INSTALLMENT #8
Genevieve turned on her back and stirred into a semi-wakeful confusion as she opened her eyes and looked around at the white walls and felt the hard hospital bed on which she was laying. Suddenly she felt a warm grasp. At that very moment she was reminded of where she was and unfortunately the reason why she was there. She looked up to meet her mother’s eyes and began to cry all over again. “It’s okay honey. It’s okay. I am so very sorry Genevieve.” said Rosetta. She cupped Genevieve’s face in both of her hands doing her best to comfort her. It was as difficult for her as it was for Genevieve; maybe even more so. “You know, when you were a little girl I used to say to you, ‘the world outside is full of dark and scary places, but this world that we have, the one just for you and mommy, that world is always sweet, and you can always come back to that world.’ Genevieve, lately there has been so much going on. This unfortunate situation just means that you will feel more secure and could get a better footing on your future in life if you would just come back home.” pleaded her mother. Genevieve rolled her eyes and tried to turn away but Rosetta wouldn’t allow it. “Darling please, just hear me out. If you come back home, you’ll have plenty of time and support to recuperate and get back on your feet. I know this is difficult for you and I just can’t bear to know that you are somewhere else going through this all alone.” said Rosetta, close to tears. “Mother, I think that you know full well that what you are saying is out of the question. I know you want me there, but you know what other troubles I have there as well. And I do remember what you used to tell me growing up. You would always tell me about our safe little world whenever someone at school had hurt me or didn’t ask me to play with them. But mother, as I got older, the wisdom that I pulled from it to me meant that I had to create my own world. I had to create a world for myself that was peaceful, beautiful, and true. Up until lately, I’ve created a world for myself but it hasn’t been a good one. I know now that I can move on and start a new chapter in my life. I can be free to let go of negative people and situations, and I can be free to think more of myself so that I’m not stuck in the past or settling for the least when I know that I deserve better. I am grieving Mother, that is the absolute truth, but I know that my little one is in heaven and later on down the road, when another life tries to reenter this world through me, I want to be able to bring it into a better situation than this one. And today is the day to begin creating that brand new world. And although it won’t be easy, I just cannot do that back in L.A. I need a place that’s all my own. Some place where I can start fresh, you know?” said Genevieve.
“I know darling, I don’t like it, but I understand.” said her mother. “But” she continued, “We do have to get you out of here by tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. That’s when the doctor is going to release you and you have to have someone to take care of you until you are well enough to get back on your feet.” “I rented a garage apartment from a lady named Adelaide up the coast about 2 miles from here. She likes to be called Addie. It’s nice and peaceful and as long as I respect her she keeps to herself. I just really think I would recuperate better here in Monterey. Besides I know Julianne is raring to press charges. It’ll be the next best thing to getting me out of her life for good without just simply killing me herself. The stupid thing is that I made it easy for her!” said Genevieve as she started to tear up once again. Her mother let out a very long sigh which is usually what she did before she said something hard, cold, and rough but oftentimes truthful. “Listen to me Genevieve, in life you have to stare down truth and fear simultaneously or you will never get through anything and you will ultimately fail at everything. The only people who ever back down from their fears and the truth are cowards and liars. I know for a fact honey that you are neither of the two. This thing has torn our family apart for much too long. And whether you and Julianne like it or not, you are family! Yes John has done some horrible things in the past but he isn’t the first man to do so and he won’t be the last. You and Julianne are both hurt, and there is one common denominator behind it. And I will say this much, all 3 of you had your piece in the shameful pie. Being hurt will cause you to do some weird, harsh, and even cruel things at times, but you have to know when to let it go. Honestly, Gavin isn’t good for either one of you but he’s having his cake and eating it too. Call your sister, and whether she accepts it or not, apologize to her, and tell her that whatever you have to face you will…” “Mother!” pleaded Genevieve. “Tell her you will do it! And mean it. Own up to your part, apologize to your sister, and then in turn forgive yourself, you must forgive yourself. Once you have done these things you can move on. Do not worry about anything else” said Rosetta sternly. Genevieve listened to her mother with her head hung low. Of course she knew she was right, she had to do the right thing and go on with her life. However, the last thing she wanted to do was talk to Julianne. She hated the feeling and she knew what she would be in for.
At that moment, she heard a knock on her door. To Genevieve’s disbelief in walked Dr. Hendricks, “Dr. Hendricks!” exclaimed Genevieve. “Ah the lost and found!” said Dr. Hendricks smiling. Walking over to her bedside with a wide smile, Dr. Hendricks didn’t hesitate giving one of her most interesting patients a hug. The kindred spirit between the two of them was undeniable. Ever since the day they first met, the doctor had taken a special interest in Genevieve’s well-being. She wondered every day since she’d last seen Genevieve if she was okay. “How did you know I was here?” asked Genevieve. “Well I fill in part-time here every other weekend rotating with the other staff physicians. I have a friend here who works on the unit. I was on a quick break and decided to come see her and I happened to see your name up on the board at the nurses’ station. I immediately thought to myself, ‘I only know one Genevieve O’Hare!’” said Dr. Hendricks laughing. “Small world!” said Genevieve still a bit surprised. “Yes it is!” replied the doctor. “Oh!” shouted Genevieve, “Where are my manners? Dr. Hendricks, this is my mother Rosetta Stein; mom this is Dr. Rachel Hendricks. I visited her office shortly after coming up to Monterey. We only had one session but it was quite helpful. Dr. I am so sorry I never got a chance to get back in contact with you. I am sorry you had to run into me here, like this.” “Oh Genevieve, it’s okay!” she replied and turned to Rosetta to shake her hand. “Well, Mrs. Stein it is nice to meet you.” “Likewise Doctor, as you may already know, Genevieve is going through a tough time right now. She wishes to stay here in this area outside of L.A. to recuperate even though it is my desire for her to be back home. I must say doctor that it would be very comforting to know that she has someone she count on, someone she talk to while she’s here.” said Rosetta. Genevieve sat up in bed a bit embarrassed. Her mother always had a bad habit of speaking on her behalf as if she was invisible. “Oh certainly, I hope that Genevieve knows that she can come and talk to me anytime she gets ready. My door is always open.” said Dr. Hendricks smiling and patting her shoulder. Just then the doctor’s pager began to go off. “Oh goodness, breaks never last long enough! Well on that note, I guess that means I must be going. It was nice meeting you Mrs. Stein, and it was great seeing you again Genevieve.” Dr. Hendricks turned and began walking towards the door. “I can walk you out doctor, if you don’t mind I would like for you to show me towards the cafeteria. I’d like to get a cup of hot tea if they’re serving.” “Oh certainly!” said the doctor. “I’ll be back shortly honey” said Rosetta to her daughter.
Rosetta and Dr. Hendricks walked out of the hospital room. As they got turned the corner at the end of the corridor Rosetta stopped. “Dr. could I speak with you briefly, I do apologize. I know you are in a hurry, but I must speak to you quickly and discreetly concerning my daughter.” Although looking a bit confused, Dr. Hendricks agreed, “Sure.” “Well, Dr. Hendricks, you’re a professional so I’m sure I don’t have to tell you what you already know.” “Okay, well what exactly is it that I should already know, Mrs. Stein?” asked Dr. Hendricks. “Well of course you must have diagnosed her as soon as she walked into your office.” “I’m sorry but I don’t know what you mean.” “Dr. Hendricks, my daughter has lived with multiple personality disorder for ten years now.” “Multiple Personality Disorder?” asked Dr. Hendricks, now even more confused, “Honestly, Mrs. Stein, I only had one session with your daughter. That wasn’t enough to diagnose her with anything. The only thing that I gathered from her intense circumstance was that she displayed some nervousness and maybe even some hints of depression, but certainly nothing displaying anything as serious as someone with a multiple personality.” “Yes, and unfortunately this last incident was one of many that my family has had to deal with in taking care and being watchful over her. If it isn’t her running away and the whole entire family scrambling to comb all of L.A. looking for her, she’s posing as someone’s wife, and burning a house down for Christ’s sake!” said Rosetta hopelessly. “Are all of these personalities extreme? And furthermore, on what basis did her last doctor conclude his diagnosis? Please forgive me, but I’m asking these questions for a reason. When Genevieve came into my office she was a brand new patient to me. I had no medical history on her. And I am sorry to say this, but unless she decides to continue to see me as her doctor, I can’t force her to talk to me and I cannot contend with you on whether or not what you’re telling me is actually certain.” “Dr. please forgive me if I’ve been misunderstood. I am certainly not asking you to take up suddenly where someone else left off. I realize that you barely know my daughter. However, she is insistent on staying here in Monterey and she really needs to come back home. I was hoping that if I could urge her to continue seeing you, that you could encourage her that home might be a better choice.”
“Listen, Mrs. Stein, it isn’t in my nature to advise patients to do anything outside of what will benefit my treatment for them. Maybe she needs a chance to prove that she can really do this on her own and manage whatever illness she might have.” “Dr. listen to me, my daughter is ill, that is certain. If I can’t get her back home soon, there is no telling what might happen. She absolutely, cannot be trusted. She’s staying with a lady. She told me her name is Adelaide. I would hate to hear that anything has happened to an innocent person who doesn’t know what they may be dealing with if my daughter has another one of her episodes! Please Dr. Hendricks, say you’ll help me. Please say you’ll help me. If she burned down a home then who knows what she may do next.”
Dr. Hendricks looked at the woman seeing her plead intensely for assistance. She wasn’t too sure about Rosetta’s request, but as she said, she didn’t know enough about Genevieve or her situation to make any judgments whatsoever. She didn’t like refusing help to people who needed her and she had taken a special interest in Genevieve and wanted to help her in getting treatment for whatever she was dealing with. Despite the unmistaken hesitancy she felt strongly in her gut, Dr. Hendricks agreed, “Okay, I’ll do what I can.” She had no clue what she was getting herself into. Something was telling her that she was in for an interesting ride.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
INSTALLMENT #7
Genevieve stepped out of the phone booth and took a seat on the bench next to it. She wanted simply just to take a moment before deciding to contact Julianne. There were so many things going through her mind, including the care of her unborn child. She had to find a doctor quick and begin getting checkups. Just as she began thinking about checkups, her thoughts automatically went back to Dr. Hendricks. She felt awful about all of the mess she’d caused. Dr. Hendricks must have been so confused after she’d left her office that day. Genevieve suddenly changed her mind. She would wait until she’d seen her mother before attempting to contact Julianne. She would however, contact Dr. Hendricks. She felt it was the right thing to do. Suddenly her stomach began to growl in the worst way. The emptiness she’d felt from the hunger was unlike any hunger pain she’d ever felt before. She decided to go into the deli and get a bite to eat.
She walked into the diner and took a seat at the counter. Two waitresses at the end were chatting about their boyfriends and their kids. As she waited to be served, suddenly a sharp pain went through her lower abdomen. She put her hand on her stomach and figured she had better get some food fast when all of a sudden she abruptly screamed out from another sharp pain that startled her and she instantly knew this was no simple hunger pang. Without looking back one of the waitresses began yelling assuming Genevieve was simply an impatient customer, “Hey, hold your horses, I’m coming!” Luckily however, the waitress listening intently to her co-worker’s conversation happened to look back. “Oh my goodness Cathy, something’s wrong!” They immediately ran to Genevieve’s side along with a male truck driver who happened to be taking a lunch break. “Are you okay honey, tell me what’s wrong?!” said Cathy. “My baby! I’m pregnant! I think something is wrong with my baby! Oh God!” yelled Genevieve. “Call the ambulance quick, Marie!” About 10 minutes later Genevieve could hear sirens in the far off distance. Yet instead of the sound getting closer, it seemed to fade into the distance, she wanted to scream out but the pain was too much.
About 3 hours later, Genevieve was awakened by the sound of a doctor speaking with a nurse. She tried to move and suddenly felt a bit of soreness in her left hand and looked down to see that she had been given an IV. “What happened? Where am I?” asked Genevieve. Both the doctor and nurse slowly turned to look at Genevieve. Trying to hide the look of dread on his face, the doctor walked to her bedside, “Hello, my name is Dr. Bronson, I know that you must be confused wondering why you’re here. Tell me, do you remember anything at all?” “Well” said Genevieve, “I remember being in a diner and then all of a sudden there was this intense pain in my abdomen. After that I heard the sound of fire trucks and that was it. What happened doctor? Did I black out? Is everything okay? What about my baby?” “Well now first things first, we need to confirm who you are. The I.D. we found in your purse says Genevieve O’Hare. Is that correct?” asked Dr. Bronson. “Yes, but please, I really need to know what’s going on.” said Genevieve impatiently. Letting out a long sigh, the doctor proceeded to tell Genevieve what had just happened to her. “Well, Genevieve, first let me explain. Sometimes, during early pregnancy, the conditions inside of a woman’s womb, for whatever reason, aren’t conducive to bringing a fetus to full term. Now, there are oftentimes several reasons why this takes place. And by this I mean, spontaneous abortion.” “Spontaneous abortion? What do you mean spontaneous abortion? Are you telling me that my baby didn’t make it?” asked Genevieve as her voice began to shake and the tears began to well up in her eyes. “I am so very sorry Genevieve. Although, we were able to identify you by the I.D. that was in your purse with you at the diner we couldn’t locate any emergency contact information for you. Is there anyone you’d like for us to call? Is there someone who can come and help you to get back home perhaps?” asked the doctor. “My mother, you can call my mother, she’s in L.A. Her name is Rosetta.” “Okay” said Dr. Bronson patting her on the leg, “I’ll get the nurse to put a call in to her right away.”
