, since he seemed all for disobeying certain authority figures who got in our way."
"Excuse me?" Jackie demanded. "I don't have time for this. Mr. Pond, that lovely young man over there with the red hair, has been keeping me company this whole time, and I don't want to drive his patience away by keeping myself occupied in looking after a girl I don't even know."
"Okay then, Mrs. Tyler. Lead us into the room," Rose said. She figured that if her mother wanted to keeping denying that she knew her, she just had to play along.
"It's about time you did as you were told," Jackie mumbled. Then, gripping Rose's arm tightly, she dragged her over to the door in the back of the ballroom. Victoria followed along, keeping a close watch over their surroundings as they prepared to leave.
And once again, no one took any notice of them. There was a time when parties like this filled Victoria up with excitement, back when she would take requests to play some of best hits of the moment, from artists ranging from Duran Duran and New Order to Michael Jackson and Hall and Oates, and groups of young people would gather around afterwards to thank her for making the evening such a blast. As shy as she usually was, she grew to love those nights she spend as a disc jockey and enjoy the company of those she entertained. But here, all she felt was a sense of emptiness, as if time was just being wasted away and the guests were indifferent about who they were spending this special evening with. She could certainly sense this in Jackie Tyler, probably more so than with the others, although it seemed almost as strong for them as well.
Because of this, she felt an odd sense of relief once she'd stepped into the room where Jackie Tyler escorted them. "Now stay in here until you find your actual mother," Jackie told Rose. "I'm sure your nurse could do much in here to keep you content, seeing as how it looks like this room has been set up for a little girl like yourself."
And to Victoria's astonishment, this was true. In fact, the place looked a little more modern than the rest of the hotel was right now. The Peanuts comic strip at the table was probably the first item in the room to give this away, followed by a half- dressed Barbie doll that was left lying around on the floor. And even more surprisingly, she could hear "Hotel California" coming from a ham radio which was placed beside the comics strip.
"This is the twins' bedroom, Victoria," Rose whispered to her.
"I can see that, but apparently, your mother sees nothing unusual about this," Victoria said. Laura had filled her in on the details behind Rose's vision of the twins, so this wasn't too surprising for her, although she still couldn't understand how certain parts of the hotel could be trapped in different years.
"Yeah. Don't you think being here should be bringing her memories back?" Rose asked.
"I don't know if it can, Rose," Victoria answered, just as she saw Jackie leaving, not hesitating at all as she went back to the party.
And once Jackie was out the door, Rose saw Therese and Louise stepping out of the small closet that was next to the set of drawers. They were now wearing matching blue dresses, but were otherwise looking the same as the last time she saw them.
"Rose! We almost thought you'd never get here," Louise said.
"And you brought a friend along with you. It can't get any better than this," Therese said, smiling warmly at both Rose and Victoria. Then, taking Victoria's hand, she said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Victoria Waterfield. My name is Therese Purdue, and this is my twin sister Louise."
"Why, thank you very much. Pleased to meet you as well, Therese and Louise," Victoria said, shaking Therese's hand.
Rose caught a whiff of the strawberry biscuits and tea from the last time she was there, smelling just as fresh than they were before, and was surprised to realize how hungry she was as her stomach started rumbling.
"You sound hungry, Rose. Would you like something to eat?" Louise asked.
"Yeah. I'm starving," Rose said.
Louise pulled over a chair for her, moving aside several newspapers to set up a plate and cup for Rose. "There you go. I hope you like it as much as last time," she said.
"Thank you," Rose said, shoving a biscuit into her mouth.
"If you wouldn't mind, I'd like a little for myself. I had some guests over when I was supposed to have breakfast, so I missed out on eating," Victoria said.
"Of course, Victoria. The more, the merrier," Therese said, setting up some food for her rather quickly.
As Victoria sat down, she couldn't help noticing the many newspapers stacked on the table, and their contents only increased her curiosity. One of them included a picture of John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and their young son in a swimming pool, which she recalled seeing in a documentary several years before. Another included a picture of Ronald Regan, followed by the headline "Former Actor Becomes Potential U.S. Presidential Candidate", and right beside that was another article detailing Moscow's preparations for the 1980 Olympic games, which were in jeopardy of being boycotted after the USSR's decision to invade Afghanistan.
"So much news, and all of it seems as if it's trying to predict something," Victoria said, feeling chills running through her body as she looked at the newspapers once again. Having "Hotel California" playing in the background made it seem all the more eerie.
To top it all off, she then noticed a picture of the Doctor in his third incarnation, with his arm around the assistant she recognized as Sarah Jane Smith, in a headline reading "Mysterious Dinosaur Invasion Stopped by a Scientist and Journalist."
And written in what looked like red paint across one newspaper were the following words:
THE FUTURE IS NOT WORTH LOOKING FORWARD TO
