Extracted - Chapter 20 – Do Guys Have Periods Too – Part 1 of 2

 

Extracted

By Karen Singer

 

Chapter 20 – Do Guys Have Periods Too – Part 1 of 2

 

The kiss.  Kisses!  Because there had been more than one.  Stephen tried not to show it, but he couldn’t get Melody’s visit yesterday off his mind.  Especially when she had kissed him, and especially when she had hugged him.  It had been…disgusting.  Horrible!  Maybe that’s why he couldn’t stop thinking about it.  It had been so bad that…strange things were happening to him now.  Things that actually frightened him.  Especially last night.  Things he didn’t know about, but something told him he should know.

When a girl needed to know girl stuff, she naturally went to her mother.  She was pretty sure though that this was guy stuff, and something told her that this wasn’t something she should discuss with her new mom.  When guys had guy questions, did they go to their fathers?  She was fairly sure that was the case.  Like it or not, she needed to have a little talk with her new father, because she was now more confused about her new life than she had been before.  Why did everything have to be so difficult?  Why did everything have to keep getting worse?

Why couldn’t she have simply died when she had been abducted.  At least that way she wouldn’t have to worry about trying to be Stephen, not to mention so much older than she actually was.  Nancy, inside of Stephen, yearned more than ever for her old life.

As Stephen was walking down the stairs to get breakfast, he just got a glimpse of his new father heading for the door to go to work.  “Dad!” he called quickly.  It still felt weird to call him that, but what else was there?

Henry stopped and turned toward his son.  “Yeah?”

“Dad,” Stephen said again as he reached the bottom of the stairs.  “Any chance you can talk to me tonight when you get home?”

“What about?”

“Um...I think it may be a guy thing, but…I don’t really know.”

“What’s that?”

“Something kind of...embarrassing,” Steve told him.

Henry had already heard about Melody’s visit yesterday from Agatha, and she had spared none of the lurid details, so Henry had an idea of what might be on Stephen’s mind.  “Okay,” he agreed.  “I’ll try to find a few minutes, and we’ll get together later tonight.”

“Thanks Dad,” Stephen told him..  “Have a good one.”

“Yeah,” Henry replied.  He watched as Stephen headed for the kitchen to get some breakfast.  He had been considering having a talk with Stephen anyway.  If this new Stephen was going to be his son, which Henry already knew nobody was going to have a choice about, then there were some things they needed to talk about anyway.  Things that might even help somewhat with the depression Agatha kept telling him that Stephen seemed to be living with.

As he headed for his car, Henry remembered that they still needed to find a new psychiatrist for Stephen.  But who could handle what his problem really was?  The only doctor that came to mind just then was that Doctor Montcliff that they had met in the Catskills.  But she lived in New York!  Hours away!  A solution was needed, and like with everything else, he didn’t know what that solution should be.

 

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After the success of Chrissy getting together with Nancy yesterday, Wanda expected Nancy to at least mention something about it either at dinner last night or at breakfast this morning, but Nancy never said one single word about it.  But that was yesterday, and today was today.  And today she had something else lined up to try and help her daughter.

The old Nancy had loved dancing.  Particularly ballet.  It was time this new Nancy at least gained some knowledge of it, and more importantly, learned to move a bit better.  Wanda wasn’t sure this Nancy moved like a girl at all.  She guessed she did, but there were simply too many little things that she would have expected that Nancy would do differently.  But then, all those little different things were feminine things and gestures that she was sure no boy in the world would even think about.  But girls, all women, were different.  Women noticed things.  So, ballet was the beginning.

She still hadn’t told Nancy yet.  She was still trying to sneak all this up on her without coming out and saying it.  Nancy getting together with Chrissy yesterday had been part of it, the dancing lesson today was another part.  Hopefully, without coming out and simply telling her, Nancy needed to accept that she was most likely going to be stuck being a girl, a female…she was going to be Nancy, for her entire life.  Right now, nobody saw any way around that.  It was time that Nancy saw that too and started to accept that fact.  Which meant that Nancy needed to learn how to be a girl, and act like a girl, and actually put some effort into it, like it, or not.  And Wanda already knew that Nancy wasn’t going to like it one bit.  She was too much of a boy inside.  A boy who had been the epitome of all boy!  A boy who had been practically a man.

Wanda still couldn’t imagine how that boy inside her daughter had to feel about being a little twelve year old girl now.  But then, nobody liked it, especially Wanda herself.  Her daughter was there, but the reality was, she had lost her youngest daughter, as if she had actually died.

She watched as Nancy and Emily finished their breakfasts, rinsed their dishes, and put them into the dishwasher.  Nancy was starting to turn to go upstairs when Wanda stopped her.  “Nancy!”

“Yeah Mom?”  Calling her Mom was starting to become normal.  Maybe even a habit.

“I just wanted to warn you that I made some arrangements for you for this afternoon.”

“Arrangements?”

“Yes.  Whether you like it or not, your ballet teacher, Mrs. Cutter, will be coming to the house here to give you some private lessons.”

Nancy’s eyes nearly bulged out of her head.  “Ballet?  You’ve got to be kidding!  I don’t want to take ballet lessons.”

“I already know that, but like it or not dear, it’s going to happen.”

“Why?”

“Because whether you think so or not, I’m hoping they’ll help you.”

“Help me with what?”

“Life dear!  Life!  Face it, you’re going crazy and this could very well help.”

“I doubt it.  I doubt it very much!”

“Besides,” Wanda added.  “You could use the exercise.  All you do is sit around and do nothing.”

Nancy’s jaw dropped open for a moment.  “And you expect to make me do this?”

“If need be, yes.  I’m hoping though that you’ll at least give it a try.  Besides, what else have you got to do today?  Any plans?”

Nancy wasn’t sure what to do.  “I guess I’ve got plans now.”  With that, she headed straight up to her room.

Wanda was happy.  That had gone better than she expected.

 

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“Mom, please can I go shopping with my friends?”

“I don’t know Em,” Wanda told her.

“But Mom….”

“Emily, have you picked up all those dolls in your room yet?”

“What?  Mom, have you blown a gasket?  I got rid of all my dolls years ago!”

“Then have you cleaned your room and done your homework?”

“Homework!  Mom, what the heck?  School hasn’t even started yet.”

“Then I guess as long as you promise to be safe then….”  Wanda stopped and sighed.  “Sorry Em.  Yes you can go.  I just…  After Nancy was kidnapped, I can’t help but worry about you more than ever.  Can you at least try to be safe?  Stay close to all your friends?  Not wander or be alone…ever?”