Genevieve, put her head back on her pillow and sobbed. She couldn’t understand why it seemed as though everything in her life was at odds with her. Or why the very basic and fundamental joys in life always seemed to slip right through her fingers in ways that were simply too painful to bear. The nurse came into the room about 30 minutes later letting Genevieve know that her mother had been informed of what had taken place and would be up as soon as possible. The nurse was very kind offering her something for pain, “Here you are honey, take this, it’ll relax you and stop any subsequent pain that you might feel.” Genevieve gulped down the pills and turned over on her side. As she let the tears flow, she drifted off to sleep. Perhaps, only if in her dreams, she could have what she always wanted; love.
Tune in next Sunday and EVERY Sunday for a new post from Dose of Drama for the series, Genevieve O'Hare...
Genevieve stepped out of the phone booth and took a seat on the bench next to it. She wanted simply just to take a moment before deciding to contact Julianne. There were so many things going through her mind, including the care of her unborn child. She had to find a doctor quick and begin getting checkups. Just as she began thinking about checkups, her thoughts automatically went back to Dr. Hendricks. She felt awful about all of the mess she’d caused. Dr. Hendricks must have been so confused after she’d left her office that day. Genevieve suddenly changed her mind. She would wait until she’d seen her mother before attempting to contact Julianne. She would however, contact Dr. Hendricks. She felt it was the right thing to do. Suddenly her stomach began to growl in the worst way. The emptiness she’d felt from the hunger was unlike any hunger pain she’d ever felt before. She decided to go into the deli and get a bite to eat.
She walked into the diner and took a seat at the counter. Two waitresses at the end were chatting about their boyfriends and their kids. As she waited to be served, suddenly a sharp pain went through her lower abdomen. She put her hand on her stomach and figured she had better get some food fast when all of a sudden she abruptly screamed out from another sharp pain that startled her and she instantly knew this was no simple hunger pang. Without looking back one of the waitresses began yelling assuming Genevieve was simply an impatient customer, “Hey, hold your horses, I’m coming!” Luckily however, the waitress listening intently to her co-worker’s conversation happened to look back. “Oh my goodness Cathy, something’s wrong!” They immediately ran to Genevieve’s side along with a male truck driver who happened to be taking a lunch break. “Are you okay honey, tell me what’s wrong?!” said Cathy. “My baby! I’m pregnant! I think something is wrong with my baby! Oh God!” yelled Genevieve. “Call the ambulance quick, Marie!” About 10 minutes later Genevieve could hear sirens in the far off distance. Yet instead of the sound getting closer, it seemed to fade into the distance, she wanted to scream out but the pain was too much.
About 3 hours later, Genevieve was awakened by the sound of a doctor speaking with a nurse. She tried to move and suddenly felt a bit of soreness in her left hand and looked down to see that she had been given an IV. “What happened? Where am I?” asked Genevieve. Both the doctor and nurse slowly turned to look at Genevieve. Trying to hide the look of dread on his face, the doctor walked to her bedside, “Hello, my name is Dr. Bronson, I know that you must be confused wondering why you’re here. Tell me, do you remember anything at all?” “Well” said Genevieve, “I remember being in a diner and then all of a sudden there was this intense pain in my abdomen. After that I heard the sound of fire trucks and that was it. What happened doctor? Did I black out? Is everything okay? What about my baby?” “Well now first things first, we need to confirm who you are. The I.D. we found in your purse says Genevieve O’Hare. Is that correct?” asked Dr. Bronson. “Yes, but please, I really need to know what’s going on.” said Genevieve impatiently. Letting out a long sigh, the doctor proceeded to tell Genevieve what had just happened to her. “Well, Genevieve, first let me explain. Sometimes, during early pregnancy, the conditions inside of a woman’s womb, for whatever reason, aren’t conducive to bringing a fetus to full term. Now, there are oftentimes several reasons why this takes place. And by this I mean, spontaneous abortion.” “Spontaneous abortion? What do you mean spontaneous abortion? Are you telling me that my baby didn’t make it?” asked Genevieve as her voice began to shake and the tears began to well up in her eyes. “I am so very sorry Genevieve. Although, we were able to identify you by the I.D. that was in your purse with you at the diner we couldn’t locate any emergency contact information for you. Is there anyone you’d like for us to call? Is there someone who can come and help you to get back home perhaps?” asked the doctor. “My mother, you can call my mother, she’s in L.A. Her name is Rosetta.” “Okay” said Dr. Bronson patting her on the leg, “I’ll get the nurse to put a call in to her right away.”
Genevieve, put her head back on her pillow and sobbed. She couldn’t understand why it seemed as though everything in her life was at odds with her. Or why the very basic and fundamental joys in life always seemed to slip right through her fingers in ways that were simply too painful to bear. The nurse came into the room about 30 minutes later letting Genevieve know that her mother had been informed of what had taken place and would be up as soon as possible. The nurse was very kind offering her something for pain, “Here you are honey, take this, it’ll relax you and stop any subsequent pain that you might feel.” Genevieve gulped down the pills and turned over on her side. As she let the tears flow, she drifted off to sleep. Perhaps, only if in her dreams, she could have what she always wanted; love.
Tune in next Sunday and EVERY Sunday for a new post from Dose of Drama for the series, Genevieve O'Hare...
Monday, July 13, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
INSTALLMENT #6
Both Genevieve and Gavin grew quiet on the phone. Although she knew he needed to know, she wasn’t sure it should’ve been told that way. But it was too late. It was now his choice to decide what role he would play. Considering the nature of his situation, she knew that role would more than likely be a tiny one if he did anything at all. The silence between the two of them grew long. She could hear him breathing and knew he was still on the other end until finally she heard a click and the phone went dead. Genevieve didn’t bother to try calling him back. The purpose of her actions were to let everyone know that she was fine and to somehow move on from her wretched past. The next number that she dialed was her mother’s cell phone. She didn’t call the house because she figured that there would be too many people there to answer the phone first besides her mother. This included the housekeeper Harriet, who was sweet but nosy and intrusive, her mother’s best friend Francine, who was always around whenever her mother was going through a tough time, and lastly of course was her step father John. Genevieve wasn’t as worried about Harriet or Francine as she was of John. He only tolerated her because of her mother. He would give Genevieve’s mother whatever she wanted. She was a trophy to him. Genevieve’s mother Rosetta had been a runway model in her heyday. She wasn’t as well known as some of the others but she did well for herself. Genevieve’s biological father, Edmond was a successful businessman in the textile industry, negotiating sells and trades of some of the most unique and precious silks, lace, and cashmere from countries in Europe and Asia. Edmond was quite charismatic and he did his job well. He acquired some very sought after customers through his own way of networking which often included invitations to many high society parties and gatherings of some of the world’s top designers. It opened up plenty of opportunities for him, not to mention a lavish lifestyle. But the most important thing that Edmond acquired as a result of being in his business was his relationship with Genevieve’s mother Rosetta.
Rosetta first caught Edmond’s attention on one of her many strolls down the runway during a show. He had seen many models, hell it was the business. However, he’d never paid them much attention. Sure, he dated them. They were easy access in a business such as his. They came a dime a dozen and it was merely casual amusement. But the night he laid eyes upon Rosetta, her image and her smile would be forever burned upon his memory. Edmond pursued Rosetta for 3 months before she finally accepted his dinner invitation. She assumed he was simply another male hound looking to say he’d been hot and heavy with a model. After a 6 month courtship, the two began to fall deeply in love. It was within this love that Genevieve was born. After learning that his beloved Rosetta was with child, Edmond immediately planned to marry her but sadly fate wouldn’t have it. Edmond died in a mysterious car crash a week before Genevieve was born. Genevieve never knew him. She would only hear about him when her mother could bear to speak of it. It remained a heavy and painful scar on her heart but she also hated to admit that she never wanted to speak of him for fear of upsetting John, her new husband. He knew how much in love she had been with Edmond but John, much like Edmond. pursued Rosetta to no end. Rosetta finally gave in, accepting his proposal knowing what the future might be like without his care. John had taken in Rosetta and her young daughter when Genevieve was only 2 years old. He and Rosetta bonded out of similar tragedies. John’s wife had succumbed to a weak heart during childbirth. Because of this, Julianne would always receive the first and the best, the promise of security, and any attention he could give her when he had the time. Julianne was his princess, and Rosetta was his queen. Genevieve was just the one who got in the way.
As the phone rang, Genevieve thought about all of the things that were passed over her so that Julianne could have the best. And how her mother constantly tried reassuring her throughout it all, “You’re so beautiful.” she would say. “You don’t need anything handed to you because you have your father’s blood flowing through your veins!” But Genevieve never felt that way. She always felt she had to work harder for what she attained and oftentimes she felt like second best. Gavin had been the love of her life since the 10th grade. When she met him, she finally felt as though she had someone in her corner, someone who truly loved her. They’d made all kinds of plans about their futures and laughed about how many kids they would have and whether or not she’d work or stay at home. Sure, Genevieve had dreams, but she loved Gavin so much more. When they parted ways for college, she left for design school in San Francisco and he left and went to college at Stanford. He graduated head of his class from the school of business. He was sought after by many companies. But John had a one up on all of them as a result of Gavin’s relationship with Genevieve. John hooked Gavin with a tempting compensation package which included the implied promise that he might someday seize control of the successful business after John retired or died. But of course, there was some coercion from John concerning Gavin’s personal life. At the risk of possibly being blackballed by John should he defy his suggestions or try to quit, Gavin simply gave in, putting his career over his relationship with Genevieve. He broke it off with her unexpectedly saying that he wasn’t ready for something so serious with her and that he felt they were going in two different directions. Shortly after, he began seeing Julianne, at first quietly and then after about a year it became open when John decided to announce their engagement at a holiday dinner party. Genevieve was distraught. She could not believe that it was all actually happening. She thought for the longest time that she’d been in an ongoing nightmare. But as time passed she would come to learn that this was real and this was her life. Her heart had been torn out of her chest and she bared the pain each and every day. Eventually she and Gavin gave in to what they’d once had together and reduced themselves to sneaking around, and lying and cheating. As a result, Genevieve convinced herself that she was in fact the rightful missus and took on the title. She had allowed herself to become delusional not wanting to come to the truth that if Gavin had valued their relationship, and had been truly honest and sincere, he would have never given up on their relationship so easily just for a shaky promise and a mere suggestive possibility of success and status.
It was here in this moment that Genevieve realized that she couldn’t change what had happened. She could only change the direction for her own life in the present. She would create a new start for that of herself and for her child and she wouldn’t look back, only forward. Ahead of her was an open road and a clean slate.
Finally, after several rings Genevieve’s mother answered the phone. “Hello.” came a weak voice on the other end of the phone. “Mother.” said Genevieve, “It’s me.” “Oh God, Genevieve! Where are you? Where have you been? Oh God, we’ve been looking all over for you!” said her mother. “I know, and I am so sorry to have put you through this but I had to get away. I just had to.” said Genevieve. “Where are you?” asked her mother. “I’m just a few hours up the coast. Look, I know that this must be quite embarrassing for everyone. Things got so out of hand. I was just so blinded. I felt so manipulated and for a moment, I thought I was finally getting the life that I felt was rightfully mine. I was so angry at all of them. I just found myself losing control. I am so sorry mother, I am so very sorry…” said Genevieve as she began to cry. “Genevieve" answered Rosetta, "I am very aware of what took place and as your mother I will not sit here on the phone and not hold you accountable. You were fully aware, despite your hurt, that when you once again took up with Gavin, he had become someone else’s husband. I am just angry that you allowed yourself to get pulled into this destructive lover’s triangle. This thing was a whole mess from the start. It almost broke John and I apart.” “Well why did you stay with him after knowing what he’d done to me?” asked Genevieve interrupting her mother. “Because Genevieve, as you get older, things aren’t always as easy as they might seem, I do love you, but where would you and I have gone had I left? Like I always told you, you aren’t like Julianne. John always felt sorry for her because she didn’t have her mother like you had. He felt the need to hand her everything on a silver platter. He never let her figure out anything for herself. After a while it’s come as a sort of handicap for her. She calls him for everything. If Gavin ever left her, what would she do? She didn’t go to school like you did. She’s never had to work. She’s depended on every one that has ever come into her life. I didn’t want that for you Genevieve. If John was going to pay for what he’d done to you. I made sure he paid for the best schooling and afforded you the best life. Perhaps you didn’t have everything handed to you like Julianne. But you had a good life! You had an affluent lifestyle! I will admit that it was underhanded the way she accepted a proposal from the man whom she knew loved you, her own sister for so many years. She has been the ultimate witch and I know that. But you cannot continue to let other people’s actions dictate your happiness and how you will live your life. If she’s fine with lying in bed beside a man who was coerced into marrying her and who happens to still be in love with her sister, then so be it! It’s her life! But Genevieve, please darling, don’t let it be yours. Besides, I have something for you that I have held onto for 23 years.”
