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"Did you always eat cherry Pop-Tarts every day?" Alex asked over breakfast. Jessica laughed. "No, but I got into the habit long ago. I'm like you, I like a quick and simple breakfast, get it out of the way and get the day going. Except for the coffee, I always like to enjoy that second cup." "That makes sense. I like to get going as soon as I can after I wake up." Jessica's phone vibrated and chimed softly. She picked it up and looked at it, checked messages. "Brenda's in town." she said. "She's staying at the old Holiday Inn. We've been there before, it's a nice place. Restaurant and club and all. She can meet us any time, just let her know." "We have anything on today?" "Nothing special. Do some shopping, that's about it." "Let's go see her."
Brenda was about Jessica's age. Long black hair, she might have been one of her Cherokee ancestors. "I got a double shot," she said when Jessica commented. "Mom was, let me see, every time I try to work this out I get lost. My grandfather was in the same generation as Alex's, I think. There were a lot of large age differences between married couples in those days, more than today. Anyway, Alex, your great-grandmother was a Cherokee from the Nations. Dad went in search of his roots, and married a Cherokee woman. So I'm either a little more or less than quarter Cherokee or something like that. "I guess curiosity about our past attracts some of us, so I went back to see where Mom's family was from. I was working as a nurse on contract for a couple of hospitals here, but ended up relocating there. I work in Oklahoma City, but I spend a lot of my free time at the Tahlequah hospital. One of the doctors there is a good friend. He's a medicine man, a tradition in his family going back generations. He says maybe to the relocation from Florida. Anyway, he's a doctor who lives in both worlds. I've learned a lot from him. "Charlie told me the basic story, so I have a general picture. Why don't we go through it, start to finish?" Brenda was staying in a suite on the top floor, with a bedroom on either side of the living area. Aside from a tray with some bottles of liquor, some glasses and an ice bucket there was little to indicate that the room was occupied. Guess my second cousin however many times removed likes luxury. "Let's sit down over here and talk." Brenda said. They sat down in plush chairs around the circular marble-topped cocktail table. "OK, however you want to do it," Brenda said, "Charlie told me enough to know Alex may need some help."
"That's quite a story." Brenda said when they finished. "I wonder if anyone would believe it, if they didn't know the kind of things that go on in the business. Usually they have to experience it, and then it's too late." "Me too," Jessica said, "even though I saw enough in my few years, it still shocked me. But the pure evil of it, I'm still having trouble processing that." "Few people can." Brenda said. "Mainly because we just don't want to think, where that leads. Every person you see on the street, in the office, wherever you go, may have a monster lurking inside. We don't want to live in a world like that. Where sanity and morality are present only in a small part of the population, really. It would make you crazy." Brenda stood up and moved behind Alex. "Lean back and make yourself as comfortable and relaxed as you can." she said. "I'll see how much I can do without you having any extraneous substances in you body. If I need to dig deeper I might have you take a very mild sedative, but we'll see. Have you had any medications or consumed any alcohol?" "Just a blood pressure med." "Do you know what kind?" Jessica? "Diltiazem," Jessica replied. "It's a small dose to be taken four times a day, Alex only takes one or two. His blood pressure is normal without it, but the doctor says it won't do any harm. For what that's worth." "That's a calcium channel blocker." Brenda said. "It shouldn't cause any problems. Except in rare cases, a person can have normal blood pressure without medication. If they're willing to do what it takes to maintain their health. "OK, ready Alex?" Much as I'll ever be. "Ready." Alex closed his eyes and tried to blank his mind. He'd gotten pretty good at it during his imprisonment. He felt fingertips on his temples, lingering for a while with occasional gentle pressure, then a circular stroking motion. Brenda moved her hands down behind his ears, onto his shoulders. This supposed to make me sleepy? "You may feel a little drowsy. That's normal." Guess that answers my question. She reading my mind? What the... He knew he had awakened with a jerk, as if from interrupted sleep. Brenda came around and sat in a chair facing him. "How do you feel?" she asked. "All right, I guess." Alex replied. "No worse for sure. How long was I out? |
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