“Mom, we’ll stay together.  Don’t worry about me.  I’ll be fine.  I promise.”

Wanda nodded.  She knew she had to let her go sometime.  “I’ll give you some money to spend.  Just…have a good time, but be safe.  Okay?”

“Sure Mom.  Thanks.  And Mom, stop worrying so much about Nancy.  Give her some time for heaven’s sake.  But I do think that Chrissy yesterday was a good idea.  Maybe you should consider inviting her over more.”

“I plan to,” Wanda told her.  “But today Nancy’s got other things to worry about.”

“What things?”

“Mrs. Cutter is coming here to the house in a little while to start giving her private dancing lessons.”

Emily’s eyes bulged.  “That Nancy?”

“Who else?”

Emily shook her head.  “I almost wish I was staying so I could see that.”

“So stay.”

“Are you kidding?  I’m going!  In fact, I’m already gone.”

“Did you want that money I promised you?”

“Oh yeah.  Yes!”

“Then give me a minute.”

“No problem,” Emily told her.  “I’ve still got to get dressed anyway, and then Stacy is picking me up in half an hour.”

While Emily headed for her room, Wanda climbed up to her bedroom to grab her purse.  She pulled a hundred dollars out for Emily to enjoy herself with and headed for her room.  Before turning into Emily’s bedroom, she glanced into Nancy’s room.  Nancy was in there doing what she often seemed to do lately, sitting on the floor with her back up against the bed, doing nothing.  Wanda went into Emily’s room and handed off the money to her half-dressed older daughter.  Then she went over into Nancy’s room.

“Is she here?” Nancy asked, obviously not looking forward to it.

“Not yet.  But soon.”

Nancy nodded.  “Do I have to wear anything special for this?”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.  I’ve got...I mean the other me had gobs of clothes that I’m guessing were for dancing.”

“She had…you’ve got gobs of clothes, period!  If you like, pick something.  I’d enjoy seeing you in something different.  Otherwise, what you’ve got on is fine.”

“Good!  I like this.”

“You might want to grab a pair of ballet shoes though.”

“A pair of what?”

“Ballet shoes.  Here,” she said.  “I’ll show you.”  She went to Nancy’s closet and hunted among the many dancing shoes in there and found one of the pairs she was talking about.  She threw the light slippers with the elastic straps to her daughter.  “Just bring them downstairs with you.  In fact, you might want to head down there now before she comes.  We’re paying her by the hour, and I’d rather not pay her to wait for you to mope your way all the way down there.”

Nancy banged her head against the bed in frustration.

“Go!” Wanda told her.

Nancy grabbed the slippers in her hand and climbed her way to her feet.  With her mother leading the way downstairs, she followed, but she kept going all the way down to the basement level of the house to where the dance floor was.  She picked up a cue stick and practiced playing pool while she waited.  A little while later, she heard people coming down the stairs.  She saw her mother and another woman.  A nice-looking woman wearing workout clothes.

“Nancy!” the woman greeted her as if she was happy to see her.

“Nance,” her mother said.  “This is Sonya Cutter.”

“Hi,” Nancy said to her.

Sonya turned to Wanda.  “She certainly looks like her old self.  From what you described, I was afraid she might look sick or something.

“I am sick,” Nancy told her.  “In my head!  Otherwise I’m...fine.”

Sonya took that in for a moment.  “Good.  Then perhaps we should see where we need to start.”  Her eyes now noticed the nice dance floor set up further into the room, complete with mirrors on the walls and a ballet barre mounted on the wall.  “Oh my,” she said.  “This is perfect.  Come on Nancy.  Let’s take advantage of it.”

Sonya took a minute to study the music system, then found some recent pop music.  She turned it on.  “Come on Nance, let’s dance!”  With that, she moved out onto the dance floor and started moving around, dancing to the music and having fun.  “Come on Nancy,” she urged.  “Dance with me.”

Stephen inside of Nancy considered that he wouldn’t mind dancing with the attractive woman at all.  He just didn’t want to do it in Nancy’s body.  Still, he moved out onto the dance floor and tried to…dance.

“That’s it Nancy,” Sonya told her.  “Let loose.  Enjoy yourself.”  A minute later, she suggested, “Nancy, use your arms more!  Loosen up.”  When the song ended, she shut the sound system off.  “Okay,” she said, already knowing what she was working with.  This was certainly not the old Nancy.  Not by any stretch of the imagination.  This Nancy’s arms, and especially her hands, didn’t move right.  They just looked…strange.  “Put your dancing shoes on while I find us some soft ballet music.”

For the next hour, Nancy suffered through everything from how to stand, to holding onto the barre while she did weird knee bends.  Sonya corrected what she was doing often, paying most of her attention to Nancy’s arms and especially her hands and how she moved and posed them.  Over and over she had say, “Nancy!  Hands!” or “Nancy!  Flowing…graceful,” and then she would help Nancy do the movement again until it looked at least somewhat better.

By the time Sonya left, Nancy was not only tired, but she hated ballet more than ever.

 

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Extracted - Chapter 19 – Friends and Lovers – Part 2 of 2

 

Extracted

By Karen Singer

 

Chapter 19 – Friends and Lovers – Part 2 of 2

 

In Philadelphia, the doorbell rang and Agatha hurried to answer it.  When she opened the door, she was shocked.  “Melody.  What are you doing here?”

“I came to see Stephen, and he’s not going to put me off any longer!”

“Melody, I told you, Stephen is not himself.  Seeing him is not a good idea.”

“I don’t care!  I love him and I’m going to see him.  Now where is he?”

“Melody, I promise you, if you see him, Stephen won’t know you.  He doesn’t even know who he is.”

Melody pushed her way inside.  “I’ll make him remember me.  Now where is he?”

Against her better judgement, Agatha pointed towards the back of the house.  “In the backyard right now.  But Melody, I don’t recommend that you go anywhere near him right now.”

“Ha!” Melody exclaimed as she made a beeline for the backdoor.

Stephen was out in the backyard, totally bored with his new life.  With nothing better to do, he was trying to throw a basketball into the net attached to the basketball backstop set up against part of the patio.  He wasn’t exactly being successful.  Still, he was bored out of his mind.

He heard the backdoor open and turned in that direction.  But instead of seeing his new mother, he saw a girl coming out instead.  Who was this?