“Something for me?” asked Genevieve. “Yes, one reason why I never left John is because I knew that if I couldn’t support us on my own, I would be forced to dip into the inheritance your father left for you before you were born.” said Rosetta. “Inheritance? What do you mean? You told me that my father died before I was born.” said Genevieve. “He did,” replied her mother, “but before that, we’d planned to marry once we’d learned that I was pregnant. Edmond immediately created a trust for you. He was so excited. He had been an only child. His mother was dead and he had never known his own father and so as soon as he knew you were going to be born, he began to feel as though he had a family again and he wasted no time making arrangements, which included putting money away in a trust on your behalf.”
Genevieve grew silent, she couldn’t believe it. All of this time, she’d felt so excluded and so uncared for. She’d always wondered about the father she’d never known. Now, hearing her mother’s words, finding out that her late father cared enough to make sure her future was secured even before she was born gave her the sense that someone did sincerely care about her and that she wasn’t just an afterthought.
“Hello, Genevieve, are you still there?” asked her mother. “Uh, yes, yes, I’m still here. May I ask how much?” asked Genevieve. “Well darling, I’d rather discuss that in person. Please tell me, when are you coming home?” “I can’t mother” said Genevieve, “I promised myself I was leaving that all behind, plus the police are looking for me.” “Genevieve, don’t worry about that. It will all be taken care of. But I need to see you. Please tell me exactly where you are.” said Rosetta. “I’m a few miles outside of Monterey. If you can meet me here the day after tomorrow at say 1:00pm we can have lunch at a local diner in town.” said Genevieve. “That will be fine. It will give me some time to smooth things over here and to leave without being noticed. Genevieve, I love you, please be careful.” said her mother. “I love you too mother, see you soon.” said Genevieve. After hanging up the phone, Genevieve knew full well that the hardest part of all of this was yet to come, she still hadn’t revealed her pregnancy to her mother, and she still hadn’t done the one thing that she knew needed to be done after all of these years. She was going to have to deal with Julianne woman to woman. It wouldn’t be easy or pretty, and she knew this. Julianne was never hesitated to make Genevieve feel worthless. Despite her mother’s claim on their relationship, Julianne and Genevieve never fully considered themselves sisters. It had been a competition from day one between the two and Julianne always got what she wanted no matter the cost. However, this time Genevieve had to let her know that the tables had turned and that she was no longer her precious little step-sister’s underdog.
Tune in next Sunday and EVERY Sunday for a new post from Dose of Drama for the series, Genevieve O’Hare…
Both Genevieve and Gavin grew quiet on the phone. Although she knew he needed to know, she wasn’t sure it should’ve been told that way. But it was too late. It was now his choice to decide what role he would play. Considering the nature of his situation, she knew that role would more than likely be a tiny one if he did anything at all. The silence between the two of them grew long. She could hear him breathing and knew he was still on the other end until finally she heard a click and the phone went dead. Genevieve didn’t bother to try calling him back. The purpose of her actions were to let everyone know that she was fine and to somehow move on from her wretched past. The next number that she dialed was her mother’s cell phone. She didn’t call the house because she figured that there would be too many people there to answer the phone first besides her mother. This included the housekeeper Harriet, who was sweet but nosy and intrusive, her mother’s best friend Francine, who was always around whenever her mother was going through a tough time, and lastly of course was her step father John. Genevieve wasn’t as worried about Harriet or Francine as she was of John. He only tolerated her because of her mother. He would give Genevieve’s mother whatever she wanted. She was a trophy to him. Genevieve’s mother Rosetta had been a runway model in her heyday. She wasn’t as well known as some of the others but she did well for herself. Genevieve’s biological father, Edmond was a successful businessman in the textile industry, negotiating sells and trades of some of the most unique and precious silks, lace, and cashmere from countries in Europe and Asia. Edmond was quite charismatic and he did his job well. He acquired some very sought after customers through his own way of networking which often included invitations to many high society parties and gatherings of some of the world’s top designers. It opened up plenty of opportunities for him, not to mention a lavish lifestyle. But the most important thing that Edmond acquired as a result of being in his business was his relationship with Genevieve’s mother Rosetta.
Rosetta first caught Edmond’s attention on one of her many strolls down the runway during a show. He had seen many models, hell it was the business. However, he’d never paid them much attention. Sure, he dated them. They were easy access in a business such as his. They came a dime a dozen and it was merely casual amusement. But the night he laid eyes upon Rosetta, her image and her smile would be forever burned upon his memory. Edmond pursued Rosetta for 3 months before she finally accepted his dinner invitation. She assumed he was simply another male hound looking to say he’d been hot and heavy with a model. After a 6 month courtship, the two began to fall deeply in love. It was within this love that Genevieve was born. After learning that his beloved Rosetta was with child, Edmond immediately planned to marry her but sadly fate wouldn’t have it. Edmond died in a mysterious car crash a week before Genevieve was born. Genevieve never knew him. She would only hear about him when her mother could bear to speak of it. It remained a heavy and painful scar on her heart but she also hated to admit that she never wanted to speak of him for fear of upsetting John, her new husband. He knew how much in love she had been with Edmond but John, much like Edmond. pursued Rosetta to no end. Rosetta finally gave in, accepting his proposal knowing what the future might be like without his care. John had taken in Rosetta and her young daughter when Genevieve was only 2 years old. He and Rosetta bonded out of similar tragedies. John’s wife had succumbed to a weak heart during childbirth. Because of this, Julianne would always receive the first and the best, the promise of security, and any attention he could give her when he had the time. Julianne was his princess, and Rosetta was his queen. Genevieve was just the one who got in the way.
As the phone rang, Genevieve thought about all of the things that were passed over her so that Julianne could have the best. And how her mother constantly tried reassuring her throughout it all, “You’re so beautiful.” she would say. “You don’t need anything handed to you because you have your father’s blood flowing through your veins!” But Genevieve never felt that way. She always felt she had to work harder for what she attained and oftentimes she felt like second best. Gavin had been the love of her life since the 10th grade. When she met him, she finally felt as though she had someone in her corner, someone who truly loved her. They’d made all kinds of plans about their futures and laughed about how many kids they would have and whether or not she’d work or stay at home. Sure, Genevieve had dreams, but she loved Gavin so much more. When they parted ways for college, she left for design school in San Francisco and he left and went to college at Stanford. He graduated head of his class from the school of business. He was sought after by many companies. But John had a one up on all of them as a result of Gavin’s relationship with Genevieve. John hooked Gavin with a tempting compensation package which included the implied promise that he might someday seize control of the successful business after John retired or died. But of course, there was some coercion from John concerning Gavin’s personal life. At the risk of possibly being blackballed by John should he defy his suggestions or try to quit, Gavin simply gave in, putting his career over his relationship with Genevieve. He broke it off with her unexpectedly saying that he wasn’t ready for something so serious with her and that he felt they were going in two different directions. Shortly after, he began seeing Julianne, at first quietly and then after about a year it became open when John decided to announce their engagement at a holiday dinner party. Genevieve was distraught. She could not believe that it was all actually happening. She thought for the longest time that she’d been in an ongoing nightmare. But as time passed she would come to learn that this was real and this was her life. Her heart had been torn out of her chest and she bared the pain each and every day. Eventually she and Gavin gave in to what they’d once had together and reduced themselves to sneaking around, and lying and cheating. As a result, Genevieve convinced herself that she was in fact the rightful missus and took on the title. She had allowed herself to become delusional not wanting to come to the truth that if Gavin had valued their relationship, and had been truly honest and sincere, he would have never given up on their relationship so easily just for a shaky promise and a mere suggestive possibility of success and status.
It was here in this moment that Genevieve realized that she couldn’t change what had happened. She could only change the direction for her own life in the present. She would create a new start for that of herself and for her child and she wouldn’t look back, only forward. Ahead of her was an open road and a clean slate.
Finally, after several rings Genevieve’s mother answered the phone. “Hello.” came a weak voice on the other end of the phone. “Mother.” said Genevieve, “It’s me.” “Oh God, Genevieve! Where are you? Where have you been? Oh God, we’ve been looking all over for you!” said her mother. “I know, and I am so sorry to have put you through this but I had to get away. I just had to.” said Genevieve. “Where are you?” asked her mother. “I’m just a few hours up the coast. Look, I know that this must be quite embarrassing for everyone. Things got so out of hand. I was just so blinded. I felt so manipulated and for a moment, I thought I was finally getting the life that I felt was rightfully mine. I was so angry at all of them. I just found myself losing control. I am so sorry mother, I am so very sorry…” said Genevieve as she began to cry. “Genevieve" answered Rosetta, "I am very aware of what took place and as your mother I will not sit here on the phone and not hold you accountable. You were fully aware, despite your hurt, that when you once again took up with Gavin, he had become someone else’s husband. I am just angry that you allowed yourself to get pulled into this destructive lover’s triangle. This thing was a whole mess from the start. It almost broke John and I apart.” “Well why did you stay with him after knowing what he’d done to me?” asked Genevieve interrupting her mother. “Because Genevieve, as you get older, things aren’t always as easy as they might seem, I do love you, but where would you and I have gone had I left? Like I always told you, you aren’t like Julianne. John always felt sorry for her because she didn’t have her mother like you had. He felt the need to hand her everything on a silver platter. He never let her figure out anything for herself. After a while it’s come as a sort of handicap for her. She calls him for everything. If Gavin ever left her, what would she do? She didn’t go to school like you did. She’s never had to work. She’s depended on every one that has ever come into her life. I didn’t want that for you Genevieve. If John was going to pay for what he’d done to you. I made sure he paid for the best schooling and afforded you the best life. Perhaps you didn’t have everything handed to you like Julianne. But you had a good life! You had an affluent lifestyle! I will admit that it was underhanded the way she accepted a proposal from the man whom she knew loved you, her own sister for so many years. She has been the ultimate witch and I know that. But you cannot continue to let other people’s actions dictate your happiness and how you will live your life. If she’s fine with lying in bed beside a man who was coerced into marrying her and who happens to still be in love with her sister, then so be it! It’s her life! But Genevieve, please darling, don’t let it be yours. Besides, I have something for you that I have held onto for 23 years.”
“Something for me?” asked Genevieve. “Yes, one reason why I never left John is because I knew that if I couldn’t support us on my own, I would be forced to dip into the inheritance your father left for you before you were born.” said Rosetta. “Inheritance? What do you mean? You told me that my father died before I was born.” said Genevieve. “He did,” replied her mother, “but before that, we’d planned to marry once we’d learned that I was pregnant. Edmond immediately created a trust for you. He was so excited. He had been an only child. His mother was dead and he had never known his own father and so as soon as he knew you were going to be born, he began to feel as though he had a family again and he wasted no time making arrangements, which included putting money away in a trust on your behalf.”
Genevieve grew silent, she couldn’t believe it. All of this time, she’d felt so excluded and so uncared for. She’d always wondered about the father she’d never known. Now, hearing her mother’s words, finding out that her late father cared enough to make sure her future was secured even before she was born gave her the sense that someone did sincerely care about her and that she wasn’t just an afterthought.
“Hello, Genevieve, are you still there?” asked her mother. “Uh, yes, yes, I’m still here. May I ask how much?” asked Genevieve. “Well darling, I’d rather discuss that in person. Please tell me, when are you coming home?” “I can’t mother” said Genevieve, “I promised myself I was leaving that all behind, plus the police are looking for me.” “Genevieve, don’t worry about that. It will all be taken care of. But I need to see you. Please tell me exactly where you are.” said Rosetta. “I’m a few miles outside of Monterey. If you can meet me here the day after tomorrow at say 1:00pm we can have lunch at a local diner in town.” said Genevieve. “That will be fine. It will give me some time to smooth things over here and to leave without being noticed. Genevieve, I love you, please be careful.” said her mother. “I love you too mother, see you soon.” said Genevieve. After hanging up the phone, Genevieve knew full well that the hardest part of all of this was yet to come, she still hadn’t revealed her pregnancy to her mother, and she still hadn’t done the one thing that she knew needed to be done after all of these years. She was going to have to deal with Julianne woman to woman. It wouldn’t be easy or pretty, and she knew this. Julianne was never hesitated to make Genevieve feel worthless. Despite her mother’s claim on their relationship, Julianne and Genevieve never fully considered themselves sisters. It had been a competition from day one between the two and Julianne always got what she wanted no matter the cost. However, this time Genevieve had to let her know that the tables had turned and that she was no longer her precious little step-sister’s underdog.
