JOAN'S FLASHFORWARD

Chapter 3 What Dreams May Come

Will thought at first that something horrible was happening to his brain, possibly a stroke. He could not move, he could not see. Then something opened his eyes. He could see things, but he could not turn his head to look at them, or even focus his eyes on a particular object at will. His eyes were under the control of somebody else, or even something else. Then somehow, he realized that he had it backwards: it was not that somebody had taken control of his body, but that his mind had entered somebody else's body, and was limited to only share its senses.

It was only after he had figured that out that he actually tried to interpret what he saw.

He – or the body that he had somehow invaded – was in the local Catholic church, in the small room called the Bride's Room. He had been here once before, when Joan had her botched wedding with Adam. But the woman sitting in the main chair, in a wedding dress, was not an eighteen-year-old girl, but his daughter-in-law, Lily.

"It was so wonderful of you to agree to 'give me away', Will," said Lily.

"Most women nowadays seem to regard the idea as insulting," Will heard himself say.

"But it means you've accepted that I'm not betraying Kevin's memory."

"A memory is one thing, and the present is another. I understand that Henry is part of your life now, and so are we, just in different ways."

"Thanks. By the way, Henry has agreed to let Terry's name stay 'Teresa Girardi', even though it seemed best to let him adopt her as his legal daughter."

"A good compromise."

I haven't taken over somebody else's body. I'm me! But why are there two of me, and what the hell is happening?

KNOCKNOCKNOCK. "May I come in?" called Helen's voice.

"Sure, Helen," called out Lily.

Will's new body opened the door. The sound of the organ playing Pachibel's CANON came through. So did Helen.

"I just spotted Cute Boy God, among the guests," announced Helen.

Cute Boy WHAT?

"Nice of Him to grace us with His presence, though I suppose He's really present all the time," observed Lily. "I think He may have played Cupid earlier."

Helen chuckled. "Rather appropriate, since they're both gods."

Will's body laughed, though his mind was still bewildered. "Why do you say that, Lily?"

"The day I met Henry at the shelter, we were both helping an elderly, bearded man. I never saw that particular man again. Joan said it may have been the avatar she calls Homeless Man God." Lily sobered. "It fulfills the Biblical prophecy, doesn't it? What you do unto the least of these, you do unto Me."

"My favorite Bible verse," said Will's body. "If all religion was like that, I'd never have a quarrel with it. As it is—"

"Will, please, we're in church!" cautioned Helen.

"Don't worry, I'll behave."

FLASH.

Will was back in his own dining room. Helen was slouched in her chair, her head thrown back. Lily had fallen forward, her chest in the lasagna plate, and she had knocked over a glass of wine. The stain from the wine seemed to have been spreading over the table for a minute or two. Both women were starting to stir.

Terry started screaming.

The potential danger to his grandchild galvanized Will. He got up, and realized that he COULD get up; he was back in control of his body, which was a huge relief. He had not enjoyed the feeling of being a puppet. By the time he circled the table to reach the crib, Lily was already there, though she looked disoriented, and there were food stains all over her blouse.

"It's all right, darling – Mommy's here – Grandad too – everything's all right—" Lily cooed. Then she looked up at Will and spoke in quite a different tone. "Is it? WHAT HAPPENED TO US?"

"I don't know – what did you exper—"

Will's cell phone went off. By habit, Will opened it swiftly and adopted a no-nonsense tone. "Girardi here."

"Will, it's Carlisle," shouted his assistant's voice. Carlisle seldom shouted and never called his supervisor by his first name, but this was scarcely a normal day. "We've been attacked somehow – everybody in the station blacked out. Maybe nerve gas or something. I'm sorry to interrupt your special luncheon, but I think you better get down here."

"Something happened here, too." Will looked around. Lily was hugging Terry, who had stopped crying. Helen was sitting up, looking stunned, but at least awake. It was not a good situation, but it was no longer a crisis here. "I don't think it was nerve gas, unless somebody blanketed the whole city with it. But I'm coming down. I'll get there as soon as possible."

But today even the simplest tasks would be almost impossible---

TO BE CONTINUED.