“Stephen!” Melody called to him, then she waved.

Not having a clue who she was, Stephen just stood there and stared at her.

“Steve.  It’s me, Melody.”

Melody?  Didn’t someone say he was supposed to have a girlfriend named Melody?  Was this her?  He didn’t have a clue.

Shaking her head, Melody literally stomped her way over to him.  “Stephen Marsh.  Don’t you ignore me like that.  I love you!”

“You love me?” Stephen asked.

“Of course, you idiot!”  With that, she grabbed him, pulled his head down and planted a huge kiss on his lips.  Stephen, being Nancy inside, was immediately offended and scared.  He jerked his body away from her.  “What are you doing?” he demanded as he wiped his lips with his hand.

“Stephen, don’t you go telling me you don’t remember me, ‘cause I don’t believe you.”

“I don’t care what you believe,” Stephen told her.  “I don’t have a clue who you are.”

“I’m Melody, idiot.  Melody!  Your girlfriend.  Now give me a proper kiss.  Maybe that will help you to remember.”

“Oh hell no!” Stephen said, backing away.  “I don’t want to kiss you for anything!”

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Melody demanded as she moved in and wrapped her arms around him.  “Stephen, I love you, baby.  You’re mine!  I love you.  Please remember me.  Please.  I can’t live without you.”

Stephen didn’t know what to say to any of it.  He just wanted away from this weird woman.  “Stop…” he started to say, when she grabbed his head again and pulled him down for another kiss on his lips.  But once again he didn’t kiss her back, and pulled away.

Still trying to hold his head, she looked up into his eyes, but all she saw was uncertainty and fear, no recognition of her at all.  “Steve?  Steve?” she said.  “Are you in there?”

“Let me go!” Steve replied as he pried her arms from around him and moved further away.  “Geez!  What the hell was that?  Disgusting!”  Once again he wiped his lips with his hand.

“Disgust…” Melody started to say.  She watched him, looking again into his face, but she realized he didn’t recognize her at all.  Not one bit.  “You really don’t know me,” she said softly.

“No.  I don’t!” Steve replied firmly.  “And after that, I don’t think I want to.  Geez!”

“How can you say that?” she demanded.

“Easy!  What’s with all the kissing stuff?  I hate it.”

“You hate it?  You never did before.  You couldn’t get enough of me.  Ever!”

“Well I can tell you right now that I’ve already had enough of you.  Please, just go away.  I was already miserable.  I don’t need another girl trying to kiss me, especially not on the lips!”

Melody took a step backwards as the full realization hit her.  She took a few more steps back away from him, still watching him closely.  He still didn’t act like he wanted her to be anywhere near him.  She had never felt so rejected in her life.  Finally, she turned and walked back toward the house.  She saw Steve’s mother standing just outside the door, watching them.

“I told you,” Agatha said to her.

Melody stopped.  “He’s not there,” she said.  “He’s really not there.”

“No.  Trust me, he’s not.  And the doctors are fairly certain it’s going to be permanent.  He doesn't know you.  He doesn’t know us.  He doesn't know anybody.  But more than that, he doesn't even know who he is…at all.  He has no memory of his life at all.  Right now, he’s completely lost, and we’re at our wits end as to how to help him.

Melody took that in, then looked back at Stephen who was still standing there watching them.  She shook her head.  “The rumors said he had lost his memory, but I didn’t think it was this bad.”

“Well it is,” Agatha told her.  “We may be lucky to have as much of him as we do, which is really nothing but his physical body.  The rest of him is…for all intents and purposes, dead.”

Melody’s eyes went wide at that, then she nodded and turned toward the door.  She stopped though and turned back toward Stephen.  “Bye Steve,” she said softly and gave him a small wave of her hand.  “I really did love you.  I’ll miss you.”  She looked at Agatha.  “Bye,” she said simply, then she headed into the house and out the front door.

Stephen walked up to his new mother.  “That was weird.”

“It didn’t look like you appreciated the kisses she tried to give you.  That kind of surprised me.”

“Are you kidding?  I’m still Nancy inside.  I don’t want another girl kissing me on the lips like that.”

Agatha breathed one soft word.  “Oh.”

 

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The government committee would meet one more time in the next couple of days to discuss and finalize their report before meeting with the President to hand it over.  Even though the full individual conclusions of the committee had yet to be finalized, Curmett already knew that all three of them were thinking along the exact same lines.  It was only their individual areas of expertise that were needed now so that it could all be combined into one final document.

But Curmett was the National Security Advisor.  The bottom-line conclusion was up to him.  He pulled up his computer and began typing a rough draft of what he needed to say.  He didn’t type three of the words yet, but he already knew that the document would have the words, “Confirmed Viable Threat” at the very top.  But his job now was to finalize his part, the end of the report.  He typed:

 

It is the conclusion of this committee that as unlikely as it may seem, someone has managed to perfect some kind of process that can extract the entire memories, personality, and sense of identity from a person, and transfer all of that into someone else, completely removing the original identity of the second subject in the process.

We have no knowledge if the process automatically erases the identity of the new host person by placing the new identity into that person, or if the original identity becomes erased due to the new information being injected.  In the two subjects we have examined, we could find no trace at all of the original identities within each of their physical bodies.

We also have no proof that the new identity can be placed into a host, while allowing the original identity to also remain.  We are all inclined to believe however that such a situation would simply be too confusing for any one person to manage and would most likely result in either severe mental trauma, or possibly death.  It should be noted though that doing such a thing to a person might be used as a weapon, however, a simple gunshot would be easier, faster, and cheaper.

This committee can only conclude that whoever has done this has used the current subjects to show us that the transfer process can be made from anyone at all and the identity can then be placed into anyone else.  Age, and even sex have no bearing on it.  The old identity is somehow removed and is completely replaced by the new one, no matter what physical factors exist in the new host.

With only these two examples so far, we do not know if the process of transference is only a one-to-one occurrence…that is that it can only be done from one person into one other person, or if the transference can be from one host identity into many new hosts.  However, when you take into consideration the equipment and computing power that must be involved for such a thing, it is more likely that that once an identity is extracted from the original host, it can then be placed into any number of succeeding hosts, rendering multiple mental copies of the original for whatever purposes someone should have.

It should be noted here that one other possibility for this process may be possible as well, and may indeed have been the root of the research behind the creation of the process.  Just as in many science fiction stories, someone may have intended the process as a way to either extend someone’s life, or to enable them to live forever.  By having their identity and memories extracted once they get old or ill, and then transferring all of that into a new younger and healthier host would be like granting someone a second lifetime, complete with their entire original identity intact.