Tune in next Sunday and EVERY Sunday for a new post from Dose of Drama for the series, Genevieve O’Hare…
Monday, June 29, 2009
Genevieve O’Hare
INSTALLMENT #5
Early the next morning after a night of blissful sleep, the phone rang. It was right next to the night stand by her bed and although she had no clue who it could be, she answered the phone. “Hello” she said in a low and raspy tone. “Good morning” said Addie, “I have breakfast here if you’d like to join me.” “I thought part of the rules were that I had to provide my own food?” asked Genevieve. “Yes, I did say that and it still stands, but if you’d like I just want you to know that there are fresh biscuits down here in the kitchen, I made some extra and just thought I’d offer you the rest. No need in wasting food.” said Addie “Okay” said Genevieve laughing to herself, “I’ll be right down.”
It was obvious to her that the old woman wanted some company. It must be lonely living in such a big house all by herself thought Genevieve. She lingered in bed for just a few moments longer, trying to hang on to her last bit of peace before getting out of bed. After freshening up, Genevieve went downstairs to the huge kitchen. It had large bay windows in the breakfast nook and piled high on a large plate placed in the middle of the table were freshly baked biscuits. “Have a seat.” said Addie, “I have strawberry jam to go with the biscuits and there’s a pot of coffee brewing. I just put it on.” “You didn’t have to go through all of this trouble.” said Genevieve. “Who says I went through any trouble?” asked Addie. Genevieve simply smiled and took a seat. “So how long have you been living up here?” asked Genevieve. “My husband and I came here about 30 years ago on vacation. We lived in Texas all of our lives, I was a school teacher and my husband was an attorney for several large business and corporations back home. After years and years of giving all of his attention to corrupt businessmen, he decided to retire. He wanted to be someplace peaceful and this part of the California coast was always so peaceful to John, so we decided to come back here. But enough about me, what’s your story, you from around these parts?” asked Addie. “No I’m actually from L.A.” said Genevieve. “Hmmm, is that right?” asked Addie. “Yes.” responded Genevieve, staring out of the windows, in a deep gaze, almost hypnotized by the view from the kitchen window. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that little situation that was mentioned on the evening news last night, would you?” asked the old woman. Suddenly the question knocked Genevieve out of her daydreaming stupor, caught off guard, stuttering, she had no idea how to answer the question, “What do you mean?” asked Genevieve. “You’re the one those folks are looking for aren’t you?” asked Addie. “Look I appreciate you allowing me to stay here, and I know you don’t want any trouble. If you want me to leave, I’ll leave.” said Genevieve. “Now just hold your horses, I won’t lie to you there is a measure of concern, but no one’s putting you out. The real question is, ‘What are you running from?’” asked the woman. “A broken heart and a lingering trail of ashes.” said Genevieve hopelessly. “You know facing the truth can be a difficult thing. It takes a strong person to look into the mirror at themselves and face what’s right in front of them. But if you spend your life running away from the hard stuff you can get so consumed with not looking that you miss seeing the good. You miss all those things that you should be grateful for. Those things you take for granted.” said Addie. “Thank you.” said Genevieve, “All of that sounds very noble, but some situations are harder to face than others.” “I didn’t say it was easy.” said Addie, “But you owe it to yourself to face up to whatever it is you’re running from. You deserve to be able to move on with your life. You’re young! You shouldn’t be out here in the middle of nowhere, secluding yourself from the rest of the world. Don’t let the jackass that broke your heart think he’s got the better of you. The best thing you can do for yourself and the worst thing you can do to him is to face up to what happened, own up to your part in the tizzy, and move on. That’s it.”
“Thanks. You’re right. Thanks for the biscuits Addie, I really do appreciate it.” said Genevieve. “Oh anytime honey, besides you’re doing the dishes anyway.” said Addie patting Genevieve’s arm as she got up to leave. Genevieve simply laughed and continued to enjoy her hearty breakfast before taking on her chores. After cleaning the kitchen, she soon began to feel sick and ran upstairs to the bathroom throwing up part of her breakfast. This queasiness had started last week and deep down she knew what was going on. She sat on the bed thinking about her life and everything that had transpired over the past few weeks. She knew Addie was right. It was time to confront her giant. But she wouldn’t do it there. She would go somewhere else so that the number couldn’t be traced back to her new residence. Genevieve grabbed her things and headed out of the door. Driving into town, she passed a phone booth about a block down from the local coffee shop. She parked and walked to the booth. Once she picked up the phone, she paused at the thought of finally speaking with him again. She dialed the number and listened as the phone rang. “Hello.” said Gavin. “Gavin, this is Genevieve. I’m going to make this quick. It’s over between us and if you try contacting me again, that heap of ashes you called home will be just the tip of the ice berg!” she threatened. “You are out of your damn mind!” he yelled. “Well I guess that means I have been out of my mind for 10 years! You know what you promised me and you didn’t follow through on that promise. We were finally supposed to start our life together and I go there to find out your still sleeping with her! On the day we were supposed to go New York to start a new life! You knew how much this meant to me!” she said fighting back tears. “Look Genevieve, I admit you and I were both a bit delusional okay. But you knew I couldn’t just up and leave her! You know damn well what the circumstances behind this marriage are. Your father basically had me by the balls working in his company and to ensure my promotion I had to take Julianne on, it was the only way I could be sure I’d still have a job!” said Gavin. “Bullshit!” said Genevieve “You knew damn well what you were doing and you stabbed me in the back! But I was the one who was stupid enough to think it wouldn’t last. Hoping that you and I would magically have the life you said we would after all of the time, love, and energy I put into this sham of a relationship. Having to stand there and watch you marry her! But you didn’t have the balls to stand up for us! You sold us out Gavin, you son of a bitch! Everything we had, you sold it out! And correction, he isn’t MY father! Why the hell do think you he wanted you so badly to marry Julianne! There was no way on earth he was going to have his successor be married to anyone else but his own daughter! Remember Gavin, blood is thicker than water and you fell right into the trap!” argued Genevieve. “Genevieve, the police are after you, Julianne has them out like bloodhounds looking for you for burning the house down. You didn’t have to go that far! Did you think you would get away with this?” asked Gavin “I didn’t care! You both deserved it!” she said. “Well Julianne is talking about getting you put away on charges of arson Genevieve!” “Well if you’re smart, then you will calm her down and have her call off her dogs. I mean it Gavin, you do not want to push me on this one. I have dealt with the hurt and pain of seeing you two together for too long now knowing that I was cheated and manipulated. But not anymore, if you keep this up, then I promise you will be sorry!”
“What is that supposed to mean?” asked Gavin. “It means…” said Genevieve, “Convince Julianne to call off the cops and just count her losses.” “Why?” he asked “Why would you think Julianne would simply be cooperative enough just to sit back and let this go?” “Because” said Genevieve, “I know how she feels about her perfect image. And right about now, I doubt she’d want the impending birth of our ‘love child’ to taint that image…” “What do you mean ‘Love Child’? Genevieve what are you saying to me?” asked Gavin. “I’m saying congratulations Daddy… We’re expecting!”
Tune in next Sunday for your Dose of Drama and find out what happens on the next installment of “Genevieve O’Hare! Log on and get your read on!
INSTALLMENT #5
Early the next morning after a night of blissful sleep, the phone rang. It was right next to the night stand by her bed and although she had no clue who it could be, she answered the phone. “Hello” she said in a low and raspy tone. “Good morning” said Addie, “I have breakfast here if you’d like to join me.” “I thought part of the rules were that I had to provide my own food?” asked Genevieve. “Yes, I did say that and it still stands, but if you’d like I just want you to know that there are fresh biscuits down here in the kitchen, I made some extra and just thought I’d offer you the rest. No need in wasting food.” said Addie “Okay” said Genevieve laughing to herself, “I’ll be right down.”
It was obvious to her that the old woman wanted some company. It must be lonely living in such a big house all by herself thought Genevieve. She lingered in bed for just a few moments longer, trying to hang on to her last bit of peace before getting out of bed. After freshening up, Genevieve went downstairs to the huge kitchen. It had large bay windows in the breakfast nook and piled high on a large plate placed in the middle of the table were freshly baked biscuits. “Have a seat.” said Addie, “I have strawberry jam to go with the biscuits and there’s a pot of coffee brewing. I just put it on.” “You didn’t have to go through all of this trouble.” said Genevieve. “Who says I went through any trouble?” asked Addie. Genevieve simply smiled and took a seat. “So how long have you been living up here?” asked Genevieve. “My husband and I came here about 30 years ago on vacation. We lived in Texas all of our lives, I was a school teacher and my husband was an attorney for several large business and corporations back home. After years and years of giving all of his attention to corrupt businessmen, he decided to retire. He wanted to be someplace peaceful and this part of the California coast was always so peaceful to John, so we decided to come back here. But enough about me, what’s your story, you from around these parts?” asked Addie. “No I’m actually from L.A.” said Genevieve. “Hmmm, is that right?” asked Addie. “Yes.” responded Genevieve, staring out of the windows, in a deep gaze, almost hypnotized by the view from the kitchen window. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that little situation that was mentioned on the evening news last night, would you?” asked the old woman. Suddenly the question knocked Genevieve out of her daydreaming stupor, caught off guard, stuttering, she had no idea how to answer the question, “What do you mean?” asked Genevieve. “You’re the one those folks are looking for aren’t you?” asked Addie. “Look I appreciate you allowing me to stay here, and I know you don’t want any trouble. If you want me to leave, I’ll leave.” said Genevieve. “Now just hold your horses, I won’t lie to you there is a measure of concern, but no one’s putting you out. The real question is, ‘What are you running from?’” asked the woman. “A broken heart and a lingering trail of ashes.” said Genevieve hopelessly. “You know facing the truth can be a difficult thing. It takes a strong person to look into the mirror at themselves and face what’s right in front of them. But if you spend your life running away from the hard stuff you can get so consumed with not looking that you miss seeing the good. You miss all those things that you should be grateful for. Those things you take for granted.” said Addie. “Thank you.” said Genevieve, “All of that sounds very noble, but some situations are harder to face than others.” “I didn’t say it was easy.” said Addie, “But you owe it to yourself to face up to whatever it is you’re running from. You deserve to be able to move on with your life. You’re young! You shouldn’t be out here in the middle of nowhere, secluding yourself from the rest of the world. Don’t let the jackass that broke your heart think he’s got the better of you. The best thing you can do for yourself and the worst thing you can do to him is to face up to what happened, own up to your part in the tizzy, and move on. That’s it.”
“Thanks. You’re right. Thanks for the biscuits Addie, I really do appreciate it.” said Genevieve. “Oh anytime honey, besides you’re doing the dishes anyway.” said Addie patting Genevieve’s arm as she got up to leave. Genevieve simply laughed and continued to enjoy her hearty breakfast before taking on her chores. After cleaning the kitchen, she soon began to feel sick and ran upstairs to the bathroom throwing up part of her breakfast. This queasiness had started last week and deep down she knew what was going on. She sat on the bed thinking about her life and everything that had transpired over the past few weeks. She knew Addie was right. It was time to confront her giant. But she wouldn’t do it there. She would go somewhere else so that the number couldn’t be traced back to her new residence. Genevieve grabbed her things and headed out of the door. Driving into town, she passed a phone booth about a block down from the local coffee shop. She parked and walked to the booth. Once she picked up the phone, she paused at the thought of finally speaking with him again. She dialed the number and listened as the phone rang. “Hello.” said Gavin. “Gavin, this is Genevieve. I’m going to make this quick. It’s over between us and if you try contacting me again, that heap of ashes you called home will be just the tip of the ice berg!” she threatened. “You are out of your damn mind!” he yelled. “Well I guess that means I have been out of my mind for 10 years! You know what you promised me and you didn’t follow through on that promise. We were finally supposed to start our life together and I go there to find out your still sleeping with her! On the day we were supposed to go New York to start a new life! You knew how much this meant to me!” she said fighting back tears. “Look Genevieve, I admit you and I were both a bit delusional okay. But you knew I couldn’t just up and leave her! You know damn well what the circumstances behind this marriage are. Your father basically had me by the balls working in his company and to ensure my promotion I had to take Julianne on, it was the only way I could be sure I’d still have a job!” said Gavin. “Bullshit!” said Genevieve “You knew damn well what you were doing and you stabbed me in the back! But I was the one who was stupid enough to think it wouldn’t last. Hoping that you and I would magically have the life you said we would after all of the time, love, and energy I put into this sham of a relationship. Having to stand there and watch you marry her! But you didn’t have the balls to stand up for us! You sold us out Gavin, you son of a bitch! Everything we had, you sold it out! And correction, he isn’t MY father! Why the hell do think you he wanted you so badly to marry Julianne! There was no way on earth he was going to have his successor be married to anyone else but his own daughter! Remember Gavin, blood is thicker than water and you fell right into the trap!” argued Genevieve. “Genevieve, the police are after you, Julianne has them out like bloodhounds looking for you for burning the house down. You didn’t have to go that far! Did you think you would get away with this?” asked Gavin “I didn’t care! You both deserved it!” she said. “Well Julianne is talking about getting you put away on charges of arson Genevieve!” “Well if you’re smart, then you will calm her down and have her call off her dogs. I mean it Gavin, you do not want to push me on this one. I have dealt with the hurt and pain of seeing you two together for too long now knowing that I was cheated and manipulated. But not anymore, if you keep this up, then I promise you will be sorry!”
“What is that supposed to mean?” asked Gavin. “It means…” said Genevieve, “Convince Julianne to call off the cops and just count her losses.” “Why?” he asked “Why would you think Julianne would simply be cooperative enough just to sit back and let this go?” “Because” said Genevieve, “I know how she feels about her perfect image. And right about now, I doubt she’d want the impending birth of our ‘love child’ to taint that image…” “What do you mean ‘Love Child’? Genevieve what are you saying to me?” asked Gavin. “I’m saying congratulations Daddy… We’re expecting!”
Tune in next Sunday for your Dose of Drama and find out what happens on the next installment of “Genevieve O’Hare! Log on and get your read on!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Her mouth went dry and her mind went blank. For the first time ever in her career, Dr. Hendricks was at a lost for words. She simply said the first thing that came out of her mouth, which of course was a very logical question. “What do you mean she’s not your wife?!” she asked. “Genevieve is not my wife Dr. Hendricks. That is all I will say, I just thought that you should have the privilege of taking that information into consideration as you diagnose her. Believe me, she’s a rare case and I just thought you should be aware.” he said confidently. At this point, although Dr. Hendricks cared very much for her patients and took great care and concern with their problems, she was no fool, and she took offense to anyone who tried ‘taking her for a ride’. Most people thought that therapists were full of crap, but she wasn’t. However, she was pretty sure that this Mr. Norris on the other end of the phone was definitely full of something!
“Look Mr. Norris, if Genevieve is as mentally far gone as you say she is, then why do you care to call and consult with her doctor. I mean with the names you’ve called her, I would think you’d rather just wish her good riddance and move on. So I am now questioning which person has the true obsession here. Furthermore, regardless of whether you are calling to inform or to investigate concerning Mrs. O’Hare, her health is none of your concern in ANY capacity, neither is my methodology for diagnosis of my patients. Now, I do hope that whatever issues or concerns you have can be worked out, however, unless you are one of my patients you will have to do that on your own time. I do wish you well Mr. Norris, and please have a good day.” said Dr. Hendricks. “Dr. wait, Dr….” pleaded Gavin stammering. “Have a good day Mr. Norris!” said the doctor firmly and with that she hung up the phone.
“What in the world is going on?” said Rose. “I have absolutely no clue,” said Dr. Hendricks “Now I’m even more worried about Genevieve, and although he may have been telling the truth about her, it sounded in his voice as if he may have been desperately trying to cover up some very messy tracks of his own. I gave Genevieve my on call number for tonight. Hopefully she will be in touch soon.” Finally packing her briefcase, Dr. Hendricks grabbed her keys and wished Rose a good night. She would be on pins and needles for the rest of the night, hoping to soon hear from the patient who’d managed so suddenly to shaken up her day.
Meanwhile, Genevieve, had gotten into her car and had driven to a spot up on the hillside overlooking the coast, what should she do, where should she go she thought to herself. Driving around in a 2010 E-Class Coupe sure as hell wasn’t going to help out her plan to go unfound. She had to ditch the car! She headed to the nearest, local, most homegrown car retailer in town. She turned onto the road and drove into town and she spotted it, Donnie’s Auto Sales. She pulled into the lot and parked. She was hard to miss and even though Donnie himself couldn’t understand what the hell a woman of her caliber was doing pulling up in his lot, he wasted no time! “Well hello, Mrs…?” he said with a sly grin on his face and an outstretched hand. “Just call me Genny, how are you today sir?” she responded. “I’m doing just fine ma’am, I’m Donnie, the owner. What brings you here to Donnie’s Auto Sales today?” he asked. “Well I’m looking to trade this thing in for something just a bit more practical.” she said smiling. Giving an awkward laugh due to his confusion, Donnie walked around her stunning piece of machinery, looking through the car windows and admiring the view, “well I must say, ma’am, um Genny, I really don’t understand why you’d want to trade in such a fine vehicle? My inventory is full of a bunch of duds compared to what you’re riding in.” “Look Mr., I didn’t come to this place looking for the 3rd degree and a firing squad, I just want to trade it in that’s all. I just want something in good shape that won’t fail me on the road, I got to hit the road pretty soon here.” she said annoyed and impatiently. “Okay well, I’ve got a ’98 Chevy Convertible,” he said smiling, “that looks like it would fit you quite nicely. And I got a 2005 hatchback, it’s a nice one. The previous owner took good care of it; that is if you don’t mind the ketchup stains from the 6 year olds on the back seat.” “I’ll take the convertible.” said Genevieve. “Just like that?” asked the salesman, “No test drive, no negotiations, you just want to take it?” he asked. “As I mentioned before, I really don’t have time, I have to get on the road before dark. Don’t worry, the coupe is paid off. I got cash.” she said hurriedly. “That’s all you need to say to me ma’am! Let’s take a walk into my office and I’ll get everything set up for you and give you the keys to your new wheels! You’ll love it, and I guarantee it! That’s what we say here at Donnie’s Auto Sales!” he grinned and almost skipped his way into the office.
Thirty minutes later, Genevieve was in her not so new, cherry red, Chevrolet Convertible with the top down and headed to Big Sur. Getting rid of the Benz seemed to lift a heavy burden from her shoulders, she felt free in her newly purchased car and was convinced that she wouldn’t be recognized in it as easily. She decided that she loved this area along the coast and wanted to stay despite the risk. She would simply do her best to stay low key she thought. She even fantasized about starting a new life in the area free from all of the pain and all of the deep dark secrets that came with her life in L.A. She knew at some point she would have to make contact, answer questions, give explanations, but not now, right now she just wanted to take in the smell of salt water and feel the breeze on her skin. She wanted to take in the sunset as she drove along and pretended, at least for a moment that there was peace in her life. As she was driving she approached a sign posted alongside the road that read “room for rent”. As she passed the sign, she noticed it was right next to what seemed to be a private drive. Genevieve slowed and made a u-turn. As she turned into the drive, she drove along a curved path that led her up a hilltop. She approached a large yet lonely looking two story house that had windows facing the ocean. Genevieve was immediately intrigued by the thought of panoramic views. She pulled up to the house and turned off her engine. She got out of the car and looked around for a few moments before walking up the steps onto a porch. She noticed a big fat gray cat curled up in a rocking chair. She smiled and knocked on the door. She stood there for what seemed to be an eternity, until finally, the door slowly begin to open. A little old woman who looked to be in her 70’s with a thick head of white hair fixed in a bun sitting on top of her head in the very middle, took a look at Genevieve, giving her a suspicious eye, “I’m not buying!” she said firmly and began to close the door. “The sign!” said Genevieve loudly, “You have a sign, at the end of the drive that said ‘room for rent’. I came to inquire about the room.”
“The room! Oh for heaven’s sakes! Why didn’t you say so?!” said the lady seeming annoyed. “Well come on in, let me have a look you. What’s your name, young lady?” “My name is Genny O’Hare.” “Well, Genny, my name is Adelaide, but you can call me Addie. You’ll have to forgive me, that sign’s been up for about a year now and no one’s ever stopped by. The room for rent is over the garage. It’s a one bedroom apartment with a small bath and an economy sized kitchen. It’s nothing fancy. It’s $200 bucks a month. I only accept cash, the rent is due on the 1st of every month.” said the old woman turning around to look at Genevieve waiting for a response. “That’s fine.” said Genevieve. “Okay then” said Addie “Let’s go up and take a look at the place.” They walked out of the front door and across the yard until they reached the side of a two-car garage. There was a winding stair case on the side of the garage which led up to a door. The two women climbed the stair case and Addie reached down into her pocket and pulled out one silver key. As they walked inside, they entered a small living area with a 20 inch television set on a stand in the corner of the room. The tiny kitchen was off to the left and there was a room off to the right which Genevieve assumed had to be the bedroom. After showing her where everything was, the old woman wasted no time laying down the rules. “You may come and go as you please but I do have rules. I do not allow any loud parties, no domestic trouble, keep the place clean, and no loud noise after 10pm. You can take half of the garage and park your car and there’s a door on the other side of the stove here that leads down into the garage without having to walk outside. Once you get down into the garage there’s another door there that will lead you into the main house. I lock that door at 10pm as well. You provide your own food; that much I do not supply. There’s no worry on your part for the utilities so I will ask that you have the rent on time every month. If you’re going to be late at all just let me know. But after two months, I’ll have to ask you to leave. Now just let me know that you understand all of that and if you’re ready I’ll go ahead and write you a receipt for the first month.” “I understand.” said Genevieve and opened her bag to hand the woman two crisp one hundred dollar bills. Addie opened up a drawer in the kitchen and pulled out an old writing pad and pen. She documented their informal transaction, tore it in half, and handed one half to her new tenet. “Nice doing business with you. Here’s your key, don’t lose it! It’s the only one I’ve got. I’ll leave you to get yourself situated.” she said. “Thank you Addie.” said Genevieve watching as the woman left the apartment.
She decided she would go down to get her things out of the car and then come back and freshen up. Genevieve had been so stressed that all she wanted to do was lie down, she had no appetite at all. Once she was relaxed she decided to turn on the television. It had been a good week since she had any connection at all to the outside world. She found the remote positioned in its proper place on the stand right next to the television and turned it on just in time to see the evening news. The story she heard being reported was one about a missing woman, Genevieve thought nothing of it until she saw her picture pop onto the screen. “Tonight a desperate family is looking for their daughter, Genevieve O’Hare. The woman went missing earlier this week and hasn’t been heard or seen of since. Her family is asking anyone that may know of her whereabouts to please come forward.” said the news reporter. They then switched to a video of her mother and father. They were embraced with worried looks on their faces and her mother was pleading into the camera. Genevieve knew they were speaking to her. “If anyone knows where my daughter is, please come forward and Genevieve, if you’re watching this, please call! We just want to know that you’re okay.” Genevieve immediately turned off the television. She would call her family as soon as she could, but not tonight. First thing in the morning she knew what she had to do. It had been long enough and it was time. She had to confront the two people who had managed to turn her life upside down…
Tune in next Sunday for your Dose of Drama and find out what happens on the next installment of “Genevieve O’Hare! Log on and get your read on!
“Look Mr. Norris, if Genevieve is as mentally far gone as you say she is, then why do you care to call and consult with her doctor. I mean with the names you’ve called her, I would think you’d rather just wish her good riddance and move on. So I am now questioning which person has the true obsession here. Furthermore, regardless of whether you are calling to inform or to investigate concerning Mrs. O’Hare, her health is none of your concern in ANY capacity, neither is my methodology for diagnosis of my patients. Now, I do hope that whatever issues or concerns you have can be worked out, however, unless you are one of my patients you will have to do that on your own time. I do wish you well Mr. Norris, and please have a good day.” said Dr. Hendricks. “Dr. wait, Dr….” pleaded Gavin stammering. “Have a good day Mr. Norris!” said the doctor firmly and with that she hung up the phone.
“What in the world is going on?” said Rose. “I have absolutely no clue,” said Dr. Hendricks “Now I’m even more worried about Genevieve, and although he may have been telling the truth about her, it sounded in his voice as if he may have been desperately trying to cover up some very messy tracks of his own. I gave Genevieve my on call number for tonight. Hopefully she will be in touch soon.” Finally packing her briefcase, Dr. Hendricks grabbed her keys and wished Rose a good night. She would be on pins and needles for the rest of the night, hoping to soon hear from the patient who’d managed so suddenly to shaken up her day.