We the committee are at a loss at this time to explain why whoever came up with the process should bother to show us what they can do instead of simply using it against us.  The only possible conclusion we can draw from what little we have seen so far is that whoever has this process is more inclined at this time to use it as some form of blackmail in order to gain something in the future.

We need to keep in mind however, that it could be used against this country in other ways and at any time.  The process could easily be used on prisoners of war so that when returned, the prisoners would actually be foreign agents.  Or the process could be used to overwrite the identity of a government leader or official with someone who has been carefully trained to either spy on this country or take over its leadership.  Finally, the process could be used to inject adverse agents into the population to cause chaos, unrest, and even a civil uprising.  Too little is known so far about their intentions.

 

Final Conclusion:

 

As stated at the top of this document, our final conclusion is that a viable threat does exist against this country, and that for reasons unknown, whoever has developed this process wants us to know what they’re capable of.

 

Recommendations:

 

With the limited information we have been shown by these examples, we have only two recommendations at this time.

Firstly, whoever has this process must be found and either stopped, or at the very least watched carefully, no matter where in the world they are or what government is sponsoring it.  As to going to war over it, that is not within the purview of this committee.

And secondly, we all feel strongly that any knowledge of this process, and what the perpetrators have accomplished, should be classified with the highest level of secrecy so as to prevent civil panic.

As deplorable as it sounds, to further minimize knowledge of what has occurred, it might be wise to terminate all those who have knowledge of this situation.  This should include both the victims and their entire families, the two psychiatrists involved, the police detective, and any FBI agents who have knowledge of the case.  A black ops strategy to handle these people may be the best way to fully ensure that no one other than select government personnel can be aware of it.

In the event that termination of these people is not condoned, we recommend that each of the people involved be made firmly aware of the consequences of letting anyone else know about it. 

We would like to note that the psychiatrist, Doctor Isabella Montcliff, not only knows about the process already since it was she who alerted the government to its existence, but she has herself come to many of the same conclusions stated in this study.  If termination is not approved, we recommend that Doctor Montcliff should be the sole psychiatrist to work with both subjects so as to not only minimize anyone else from gaining knowledge, but so that she can report all findings to the government in case further information can be learned about the process, the effects, or who has been using it.

The second psychiatrist who worked briefly with one of the subjects, Doctor Christopher Faucet, has already been dropped by the Marsh family.  This committee is convinced that he does not believe any such process exists.  As Doctor Blake has concluded, he seems to be a poor psychiatric choice, perhaps for all of his patients.

 

It wasn’t often that terminating, killing, innocent people was called for, but it had been done more times than most people would believe.  Black ops groups were the standard procedure to carry those orders out.  And they were good at it.  Nobody ever knew those people were murdered.  They were all staged to look like tragic accidents.  That was what Curmett expected would happen to all the people they had interviewed at that Catskill resort.

No matter what, Curmett had no doubt that behind the scenes, unknown to anyone else, the government teams would begin scouring the world for whoever had managed to create such a diabolical process.  Curmett also had no doubt that they would eventually find that a government somewhere was behind it.

Extracted - Chapter 19 – Friends and Lovers – Part 1 of 2

 

Extracted

By Karen Singer

 

Chapter 19 – Friends and Lovers – Part 1 of 2

 

At breakfast the next morning, Wanda watched Nancy carefully.  To all appearances, Nancy seemed to be her old…well, her new old self.  She certainly wasn’t the old Nancy by any stretch of the imagination.  Still, at least last night’s tirade seemed to be behind her now.  In truth, Wanda wasn’t sure she could blame Nancy for it at all.  How would she react under the same circumstances?  It took very little thought to realize that Nancy might kill herself.  She certainly hoped Nancy wasn’t thinking along those lines.

She and her husband had spent a long time last night discussing what they should do about Nancy.  Nancy’s tirade had made it very clear that something had to be done soon.  But what?  As things stood right now, they would have to remove her from school for a while.  But each of them had realized that removing her from school would also leave Nancy as alone as she was now.  They both felt that her being so alone and bored all the time was doing nothing but compounding her problems.  How do you help a young girl, who is in reality a seventeen year old boy?

“As I see it,” Mike had told his wife last night, “she’s going to have no choice.”

Wanda shook her head.  “I know.  No matter how we look at it, it has to happen.  It has to be that way.  We’ve just got to make her understand that.”

“Not after the way she behaved tonight,” Mike told her.

“That makes it much more difficult,” Wanda admitted.  “But still, it’s going to need to be done.”

“Is there any way we can just sneak her into it?  Let her realize it herself?”

Wanda considered that.  “I don’t know.  But I do know that right now, talking to her about it might do nothing more than upset her more than she already is.”

“Maybe it won’t,” Mike suggested.

“Maybe, but I doubt it,” Wanda replied.  “You saw her tonight.  You were the one who talked her down.  Thanks for that by the way.  You were…great.”

Mike shook his head.  “Maybe we should get some advice from someone else.”

“Like who?”

“How about her psychiatrist?”

“I guess I can call her and ask,” Wanda replied.  “I can’t see where asking can hurt anything at all.”

“Go for it,” Mike suggested.

Wanda realized what she already subconsciously knew.  Her husband was leaving all the work and responsibility to her.  As usual.

Once the breakfast dishes had been cleaned and the girls were upstairs straightening up their rooms, Wanda pulled out her cellphone and called Doctor Montcliff.  “Doctor,” she said as soon as she got the woman on the line.  “I’m afraid that Nancy had a bit of a tirade last night.  A bad one.”

“What happened?” Montcliff asked, fully concerned.

“She went into some kind of major rage and was screaming her head off and pounding the pillows on her bed as hard as she could.”

“Did she hurt herself?”

“No.  Fortunately.  But Mike and I both realized that we’ve got to do something to help her.  She feels like when she woke up as Nancy, she lost everything in her life, and evidently it was a lot.  Now, I think all the changes are eating her alive.  We’re wondering if you had any suggestions.”

“None I can think of right now,” Montcliff told her.  “We can discuss it when I see her again.”

“Yes, but what about until then?”

“It’s only going to be a few days,” Montcliff reminded her.  “I still want to keep seeing her as often as possible, and after having a tirade like that, I’m sure it’s more important than ever.”

“Mike and I decided we’re going to remove her from school for now, but at the same time, we know that’s going to leave her more alone and bored than ever.  What do you think?”

“Right now, Nancy would never survive in school.  She isn’t what she looks like, and how do you think the other kids in school would react to her.  Plus, her school knowledge is way above them.”

“Yeah.  So we pull her out for sure,” Wanda agreed.

“At least for now,” Montcliff told her.  “Later, when she’s had a chance to adjust more, it might be a different situation.”

“Hopefully,” Wanda agreed, considering that.  “What if…” she said, trying to think things through.

“What?” Montcliff asked.

“Do you think Nancy might be able to get along if I bring in just one of her old friends?”

“I don’t really know.  I think that would depend on the friend.  I’m sure she would have to know that Nancy isn’t exactly Nancy anymore.  Another thing she might need is a lot of patience.  In fact, maybe not so much patience, but she may need to be stubborn.  Patience and stubborn both.  Otherwise, Nancy might chase her away.”

“Yeah,” Wanda said, considering all that.  “I’ll think about it.”

“Good, and we can discuss it when you come here next.”

“Thanks,” Wanda told her.  She hung up the phone and spent the next little while considering everything.  She finally decided on two courses of action to help her youngest daughter.

Her first phone call went to the local dance academy where Nancy had been taking ballet lessons since she was six.  “Hello, Sonya?” Wanda said once she got the owner to answer.  “This is Wanda Stiller.”

“Wanda!  I heard about your daughter being kidnapped.  My husband and I were absolutely shocked.  And then you got her back.  How is she?”

“Not good,” Wanda admitted.  “And that’s why I’m calling.  I’d like to see if I can get your help.”

“Anything,” Sonya told her.

“Well, you haven’t heard the problem yet.”

“Problem?”

“Sonya, when we got Nancy back, she no longer remembered anything at all about her life.  Nothing.  Not us.  Not her friends.  Not even herself.  She didn’t know who she is, and she still doesn’t.  And she absolutely doesn’t act like herself either.”

“Oh my!  What do the doctors say?”

“That it looks like it may be permanent.  Whatever happened to her while she was gone simply left her as a totally blank slate.  I think we’re lucky to have what we do.”

“Wanda, I’m so sorry.  That’s horrible!  I can’t even imagine it.  What are you doing about it?”

“A couple of things to start,” Wanda told her.  “And you’re the first.”

“Me?”

“Yes.  Sonya, you know how much Nancy loved ballet.”

“She certainly did,” Sonya agreed.

“Right now, Nancy doesn’t know a thing about it anymore and couldn’t care less about it.  What I want to know is if you’ll agree to give her some private lessons.”

“In ballet?  Sure.  Why not.  Maybe it will jog her memory a bit.”

“I seriously doubt it,” Wanda told her.  “Sonya, please know that it looks like none of her memories are going to come back at all, even though it’s our greatest wish.”

“Okay,” Sonya said.  “Let me check my schedule.  I know how busy you and your family are.”

“Wait Sonya,” Wanda told her quicky.  “There’s a few other conditions to this.”

“Conditions?” Sonya said hesitantly.

“Yes.  It’s very important for my husband that nothing of what happened to Nancy gets out.  Or at least, as little as possible.  Because of that, would you be willing to come here to the house to work with her?”

Sonya considered that.  “I guess I can try,” she agreed hesitantly.  “Whether or not we continue may depend on how it goes.”

“That’s fair,” Wanda agreed.  “Right now, Nancy is doing nothing at all but sitting around and moping, feeling sorry for herself.”

“Wanda, dance could very well help her.  But have you considered perhaps other forms of dance besides ballet?”

“I never thought of it,” Wanda replied.

“Tell you what.  Let’s set up a time for me to get there and let me work with her for a bit.  I don’t know if I can help her, but at the least we can maybe give her something to occupy her blank mind for a bit.”

“Good enough,” Wanda told her.  “When do you think you can come?”

Sonya checked her calendar.  “Um…if you like, I can come tomorrow right after lunch.  Will that work for you?”

“Perfect!” Wanda told her.  “Thanks Sonya.  I appreciate it.”  She ended the call and considered things.  Now all she had to do was give the bad news to Nancy.  Nancy wasn’t going to like it, but it was for her own good.  But first, she had one more call to make.

She punched the buttons on her phone to connect the call.  This one to a woman she knew well.  Since the woman’s daughter had been to the house any number of times, and Nancy had been to her house, Wanda looked at the girl as being one of Nancy’s best friends.  Consequently, she knew Rhonda, the girl’s mother, fairly well.  She heard the phone ringing.

“Hello?”

“Rhonda.  It’s Wanda.”

“Wanda!  Oh gee!  I’ve been afraid to call since we heard that Nancy had been kidnapped.  But we heard she’s back now.  Is she okay?”

“Not exactly.”

“Oh no.  What happened?”

“Rhonda.  I  hate to say it, but Nancy lost her memory during that abduction.  And I mean all her memory.  And the doctors think it’s probably going to be permanent.”

“Permanent!  Oh Wanda!  I don’t know what to say except, that’s beyond horrible.”

As she had explained to Sonya, Wanda told her that right now, Nancy didn’t remember anything about her life, or her friends, or even herself.  She didn’t even act like herself.

“Oh Wanda!  That’s so severe!  Totally!  How did it happen?”

“We don’t know for sure, but we think it had to do with whatever drugs they gave her while she was gone.  We simply don’t know for sure.”

“What are you doing about it?”

“Right now?  Calling you to see if you and maybe Chrissy can give me a bit of help.”

“Chrissy?”

“She’s one of Nancy’s few friends.  She’s been here to the house and Nancy’s been to your house.  I just need to know if Chrissy would be willing to just try talking to Nancy and maybe try to keep her company.  But Rhonda, Chrissy would have to realize that Nancy isn’t going to be herself.  She won’t even act like herself.  And she certainly won’t remember who she is.  But if she can just be a bit of company to Nancy for even a little while, it may be a good thing.  At this point, we just need to know if she’s going to be able to be around other girls her age.”

“If she’s going to be able?” Rhonda asked with some concern.  “Wanda, school starts in a few weeks.”

“Nancy won’t be going to school.  We know that for a fact.  But right now, we just want to know how she’s going to be around other kids.  Rhonda, right now Nancy is so depressed and lost because she doesn’t know anything that I don’t know where to begin helping her.  I’m just hoping that maybe someone more her age can bring a little interest into her life for just a few minutes.”