Meanwhile, Genevieve, had gotten into her car and had driven to a spot up on the hillside overlooking the coast, what should she do, where should she go she thought to herself. Driving around in a 2010 E-Class Coupe sure as hell wasn’t going to help out her plan to go unfound. She had to ditch the car! She headed to the nearest, local, most homegrown car retailer in town. She turned onto the road and drove into town and she spotted it, Donnie’s Auto Sales. She pulled into the lot and parked. She was hard to miss and even though Donnie himself couldn’t understand what the hell a woman of her caliber was doing pulling up in his lot, he wasted no time! “Well hello, Mrs…?” he said with a sly grin on his face and an outstretched hand. “Just call me Genny, how are you today sir?” she responded. “I’m doing just fine ma’am, I’m Donnie, the owner. What brings you here to Donnie’s Auto Sales today?” he asked. “Well I’m looking to trade this thing in for something just a bit more practical.” she said smiling. Giving an awkward laugh due to his confusion, Donnie walked around her stunning piece of machinery, looking through the car windows and admiring the view, “well I must say, ma’am, um Genny, I really don’t understand why you’d want to trade in such a fine vehicle? My inventory is full of a bunch of duds compared to what you’re riding in.” “Look Mr., I didn’t come to this place looking for the 3rd degree and a firing squad, I just want to trade it in that’s all. I just want something in good shape that won’t fail me on the road, I got to hit the road pretty soon here.” she said annoyed and impatiently. “Okay well, I’ve got a ’98 Chevy Convertible,” he said smiling, “that looks like it would fit you quite nicely. And I got a 2005 hatchback, it’s a nice one. The previous owner took good care of it; that is if you don’t mind the ketchup stains from the 6 year olds on the back seat.” “I’ll take the convertible.” said Genevieve. “Just like that?” asked the salesman, “No test drive, no negotiations, you just want to take it?” he asked. “As I mentioned before, I really don’t have time, I have to get on the road before dark. Don’t worry, the coupe is paid off. I got cash.” she said hurriedly. “That’s all you need to say to me ma’am! Let’s take a walk into my office and I’ll get everything set up for you and give you the keys to your new wheels! You’ll love it, and I guarantee it! That’s what we say here at Donnie’s Auto Sales!” he grinned and almost skipped his way into the office.
Thirty minutes later, Genevieve was in her not so new, cherry red, Chevrolet Convertible with the top down and headed to Big Sur. Getting rid of the Benz seemed to lift a heavy burden from her shoulders, she felt free in her newly purchased car and was convinced that she wouldn’t be recognized in it as easily. She decided that she loved this area along the coast and wanted to stay despite the risk. She would simply do her best to stay low key she thought. She even fantasized about starting a new life in the area free from all of the pain and all of the deep dark secrets that came with her life in L.A. She knew at some point she would have to make contact, answer questions, give explanations, but not now, right now she just wanted to take in the smell of salt water and feel the breeze on her skin. She wanted to take in the sunset as she drove along and pretended, at least for a moment that there was peace in her life. As she was driving she approached a sign posted alongside the road that read “room for rent”. As she passed the sign, she noticed it was right next to what seemed to be a private drive. Genevieve slowed and made a u-turn. As she turned into the drive, she drove along a curved path that led her up a hilltop. She approached a large yet lonely looking two story house that had windows facing the ocean. Genevieve was immediately intrigued by the thought of panoramic views. She pulled up to the house and turned off her engine. She got out of the car and looked around for a few moments before walking up the steps onto a porch. She noticed a big fat gray cat curled up in a rocking chair. She smiled and knocked on the door. She stood there for what seemed to be an eternity, until finally, the door slowly begin to open. A little old woman who looked to be in her 70’s with a thick head of white hair fixed in a bun sitting on top of her head in the very middle, took a look at Genevieve, giving her a suspicious eye, “I’m not buying!” she said firmly and began to close the door. “The sign!” said Genevieve loudly, “You have a sign, at the end of the drive that said ‘room for rent’. I came to inquire about the room.”
“The room! Oh for heaven’s sakes! Why didn’t you say so?!” said the lady seeming annoyed. “Well come on in, let me have a look you. What’s your name, young lady?” “My name is Genny O’Hare.” “Well, Genny, my name is Adelaide, but you can call me Addie. You’ll have to forgive me, that sign’s been up for about a year now and no one’s ever stopped by. The room for rent is over the garage. It’s a one bedroom apartment with a small bath and an economy sized kitchen. It’s nothing fancy. It’s $200 bucks a month. I only accept cash, the rent is due on the 1st of every month.” said the old woman turning around to look at Genevieve waiting for a response. “That’s fine.” said Genevieve. “Okay then” said Addie “Let’s go up and take a look at the place.” They walked out of the front door and across the yard until they reached the side of a two-car garage. There was a winding stair case on the side of the garage which led up to a door. The two women climbed the stair case and Addie reached down into her pocket and pulled out one silver key. As they walked inside, they entered a small living area with a 20 inch television set on a stand in the corner of the room. The tiny kitchen was off to the left and there was a room off to the right which Genevieve assumed had to be the bedroom. After showing her where everything was, the old woman wasted no time laying down the rules. “You may come and go as you please but I do have rules. I do not allow any loud parties, no domestic trouble, keep the place clean, and no loud noise after 10pm. You can take half of the garage and park your car and there’s a door on the other side of the stove here that leads down into the garage without having to walk outside. Once you get down into the garage there’s another door there that will lead you into the main house. I lock that door at 10pm as well. You provide your own food; that much I do not supply. There’s no worry on your part for the utilities so I will ask that you have the rent on time every month. If you’re going to be late at all just let me know. But after two months, I’ll have to ask you to leave. Now just let me know that you understand all of that and if you’re ready I’ll go ahead and write you a receipt for the first month.” “I understand.” said Genevieve and opened her bag to hand the woman two crisp one hundred dollar bills. Addie opened up a drawer in the kitchen and pulled out an old writing pad and pen. She documented their informal transaction, tore it in half, and handed one half to her new tenet. “Nice doing business with you. Here’s your key, don’t lose it! It’s the only one I’ve got. I’ll leave you to get yourself situated.” she said. “Thank you Addie.” said Genevieve watching as the woman left the apartment.
She decided she would go down to get her things out of the car and then come back and freshen up. Genevieve had been so stressed that all she wanted to do was lie down, she had no appetite at all. Once she was relaxed she decided to turn on the television. It had been a good week since she had any connection at all to the outside world. She found the remote positioned in its proper place on the stand right next to the television and turned it on just in time to see the evening news. The story she heard being reported was one about a missing woman, Genevieve thought nothing of it until she saw her picture pop onto the screen. “Tonight a desperate family is looking for their daughter, Genevieve O’Hare. The woman went missing earlier this week and hasn’t been heard or seen of since. Her family is asking anyone that may know of her whereabouts to please come forward.” said the news reporter. They then switched to a video of her mother and father. They were embraced with worried looks on their faces and her mother was pleading into the camera. Genevieve knew they were speaking to her. “If anyone knows where my daughter is, please come forward and Genevieve, if you’re watching this, please call! We just want to know that you’re okay.” Genevieve immediately turned off the television. She would call her family as soon as she could, but not tonight. First thing in the morning she knew what she had to do. It had been long enough and it was time. She had to confront the two people who had managed to turn her life upside down…
Tune in next Sunday for your Dose of Drama and find out what happens on the next installment of “Genevieve O’Hare! Log on and get your read on!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
INSTALLMENT #3
Genevieve began to panic, ousting her body from the overly comfortable chair as if she’d suddenly sat on a pin. She turned from left to right as if hoping some magic door would suddenly appear through which she could escape. “Genevieve” said Dr. Hendricks instantly, “now I need for you to calm down. You cannot panic! I understand that you’re scared right now and worried but I need you to compose yourself.” “Oh God, Oh God, Oh God! What do you mean ‘don’t panic’?! What am I supposed to do now doctor?!” said Genevieve hysterically as she nervously paced the floor. “Well for one, I need for you to keep quiet! Let me go out there and handle it. I promise you it’ll all be okay. Do you trust me?” asked the doctor. Genevieve continued to pace, wringing her hands with every step. Dr. Hendricks stepped in front of her, grabbing her by both of her shoulders, “Genevieve, do you trust me?” Looking at the doctor and realizing she had no other choice, she nodded her head yes. At this point there was nothing she could do, except perhaps wait for them to burst their way into the doctor’s office and take her away.
“Wait here Genevieve” urged Dr. Hendricks, “give me just a few moments and I’ll be right back.” Genevieve, mentally wrecked, reclaimed her seat in the chair to wait on what she perceived to be her dreaded fate in the back of a police car. Dr. Hendricks exited the office and closed the door quickly behind her.
The doctor walked into the office waiting room to find two police officers seated in the chairs, ready and anxious to question her about Genevieve’s whereabouts. “Hello, gentlemen, I’m Dr. Gail Hendricks. How are you?” said the doctor as she reached out to shake hands with the officers, greeting them politely. “Hello, Dr. we’re doing just find today. This is Officer Henley and I am Officer Valeski. We’re sorry to bother you, we’re sure you’re very busy but we’ve come here today to inquire about what you may know concerning a Mrs. Genevieve O’Hare?” asked the policeman. “Genevieve O’Hare?” asked Dr. Hendricks returning his question in the same manner. “Uh yes, we have reason to believe that she’s come here to your office, as a patient perhaps.” said Officer Valeski. “What would make you think that?” asked Dr. Hendricks “Well, Dr. we believe that Mrs. O’Hare started a fire at a residence in the suburb of Brentwood down in Los Angeles about 3 days ago. A Mrs. Julianne Norris reported it on March 15, at 3:00p.m. A check was then cashed in Mrs. O’Hare’s name here in Monterey at a local bed and breakfast about 3 miles up the coast on March 16th. We went there to investigate and the owner directed us to you when she spotted Mrs. O’Hare checking out your listing in the phonebook. We decided we would check with you to see if you knew of any information regarding Mrs. O’Hare.” said Officer Valeski.
“With all due respect” responded Dr. Hendricks, “You two, being officers of the law know just as well as I do that verifying any information on any patient that I might have, is a direct violation of my doctor-patient confidentiality obligation.” “Okay” responded Officer Henley breaking his silence “I think this means that we can safely deduce that you have seen her since you are obviously not willing to give us any information on her. I mean if she wasn’t your patient you could simply say that you don’t know anyone by that name and we can all continue on with our day.” he said sarcastically.
“Well” said Dr. Hendricks smiling, “you may deduce whatever you like. However, until you have received sufficient evidence to take this Mrs. O’Hare to court for whatever violation she is accused of and I am then subpoenaed according to the law by a judge to provide any information, until then officers, I am sorry but there is no information that I am able to give to you at this time.” With a defeated smile, Officer Henley dropped his shoulders, “Fair enough Dr. Hendricks. Sorry we wasted your time” “That is quite alright gentlemen, you have a great afternoon.” said the doctor. She watched and waited as the two men left the office. Dr. Hendricks turned to look at the receptionist and took a deep breath. “Dr. Hendricks, I’d just like to say that working for you is better than sitting home all day in front of the tube watching a marathon of ‘As the World Turns’ with a big bucket of bon bons!” said Rose enthusiastically. “Rose!” responded Dr. Hendricks grinning and shaking her head. “I’m just saying…” said the receptionist.
Genevieve’s head turned towards the door and once again she jumped from her chair as soon as the door opened and Dr. Hendricks returned. “What happened, are they still out there, are they still waiting to take me away?!” she asked frantically “No Genevieve, relax. Remember I told you I would take care of it. They’re gone.” said Dr. Hendricks looking intently at her wrecked patient. Genevieve continued taking deep breaths to relax from the incident that she knew she had full well escaped by the skin of her teeth. She sat back down in the chair and simply stared at the light brown carpet as if it would give her a solution to her problem. Dr. Hendricks interrupted her concentration. “Genevieve, I need to know exactly what happened with the fire. I know our time is up but I am concerned about your mental stability at this point and I need to know what happened.”
Without so much as a pause, Genevieve began to speak. “As I said earlier, after finding Gavin and my sister, I left. I was gone for a few days. They’d all called me repeatedly to try to find out where I was but I wouldn’t answer. I knew that Gavin liked to bog himself down at the office when there were issues with us at home and this was major so I was certain he wouldn’t be there. At that time I was still in L.A. just on the opposite side of town where no one would assume to find me. I went back to the house on a Tuesday, about 10a.m. Believe it or not, I went back to see if I could calm myself, to try to figure out if I had anything inside of me to be able to work this out with him. But, as soon as I opened the door to the house, it all came flooding back to me again. With each step I took further and further into the house, the more livid I became. I finally went into the bedroom and I couldn’t even stand to go near the bed. I didn’t want to touch it! All of a sudden I begin to feel cold all over, and this rage, there was just this rage!” “It’s okay Genevieve, it’s okay, keep going.” urged the doctor.