 “Wanda, right now, I’m really not sure.  Please, let me think about it and call you back.  Okay?”

“That’s all I can ask Rhonda,” Wanda told her.  “And Rhonda.  Either way.  Thanks.”

“Sure.  Talk to you later.”

Wanda hung up the phone.  Well, that hadn’t gone as well as she had hoped.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Lunch was over and with nothing better to do, Nancy went back to her room and sat on the floor with her back against the bed.  Her head was pretty much blank since she was trying her best to temporarily block out the memories of everything that she used to be and that were now gone.  Basically, her entire life.  Had she really died and wound up in this body?  In her opinion, she’d much rather have stayed dead.  Why hadn’t she?  She didn’t know and didn’t care.  She just wanted it all to end.

“Nance,” a soft voice came from the doorway to her bedroom.

Nancy looked up and got a bit of a shock.  There was a girl standing there.  A girl about her own age.  She looked at the girl curiously, but said nothing, still trying to figure out why she was there.

“Nancy?  Do you remember me?” the girl asked.

“Sorry,” Nancy said, not really caring.  “Not a clue.”

The girl nodded.  “They said you wouldn’t remember.  Can I come in?”

Nancy shrugged.  “Why not?”

The girl came in and sat cross-legged on the floor in front of her.  “Hi,” she said brightly.  “I’m Chrissy.  Your best friend.”  She stuck her hand out for Nancy to shake.

Best friend?  Nobody had mentioned Chrissy to her yet.  Still, Nancy reached out tentatively and shook her hand.  “They say I’m Nancy,” she replied.

“Yeah, you are.”

Nancy knew right away that she couldn’t let this girl know anything at all about her being Stephen.  She was also going to have to be very careful about everything she said.  “I don’t remember being Nancy, or even who she is,” Nancy said to her.  “Sorry.”

“Yeah,” Chrissy replied.  “I don’t know what that must be like.”

“Not fun,” Nancy told her.

“I’m sure,” Chrissy replied.  “What are you doing?”

“Before you came?  A lot of nothing.  That’s all I ever do is a lot of nothing, because I don’t know anything.  I’m not even interested in anything.”

“How can you not be interested in anything?”

Nancy shrugged.  “I don’t know.  I guess I’m not interested because I don’t understand things.”

Chrissy wasn’t sure what that meant.  “I just thought that maybe you might want to talk…like we always do.”

“I don’t know what we always do.”

“Yeah.  I forgot.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to talk,” Nancy explained.  “It’s just…what can we talk about?  That’s the problem.”

Chrissy realized that.  “Yeah.  Believe it or not, that makes sense.”

“So who are you?” Nancy asked.

“Me?”

“Well, I can’t tell you about me.”

Chrissy giggled.  “Yeah.  I guess not.”

“You said you’re my best friend.  I wish I could remember.”

“Nance!  I used to come to your house a lot.  And you came to mine.”

“I did?”

“Yeah.  Of course.”

“We didn’t go anywhere else?”

“We went shopping with some of the other girls once,” Chrissy told her.  “But mostly, we see each other at school and that’s it.”

“At school.”

“Yeah.  Uh…Nancy.  Are you going to school?  It starts soon.”

“I don’t know.  When I think about school, I can’t even picture it.  I get a sense of a bunch of kids, but that’s it.  What do you do at school?”

“Learn stuff of course.”

“Learn stuff?  Like…”

“But mostly, I guess we hang out and talk.”

“Hang out?”

“Yeah.  You know, get together with the kids you know.”

“I don’t know anybody, except you now.”

Chrissy leaned forward mischievously.  “Not even Wyatt?”

“Who’s Wyatt?” Nancy asked.

“Who’s Wyatt?” Chrissy exclaimed as if she was in disbelief.  “Nance!  You’ve got a huge crush on him.”

“I’ve got a crush on Wyatt?” Nancy exclaimed.  “But who is he?”

“The boy you’re absolutely in love with, dummy!” Chrissy said as she started giggling.

Nancy couldn’t picture that.  She also couldn’t help herself.  With Chrissy giggling in front of her, she herself started to laugh.

“Everything okay in here?”

Nancy and Chrissy looked up to see Emily standing in the doorway.  “We’re fine,” Nancy replied with a wave of her hand.

“Chrissy?” Emily asked the other girl in the room.

“I’m good,” Chrissy told her.

“Okay,” Emily said, unable to believe that Chrissy was even there.  “I’m just going to go check in with my mother.”

“She’s in the kitchen with my mom, drinking coffee,” Chrissy told her.  “I’m only supposed to stay for a couple of minutes to see how it goes.”

“Okay,” Emily told her.  “I’ll just…go check.”  She left, heading toward the stairs.  As Chrissy had told her, she found her mother and Chrissy’s mother in the kitchen drinking coffee.  “Uh…Mom?”

“Yes dear?” Wanda replied.

“Chrissy is up with Nancy.”

“Are there any problems?” Rhonda asked, immediately concerned.  She started to get up.  “Maybe I better get her.”

“They’re fine,” Emily told her.  “But…”

“But what?” Rhonda said, on her feet now, ready to rush up the stairs.

Emily ignored her and turned to her mother.  “Mom, you won’t believe it.”

“What?” Wanda asked.

“I just heard Nancy laugh.  It was real short, but she and Chrissy were laughing.”

“Thank God!” Wanda breathed a sigh of relief.  “Maybe miracles do happen.”  She turned to Rhonda who was still ready to rush upstairs.  “Another cup of coffee?  Maybe we can leave them for a few more minutes.”

Rhonda considered that, then sat back down.  “Sure,” she said.  “Why not.”

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Extracted - Chapter 18 – Can I Ask You A Question – Part 2 of 2

 

Extracted

By Karen Singer

 

Chapter 18 – Can I Ask You A Question – Part 2 of 2

 

As soon as everyone had concluded their lunch, the experts asked for Congressman Stiller’s daughter first, just so that the congressman and his family could get out of there as soon as possible.  When Nancy went into the room, both the congressman and his wife tried to go in with her.  All three men were quick to stop them.  So did Agent Rosenberg who was already in the room.

“You’re not going to allow us to be there?” Mike Stiller protested.  “Nancy is only twelve!  That’s illegal!”