Genevieve continued, “At the time I wasn’t worried about arson because blood was thicker than water and vows are sacred, or so I thought! I did it, all of it before he ever made it back home from work. I grabbed his extra stash of gasoline out of the garage. I went through the house yanking down all of the photographs, pulling down all of the artwork from the walls, grabbed his clothes from the closet, and every trinket he had ever brought me, including my wedding ring and I piled it all on top of the bed. That big elaborate California King we shared. I doused everything with the gasoline! How nice it would be I thought, when he’d finally come back home to find all that he obviously cared NOTHING about to be gone, and to find me gone, miles away from him, from what we had, just leaving the shit behind. I lit a match and it seemed as in one breath everything went up in flames. I even stood there with the fire growing for a few moments and watched it burn. It was like watching my whole entire life go up in flames. Once I realized the smoke alarm was actually going off, I left. I figured the little he could manage to save from the ash and rubble he could share with my darling sister.”
“Okay” said Dr. Hendricks listening and fully able to see the rage in Genevieve’s eyes. “The lady who reported the fire, Julianne Norris, who is she?” asked the doctor. “Julianne Norris?” asked Genevieve seeming confused. “She reported the fire?” “Yes” said Dr. Hendricks, “That was according to the police officers. Who is she? Is she a neighbor who may have seen you leave the house?” she asked. “No!” said Genevieve, “Julianne’s my sister! After everything that bitch came back! I can’t believe she came back!” “Maybe she felt the need to give you an explanation, an apology.” said the doctor. “What sort of an apology could she possibly give?!” yelled back Genevieve. “I don’t know” responded the doctor “but for now I’m going to give you a prescription for Xanax. This will help you to calm down. I want you to get a good night’s rest. Here is the emergency number for my cell. I will be on call tonight so I’m available if you should happen to need me. If you are still in Monterey by next Thursday, I want you to come back and see me. I’ll have Rose schedule you for 2:00p.m. How’s that?” asked Dr. Hendricks “That’s fine.” responded Genevieve. At this point she was happy to accept any form of medication that would help her get through to the next day. She knew what she had to do. She’d already paid for her stay at the B&B. All of her belongings were in the trunk of her car. She would keep driving and she would cash no more checks, she would stop by an ATM and figure out her next step when she got to wherever it was she decided to go. She thanked the doctor for all of her help. She took the number and the appointment card and she left.
Assuming the worst was over, Dr. Hendricks decided they would call it a day. Her last appointment had canceled and although business was needed she considered it a blessing in disguise. Just as she was informing her receptionist that they could wrap it up for the day, the phone rang. “Good afternoon, Dr. Gail Hendricks office, this is Rose speaking, how may I help you.” Dr. Hendricks, could faintly hear a voice on the other end but could not make out what was being said, all she could clearly see was Rose’s face slowly revealing shock. Rose then asked the caller on the other end to hold blocking the receiver with her hand, “Dr. I think you want to take this.” she said. “Rose, I don’t care how good the story is, how big the problem is, or how mental the case is. We are done for the day. Let whoever it is know that I have a free appointment slot for 11am on this coming Friday. That’s all for now.” said Dr. Hendricks confidently assuming she’d thwarted another problem for the day. “Dr. Hendricks, I do apologize but I think you may want to take this one.” said Rose “Why Rose? What is so important?” said the doctor impatiently as she proceeded to walk back into her office to pack up her briefcase. “It’s a Gavin Norris on the phone, he says he has information you may need to know regarding Mrs. O’Hare.” she said. Dr. Hendricks stopped what she was doing, looking confused, “Gavin Norris? Don’t you mean Gavin O’Hare Rose.” “Nope” said Rose “I’m pretty sure I heard him say Gavin Norris.” Dr. Hendricks took a deep breath, “Fine!” she said.
“Hello, this is Dr. Hendricks speaking how may I help you?” she asked. “Hello Dr.” said the man on the other end of the line, “My name is Gavin Norris. I’m calling concerning Genevieve O’Hare. The police told us that they had reason to believe that you are seeing her as a patient so I decided to look you up and call you myself.” “Okay look” said Dr. Hendricks becoming very much annoyed at this point, “as I told the officers that were here, I do not give out information on patients! And who may I ask are you?” asked Dr. Hendricks forcefully. “As I said before, my name is Gavin Norris, and I’m not calling to try to get any information out of you on Genevieve, I’m actually calling to give YOU information. I’m Genevieve’s brother-in-law.” he said. “Brother-in-law?” asked Dr. Hendricks now very stunned and confused, “What do you mean ‘brother-in-law’?!” “I’m her brother-in-law doctor. From the confusion in your voice I am certain that if you’ve seen her, she’s told you we are married. I can assure we are not. She’s a liar and she’s crazy. Genevieve is not my wife….”
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Genevieve began to panic, ousting her body from the overly comfortable chair as if she’d suddenly sat on a pin. She turned from left to right as if hoping some magic door would suddenly appear through which she could escape. “Genevieve” said Dr. Hendricks instantly, “now I need for you to calm down. You cannot panic! I understand that you’re scared right now and worried but I need you to compose yourself.” “Oh God, Oh God, Oh God! What do you mean ‘don’t panic’?! What am I supposed to do now doctor?!” said Genevieve hysterically as she nervously paced the floor. “Well for one, I need for you to keep quiet! Let me go out there and handle it. I promise you it’ll all be okay. Do you trust me?” asked the doctor. Genevieve continued to pace, wringing her hands with every step. Dr. Hendricks stepped in front of her, grabbing her by both of her shoulders, “Genevieve, do you trust me?” Looking at the doctor and realizing she had no other choice, she nodded her head yes. At this point there was nothing she could do, except perhaps wait for them to burst their way into the doctor’s office and take her away.
“Wait here Genevieve” urged Dr. Hendricks, “give me just a few moments and I’ll be right back.” Genevieve, mentally wrecked, reclaimed her seat in the chair to wait on what she perceived to be her dreaded fate in the back of a police car. Dr. Hendricks exited the office and closed the door quickly behind her.
The doctor walked into the office waiting room to find two police officers seated in the chairs, ready and anxious to question her about Genevieve’s whereabouts. “Hello, gentlemen, I’m Dr. Gail Hendricks. How are you?” said the doctor as she reached out to shake hands with the officers, greeting them politely. “Hello, Dr. we’re doing just find today. This is Officer Henley and I am Officer Valeski. We’re sorry to bother you, we’re sure you’re very busy but we’ve come here today to inquire about what you may know concerning a Mrs. Genevieve O’Hare?” asked the policeman. “Genevieve O’Hare?” asked Dr. Hendricks returning his question in the same manner. “Uh yes, we have reason to believe that she’s come here to your office, as a patient perhaps.” said Officer Valeski. “What would make you think that?” asked Dr. Hendricks “Well, Dr. we believe that Mrs. O’Hare started a fire at a residence in the suburb of Brentwood down in Los Angeles about 3 days ago. A Mrs. Julianne Norris reported it on March 15, at 3:00p.m. A check was then cashed in Mrs. O’Hare’s name here in Monterey at a local bed and breakfast about 3 miles up the coast on March 16th. We went there to investigate and the owner directed us to you when she spotted Mrs. O’Hare checking out your listing in the phonebook. We decided we would check with you to see if you knew of any information regarding Mrs. O’Hare.” said Officer Valeski.
“With all due respect” responded Dr. Hendricks, “You two, being officers of the law know just as well as I do that verifying any information on any patient that I might have, is a direct violation of my doctor-patient confidentiality obligation.” “Okay” responded Officer Henley breaking his silence “I think this means that we can safely deduce that you have seen her since you are obviously not willing to give us any information on her. I mean if she wasn’t your patient you could simply say that you don’t know anyone by that name and we can all continue on with our day.” he said sarcastically.
“Well” said Dr. Hendricks smiling, “you may deduce whatever you like. However, until you have received sufficient evidence to take this Mrs. O’Hare to court for whatever violation she is accused of and I am then subpoenaed according to the law by a judge to provide any information, until then officers, I am sorry but there is no information that I am able to give to you at this time.” With a defeated smile, Officer Henley dropped his shoulders, “Fair enough Dr. Hendricks. Sorry we wasted your time” “That is quite alright gentlemen, you have a great afternoon.” said the doctor. She watched and waited as the two men left the office. Dr. Hendricks turned to look at the receptionist and took a deep breath. “Dr. Hendricks, I’d just like to say that working for you is better than sitting home all day in front of the tube watching a marathon of ‘As the World Turns’ with a big bucket of bon bons!” said Rose enthusiastically. “Rose!” responded Dr. Hendricks grinning and shaking her head. “I’m just saying…” said the receptionist.
Genevieve’s head turned towards the door and once again she jumped from her chair as soon as the door opened and Dr. Hendricks returned. “What happened, are they still out there, are they still waiting to take me away?!” she asked frantically “No Genevieve, relax. Remember I told you I would take care of it. They’re gone.” said Dr. Hendricks looking intently at her wrecked patient. Genevieve continued taking deep breaths to relax from the incident that she knew she had full well escaped by the skin of her teeth. She sat back down in the chair and simply stared at the light brown carpet as if it would give her a solution to her problem. Dr. Hendricks interrupted her concentration. “Genevieve, I need to know exactly what happened with the fire. I know our time is up but I am concerned about your mental stability at this point and I need to know what happened.”
Without so much as a pause, Genevieve began to speak. “As I said earlier, after finding Gavin and my sister, I left. I was gone for a few days. They’d all called me repeatedly to try to find out where I was but I wouldn’t answer. I knew that Gavin liked to bog himself down at the office when there were issues with us at home and this was major so I was certain he wouldn’t be there. At that time I was still in L.A. just on the opposite side of town where no one would assume to find me. I went back to the house on a Tuesday, about 10a.m. Believe it or not, I went back to see if I could calm myself, to try to figure out if I had anything inside of me to be able to work this out with him. But, as soon as I opened the door to the house, it all came flooding back to me again. With each step I took further and further into the house, the more livid I became. I finally went into the bedroom and I couldn’t even stand to go near the bed. I didn’t want to touch it! All of a sudden I begin to feel cold all over, and this rage, there was just this rage!” “It’s okay Genevieve, it’s okay, keep going.” urged the doctor.
Genevieve continued, “At the time I wasn’t worried about arson because blood was thicker than water and vows are sacred, or so I thought! I did it, all of it before he ever made it back home from work. I grabbed his extra stash of gasoline out of the garage. I went through the house yanking down all of the photographs, pulling down all of the artwork from the walls, grabbed his clothes from the closet, and every trinket he had ever brought me, including my wedding ring and I piled it all on top of the bed. That big elaborate California King we shared. I doused everything with the gasoline! How nice it would be I thought, when he’d finally come back home to find all that he obviously cared NOTHING about to be gone, and to find me gone, miles away from him, from what we had, just leaving the shit behind. I lit a match and it seemed as in one breath everything went up in flames. I even stood there with the fire growing for a few moments and watched it burn. It was like watching my whole entire life go up in flames. Once I realized the smoke alarm was actually going off, I left. I figured the little he could manage to save from the ash and rubble he could share with my darling sister.”
“Okay” said Dr. Hendricks listening and fully able to see the rage in Genevieve’s eyes. “The lady who reported the fire, Julianne Norris, who is she?” asked the doctor. “Julianne Norris?” asked Genevieve seeming confused. “She reported the fire?” “Yes” said Dr. Hendricks, “That was according to the police officers. Who is she? Is she a neighbor who may have seen you leave the house?” she asked. “No!” said Genevieve, “Julianne’s my sister! After everything that bitch came back! I can’t believe she came back!” “Maybe she felt the need to give you an explanation, an apology.” said the doctor. “What sort of an apology could she possibly give?!” yelled back Genevieve. “I don’t know” responded the doctor “but for now I’m going to give you a prescription for Xanax. This will help you to calm down. I want you to get a good night’s rest. Here is the emergency number for my cell. I will be on call tonight so I’m available if you should happen to need me. If you are still in Monterey by next Thursday, I want you to come back and see me. I’ll have Rose schedule you for 2:00p.m. How’s that?” asked Dr. Hendricks “That’s fine.” responded Genevieve. At this point she was happy to accept any form of medication that would help her get through to the next day. She knew what she had to do. She’d already paid for her stay at the B&B. All of her belongings were in the trunk of her car. She would keep driving and she would cash no more checks, she would stop by an ATM and figure out her next step when she got to wherever it was she decided to go. She thanked the doctor for all of her help. She took the number and the appointment card and she left.