“Congressman Stiller,” Curmett replied.  “Illegal or not has nothing to do with this.  National security trumps everything!  We were tasked by the president to determine if this situation could possibly pose any kind of threat at all to our nation’s security.  That’s exactly what we’re trying to do.  Don’t worry, we’re not going to browbeat those children or harm them in any way at all.  We just want to talk to them…as thoroughly as we possibly can.  And I mean thoroughly!  As we see it, those two children are the key to everything.  They’re the only ones who can unlock what we need to know.”

“Besides,” Doctor Blake told him, “Agent Rosenberg here will be sitting in on the entire process to make sure your daughter remains just fine.”

The three government men didn’t seem to be backing down, despite Mike trying to throw his congressional weight around.  It seemed the president of the United States had more weight than he did.  Nancy was soon sequestered with the three men, with Rosenberg sitting nearby to observe.

“Hi Nancy,” Curmett said to the young girl.  “I’m sorry this is taking so long, and I fear your portion is going to take even longer.  Most likely much longer.”

“We’ve got your school records,” Doctor Blake told her, “and we want to do some additional testing to see how much your school memory may have been affected.”

“But first…” Holfstrom said, “we’d like you to tell us everything you can remember, right from before you were abducted.”

“What I remember of being kidnapped?” Stephen inside of Nancy’s body replied.  “Nothing.  Not one little thing.  I went to bed in my own body…in Philadelphia!  And I woke up in this body, in a hospital in New York.  And I haven’t got the first clue how I got there, not to mention I’d really like to know how I can get back to my own body where I belong.”

“We’d like to see that too,” Holfstrom told him.  “Very much.  We just haven’t figured out how yet.”

“You said you were a physicist from MIT.  That means you’ve got to be really smart.  Figure something out!”

“I’m trying,” Holfstrom told him.  “Believe me, I’m trying.”

Curmett knew he had to move the girl along.  “Okay Nancy.  Tell me about waking up in the hospital.  What do you remember?”

Little by little, Nancy told them every tiny thing she could piece together from her time in the hospital.  Her constant dizziness.  Her confusion over who she was as her brain seemed to go back and forth between the two identities, and finally the dizziness subsiding as she was only Stephen, and not able to remember anything at all about being Nancy, other than a few brief glimpses of memories that had happened inside her hospital room.  Nothing more of Nancy was in her head at all.

The experts tried hard to probe into that, attempting to help her remember anything at all about being Nancy, but nothing they could think to try did any good at all.  As far as any of them could conclude, for all intents and purposes, Nancy simply wasn’t in the little girl’s head, but they had no doubts at all that Steven certainly seemed to be.  They had already listened to the testimony from everyone else telling them that Nancy was somehow Stephen and that Stephen was somehow Nancy, but now talking directly with Nancy and hearing her answers for themselves had them all quite disturbed.

After that, all three experts came up with questions for Nancy based on her school records, that they all figured she should know.  There were a few mistakes on minor things, but overall, it appeared they were dealing with someone far above the seventh grade level, including a semi-easy calculus problem that Holfstrom asked him to write out and solve.  Stephen inside of Nancy’s head had no problem solving it after taking pre-calculus in high school the year before.  Besides, he loved math, and he told them so.

Two hours later, Stephen walked out of the room and everyone took a break.  Then it was Stephen’s turn.  Stephen, who was actually twelve year old Nancy.  Instead of Rosenberg watching, this time Detective Nolan sat in on the proceedings.

After introducing themselves, Doctor Blake immediately asked, “What can you tell us about football?”

“I hate it!” Stephen told them firmly.  “It’s the stupidest game on the planet.”

Just that much alone told all three of them that they were dealing with a younger mind here.  As they had been doing all day, they led Stephen through a world of questions, picking apart his answers to get more detail, and prying into things that Stephen either had no clue about since they were questions that only the real Stephen would know, or giving them a wealth of information about things that he knew all about since they involved his prior life as Nancy.

When the school questions came, there were simply too many that Stephen couldn’t answer, especially the math questions.  Overall, Blake was guessing that they were dealing with a pre-high school kid here.  She was obviously bright, just not on a senior high school level.  Not even close.

Stephen walked out in a daze, and his entire family could only sympathize.

As they were walking toward the front of the resort on their way back to their rooms, they ran into the Stiller family who were all just leaving to go home.

“Wait!” Stephen called.  He started running.  He hugged his real father.  He hugged his real mother.  He hugged much longer his sister Emily.  And then he looked into Nancy’s eyes.  There were things he wanted to say, but couldn’t.

“Yeah,” Nancy finally said.  “I know.”

Nancy in Stephen’s big body, wrapped his arms around Nancy’s little body, and gave her a hug.  “I guess you’re my sister too,” he said.

“And your brother,” Nancy added.

Stephen laughed.  “Yeah.  I never had a brother before, even if it’s myself.

Nancy laughed, and the two of them separated.  Nancy started to get in the car when a thought hit her.  “Oh my God!” she screamed.  She turned quickly to look back at Stephen.  “Could it be that easy?” she asked.

“What?” Stephen replied.

“How to get us back in our own bodies.”

“How?” Stephen asked.

Nancy hurried up to the large boy and said.  “Hug me.  Just hug me tight.  Maybe something in our bodies will recognize our true selves and we’ll somehow switch back again.”

Stephen stared at her for only a moment, then reached out and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her so tightly that he picked her up and stood up straight.  Nancy, her legs dangling in the air, hugged him as tight as she could.

“I don’t feel anything happening,” Stephen told her.

“Me either.  Just keep trying.  Maybe think about wanting to be back in my body.  Try to picture your spirit moving from you into me.”

Stephen tried to do just that, squeezing Nancy so tightly he was in danger of seriously hurting her.  “I still don’t feel anything,” he said after a while.

“Me either,” Nancy said.  “Put me down, you’re killing me.  I can’t breathe.”

“Oh.  Sorry,” Stephen apologized.

“Wow, I’m strong,” Nancy said as she rubbed her sore breasts.

“You mean I’m strong,” Stephen corrected her.

“Yeah, and I’m…”  She didn’t finish.

“Me,” Stephen finally said.

Nancy hugged him quickly, then turned and hurried into the car.

“Nice try Nance,” her mother said.  “Really, nice try.”

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Curmett, Holfstrom, and Blake worked separately in their rooms for hours, pouring over their findings from all the interviews.  They would each spend a few more hours separately, then meet several times before taking their conclusions to the president.  That night though, they sat together in the back corner of the bar, quietly discussing their individual thoughts with each other before Curmett brought out Doctor Isabella Montcliff’s paper.  Over glasses of whiskey, they all read it.  When they were finished, Curmett looked at his two colleagues for their reaction.

“Damn!” Holfstrom said.  “She thought of a few things that I didn’t.”

“Me too,” Blake agreed.

“What scares me,” Curmett said, “is that she put all this together so easily, and it closely mirrors my thoughts on the subject.”

“Mine too,” Holfstrom admitted.

“This is just frightening,” Blake told them, “because I’m thinking along the same lines.  I just haven’t reached as many conclusions as you two…or I guess her.  I’ve been concentrating as hard as I can on the medical angle.  Just thinking about what it might involve to accomplish such a thing is…overwhelming, not to mention absolutely frightening.  Who could possibly do something like this?”

Curmett shrugged.  “The Chinese.  Russia.  Libia perhaps.  India.  North Koria.  Who knows.  With technology the way it is around the world, it could be anyone.”

“I personally don’t think that activist group is involved,” Holfstrom noted.

“The Planetary Eco Alliance?” Curmett said.  “Me either.  I’m sure it would take the resources of a major government or perhaps a large corporation to accomplish such a thing.”

“Have you heard of anyone working on anything like this?” Blake asked.

“Not exactly like this, but Russia and China are of course working on other mind expanding capabilities.  I’m sure we are too.”

“Could it be one of our corporations then?”

Curmett shrugged.  “Maybe, but it’s doubtful.  Believe it or not, we know more about what’s going on inside even the most secure facilities than most people would realize.  We have to know.  Again, national security is at stake.”

“What do we do?” Blake asked.

Curmett shrugged.  “Just what we planned to do.  We each work on our own thesis, then we meet and come up with our combined recommendation and present it to the president.”

“And where does that leave the kids?” Blake asked.

Curmett looked at him, then said, “In New York and Philadelphia.”

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

That night, Emily was getting ready for bed when she heard the most frightening, horrendous sounds.  She rushed from her room and realized they were coming from Nancy’s room across the hall.  Inside, she saw Nancy kneeling on her bed, growling and yelling like a raving monster, while she pounded as hard as she could on her pillows with both fists.  Afraid to even enter the room, she ran as fast as she could for her parents’ room.

“Mom, Dad, come quick!  There’s something wrong with Nancy!”

Running quickly back to Nancy’s room, Mike and Wanda looked in to see the raging, growling Nancy still attacking her pillow with every bit of dire strength she had.

Mike put his arms out to keep his wife and older daughter from coming into the room.  “Nancy!” he yelled.  “What’s wrong?”  He nearly died when he saw her turn her head and look at him, her eyes…her entire face appeared to be raging.  Instead of saying anything, she let out a terrifying roar and went back to pounding the pillows on her bed.

“Stay back,” Mike said to Wanda and Emily.  Slowly and carefully, he approached Nancy who was still in such a rage.  “Nancy!” he said firmly, but calmly.  “Nancy.  Stop and at least tell me what’s going on.”

“I hate this!” Nancy screamed.  “I hate it, I hate it, I hate it!”

“You hate what?” Mike asked, trying to take a step closer.

Nancy looked over at him, the rage still in her eyes, along with a wealth of tears.  “I’m not a little girl!  I’m a guy!   A big, strong, guy.”

“We know, Nancy,” Mike told her as calmly as possible.  “Can I sit on the bed with you?”

Crying now, Nancy nodded and turned sideways.  Carefully, Mike sat down beside her.  He was aware of Wanda and Emily coming closer, but not too close.

“What’s wrong?” Mike asked softly.

“I’m not a girl,” Nancy repeated.  “I’m especially not a little girl.  I don’t know how to be a girl, and I don’t want to be.  I just want to be me again.  Me.  The real me.  A guy.  That’s what I know.  That’s all I know.  But what am I supposed to do?”

“We don’t know,” Mike said.  “None of us do.  But we’re trying to be as understanding as we can.  None of us can even imagine what you’ve got to be going through.”

Nancy nodded and wiped her running nose with her hand.  “It’s hard,” she admitted.

“I’m sure it must be,” Mike agreed softly.

“I had everything,” Nancy lamented.  “Now I don’t.”

“Everything?” Mike asked.

“Everything!  I had a car.  I had a girlfriend.  I had money.  I had all the friends in the world.  Everyone at school not only liked me, they respected me because I was such a good football player and so smart in all my classes.  Everything!  Now…what have I got?  Confusion, weak muscles and…”  She didn’t know how to finish, then looked over toward the shelf and said, “Stuffed animals.”

“Nance,” Mike said.  “We’ve got money.  We’re not poor by any means.  The rest is all things you can get again.”

“Not the body I had.  Not all my friends.”

“Not those friends, no.  But other friends.  New friends.”

“How?  Everyone is going to expect me to be a girl, and I’m not.”

“Not in your mind,” Mike told her.  “But maybe with a bit of work, you can fix that.”

“I don’t want to be a girl!” Nancy shouted and pounded the bed next to her for emphasis.

“We know, but maybe you can work towards some kind of happy medium or something.”

Nancy rolled her eyes and flopped backwards on the bed.  “It’s impossible,” she muttered.

“Who knows,” Mike replied.  “I’m sure it’s going to take some effort on your part, and probably some time.”

“A lot of time!” Nancy added.

“A lot of time,” Mike agreed.  “But I have no doubt that with that time, you’ll get there and hopefully, someday, be happy.”

“You’re talking like I’m going to be stuck this way forever.”

It was a moment before Mike could answer.  “Nancy, if we don’t find a cure…  If we don’t figure out how it happened in the first place, then we may have to face facts, you’re stuck with it.  Which means that we’re stuck with it too.”

“You mean stuck with me.”

“Yes.  You can say that.  But there’s no reason for you to be so negative about it.”

“Ugh!” Nancy grunted angrily.  A moment later she sat up next to him again.  “I really thought that hug thing today would work, but all I did was to make a fool of myself.”

Mike was surprised to hear her say that.  “Nancy, you came up with the first idea to try to get you two back together that I’ve seen yet.  And in my opinion, it was an absolutely great idea.  Who knew, maybe it might have worked.”

“But it didn’t.”

“No.  But still, it was the first and only idea we’ve seen so far.  That’s better than anyone else has thought of.”

Nancy rolled her eyes again.  “True!”  She flopped back on the bed again.  “What am I going to do?”

“We’re working on it Nance,” Mike told her.  “I promise you, we’re working on it.”