Assuming the worst was over, Dr. Hendricks decided they would call it a day. Her last appointment had canceled and although business was needed she considered it a blessing in disguise. Just as she was informing her receptionist that they could wrap it up for the day, the phone rang. “Good afternoon, Dr. Gail Hendricks office, this is Rose speaking, how may I help you.” Dr. Hendricks, could faintly hear a voice on the other end but could not make out what was being said, all she could clearly see was Rose’s face slowly revealing shock. Rose then asked the caller on the other end to hold blocking the receiver with her hand, “Dr. I think you want to take this.” she said. “Rose, I don’t care how good the story is, how big the problem is, or how mental the case is. We are done for the day. Let whoever it is know that I have a free appointment slot for 11am on this coming Friday. That’s all for now.” said Dr. Hendricks confidently assuming she’d thwarted another problem for the day. “Dr. Hendricks, I do apologize but I think you may want to take this one.” said Rose “Why Rose? What is so important?” said the doctor impatiently as she proceeded to walk back into her office to pack up her briefcase. “It’s a Gavin Norris on the phone, he says he has information you may need to know regarding Mrs. O’Hare.” she said. Dr. Hendricks stopped what she was doing, looking confused, “Gavin Norris? Don’t you mean Gavin O’Hare Rose.” “Nope” said Rose “I’m pretty sure I heard him say Gavin Norris.” Dr. Hendricks took a deep breath, “Fine!” she said.
“Hello, this is Dr. Hendricks speaking how may I help you?” she asked. “Hello Dr.” said the man on the other end of the line, “My name is Gavin Norris. I’m calling concerning Genevieve O’Hare. The police told us that they had reason to believe that you are seeing her as a patient so I decided to look you up and call you myself.” “Okay look” said Dr. Hendricks becoming very much annoyed at this point, “as I told the officers that were here, I do not give out information on patients! And who may I ask are you?” asked Dr. Hendricks forcefully. “As I said before, my name is Gavin Norris, and I’m not calling to try to get any information out of you on Genevieve, I’m actually calling to give YOU information. I’m Genevieve’s brother-in-law.” he said. “Brother-in-law?” asked Dr. Hendricks now very stunned and confused, “What do you mean ‘brother-in-law’?!” “I’m her brother-in-law doctor. From the confusion in your voice I am certain that if you’ve seen her, she’s told you we are married. I can assure we are not. She’s a liar and she’s crazy. Genevieve is not my wife….”
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Sunday, June 7, 2009
"Genevieve O'Hare The Series"
INSTALLMENT #2:
“Genevieve! Listen to me, I need you to calm down and speak to me slowly and tell me exactly what happened. What do you mean they were in it?” asked Dr. Hendricks trying hard to suppress the sudden nervousness that had come over her. Genevieve continued to sob but eventually calmed a bit and exhaled loudly as if a huge boulder had been lifted from her shoulders. “Go ahead Genevieve, you can tell me, please remember that what you tell me here is strictly kept just between the two of us…” said the doctor. Genevieve looked up at the doctor and began to laugh awkwardly in the midst of her breakdown, “Oh come on now Doctor, are you telling me that if I admitted to burning up two people in a house fire, you wouldn’t turn me in just as soon as my check was cashed?” “Not unless I wanted to risk losing my license, as crazy as it sounds, and even still I would have a hard time trying to prove your ‘confession’ with no evidence seeing as though it is only you and I here talking. But, I would like to know exactly what took place. My job is to help you but I cannot do that unless you are completely honest with me.” urged Dr. Hendricks.
With another sigh, Genevieve began to give her account of what happened that day, “It was noontime on a Thursday, I’d gone out that day to have brunch with friends. After leaving the bistro, I decided I would get in a workout before heading to the market to buy groceries and make dinner later that evening for Gavin…” “Gavin?” asked Dr. Hendricks interrupting, “Is that your husband.” “Yes.” said Genevieve. The doctor sat back in her chair disregarding the clock on the wall indicating that their hour long session would soon be over. At this point, she was no longer as passive as she had been when the discussion first started; she was now very actively listening to her patient. “Go ahead.” said the doctor.
Genevieve continued, “Well I got to the gym, changed and got on the elliptical. I did that for about 20 minutes and then decided that I just wasn’t up for it that day, I just wanted to go home and curl up with a nice book and maybe spend some special time with my husband after dinner, you know, have a romantic night. So I decided I’d go home and begin planning the evening. Maybe it was naïve of me to think I could trust him. Late nights at the office were normal but I thought nothing of it because we would periodically call to check in during the day. I was SO stupid! I thought he actually loved me!” Dr. Hendricks interjected, “Genevieve there is nothing ‘stupid’ about you loving your husband or about him loving you. He was your husband and I want you to stop beating yourself up for that and not speak negatively about a normal emotion you had and/or have as a wife.”
She gave a half smile, at peace with having her emotions finally validated and continued on, “I called him up and asked about his schedule for the afternoon, I told him I’d gone to the gym and that I was going to make my stop at the market before coming home. I told him I had something special for him. He seemed excited and I told him I’d be home sometime after lunch and we hung up. I didn’t mention however that I’d already left the gym. As I said before I thought nothing of it. I went to the market as I’d planned and came home. I was coming up the drive and I saw his car. I thought it was weird and that should’ve been my first indication that something was wrong. I shrugged it off and just thought maybe his plans had changed and he’d decided to come home for lunch.”
Genevieve paused for a moment and took a deep breath with her eyes closed. Reliving the scene was difficult for her and Dr. Hendricks could see it in her face and in the tense movements off her body, but she had to know what happened and urged her to continue on. “Go ahead Genevieve, what happened next?”
She continued, “I opened the door and found it strange that he hadn’t set the alarm behind him. I spotted his briefcase on the table. But the sight that took my breath away was the purse lying next to it. I believe my heart stopped for a moment, and I was frozen in my steps. Then I realized the purse looked very familiar. It was my purse, a Valentino bag I’d let my sister borrow a week before. The confusion was racking my brain until I heard the sounds. They were sounds of moaning and groaning. I began walking up the stairs and although my feet were moving, I felt as though I were gliding along the corridor in a very bad dream. I walked up to the door of the bedroom and the door was slightly cracked. I pushed it open and right before my eyes; Gavin and my own sister were in the midst of making love. I think that maybe the worst part of it all was that it actually took them a moment to realize I was even standing there. Imagine that. It was that good to them. But, when they saw me, the look on their faces combined with shock said that it had obviously been too good for too long. I began to back out of the room, without a word as my sister laid there in awe in her nakedness. I turned to run and Gavin ran after me with hesitance to go any further than the back door so as not to make a scene and show his. I left and was gone for about 3 or 4 days, I can’t remember how long. It’s all a blur at this point.”
“Did he try to contact you at all during the time you had gone?” asked the doctor. “He tried.” said Genevieve “But of course I was not open to answering any of his calls. My mother and father also called saying that they were very worried. Gavin told them I’d left but of course he didn’t give them a reason as to why. I haven’t made an effort to contact any of them. I just wanted to be left alone.”
“Well you spoke of a fire. Let’s get to that. Tell me, what happened.” said Dr. Hendricks. “Dr. Gavin is looking for me. I know he is. He and my family both are. I just don’t know what to do or where to go!” As the tears once again began to well up in her eyes, the doctor noticed that she’d began the nervous fidgeting again and she wanted Genevieve to remain composed long enough to tell her what else had occurred before their last 10 minutes were up. Just then the receptionist came in. “Dr. Hendricks.” “Yes” said the doctor “What is it?” “I’m so sorry to interrupt but there are two police officers in the waiting area. They are looking for Ms. O’Hare.” Dr. Hendricks turned around just in time to see the blood drain out of Genevieve’s face as she turned pale with fear. There was only one way out of the office and she had no where else to turn….
Tune in again next Sunday and EVERY Sunday for another post from Dose of Drama for the series, Genevieve O’Hare…
“Genevieve! Listen to me, I need you to calm down and speak to me slowly and tell me exactly what happened. What do you mean they were in it?” asked Dr. Hendricks trying hard to suppress the sudden nervousness that had come over her. Genevieve continued to sob but eventually calmed a bit and exhaled loudly as if a huge boulder had been lifted from her shoulders. “Go ahead Genevieve, you can tell me, please remember that what you tell me here is strictly kept just between the two of us…” said the doctor. Genevieve looked up at the doctor and began to laugh awkwardly in the midst of her breakdown, “Oh come on now Doctor, are you telling me that if I admitted to burning up two people in a house fire, you wouldn’t turn me in just as soon as my check was cashed?” “Not unless I wanted to risk losing my license, as crazy as it sounds, and even still I would have a hard time trying to prove your ‘confession’ with no evidence seeing as though it is only you and I here talking. But, I would like to know exactly what took place. My job is to help you but I cannot do that unless you are completely honest with me.” urged Dr. Hendricks.
With another sigh, Genevieve began to give her account of what happened that day, “It was noontime on a Thursday, I’d gone out that day to have brunch with friends. After leaving the bistro, I decided I would get in a workout before heading to the market to buy groceries and make dinner later that evening for Gavin…” “Gavin?” asked Dr. Hendricks interrupting, “Is that your husband.” “Yes.” said Genevieve. The doctor sat back in her chair disregarding the clock on the wall indicating that their hour long session would soon be over. At this point, she was no longer as passive as she had been when the discussion first started; she was now very actively listening to her patient. “Go ahead.” said the doctor.
Genevieve continued, “Well I got to the gym, changed and got on the elliptical. I did that for about 20 minutes and then decided that I just wasn’t up for it that day, I just wanted to go home and curl up with a nice book and maybe spend some special time with my husband after dinner, you know, have a romantic night. So I decided I’d go home and begin planning the evening. Maybe it was naïve of me to think I could trust him. Late nights at the office were normal but I thought nothing of it because we would periodically call to check in during the day. I was SO stupid! I thought he actually loved me!” Dr. Hendricks interjected, “Genevieve there is nothing ‘stupid’ about you loving your husband or about him loving you. He was your husband and I want you to stop beating yourself up for that and not speak negatively about a normal emotion you had and/or have as a wife.”
She gave a half smile, at peace with having her emotions finally validated and continued on, “I called him up and asked about his schedule for the afternoon, I told him I’d gone to the gym and that I was going to make my stop at the market before coming home. I told him I had something special for him. He seemed excited and I told him I’d be home sometime after lunch and we hung up. I didn’t mention however that I’d already left the gym. As I said before I thought nothing of it. I went to the market as I’d planned and came home. I was coming up the drive and I saw his car. I thought it was weird and that should’ve been my first indication that something was wrong. I shrugged it off and just thought maybe his plans had changed and he’d decided to come home for lunch.”
Genevieve paused for a moment and took a deep breath with her eyes closed. Reliving the scene was difficult for her and Dr. Hendricks could see it in her face and in the tense movements off her body, but she had to know what happened and urged her to continue on. “Go ahead Genevieve, what happened next?”
She continued, “I opened the door and found it strange that he hadn’t set the alarm behind him. I spotted his briefcase on the table. But the sight that took my breath away was the purse lying next to it. I believe my heart stopped for a moment, and I was frozen in my steps. Then I realized the purse looked very familiar. It was my purse, a Valentino bag I’d let my sister borrow a week before. The confusion was racking my brain until I heard the sounds. They were sounds of moaning and groaning. I began walking up the stairs and although my feet were moving, I felt as though I were gliding along the corridor in a very bad dream. I walked up to the door of the bedroom and the door was slightly cracked. I pushed it open and right before my eyes; Gavin and my own sister were in the midst of making love. I think that maybe the worst part of it all was that it actually took them a moment to realize I was even standing there. Imagine that. It was that good to them. But, when they saw me, the look on their faces combined with shock said that it had obviously been too good for too long. I began to back out of the room, without a word as my sister laid there in awe in her nakedness. I turned to run and Gavin ran after me with hesitance to go any further than the back door so as not to make a scene and show his. I left and was gone for about 3 or 4 days, I can’t remember how long. It’s all a blur at this point.”
“Did he try to contact you at all during the time you had gone?” asked the doctor. “He tried.” said Genevieve “But of course I was not open to answering any of his calls. My mother and father also called saying that they were very worried. Gavin told them I’d left but of course he didn’t give them a reason as to why. I haven’t made an effort to contact any of them. I just wanted to be left alone.”
“Well you spoke of a fire. Let’s get to that. Tell me, what happened.” said Dr. Hendricks. “Dr. Gavin is looking for me. I know he is. He and my family both are. I just don’t know what to do or where to go!” As the tears once again began to well up in her eyes, the doctor noticed that she’d began the nervous fidgeting again and she wanted Genevieve to remain composed long enough to tell her what else had occurred before their last 10 minutes were up. Just then the receptionist came in. “Dr. Hendricks.” “Yes” said the doctor “What is it?” “I’m so sorry to interrupt but there are two police officers in the waiting area. They are looking for Ms. O’Hare.” Dr. Hendricks turned around just in time to see the blood drain out of Genevieve’s face as she turned pale with fear. There was only one way out of the office and she had no where else to turn….
Tune in again next Sunday and EVERY Sunday for another post from Dose of Drama for the series, Genevieve O’Hare…
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Genevieve O'Hare - The Series
“Good afternoon, I’m here to see Dr. Hendricks.” “Can I have your name please?” asked the receptionist. “Genevieve, Genevieve O’Hare” she said wringing her hands together from the nervous feelings that consumed her. She had never been to a therapist before, but hey, it was a first time for everything, and this was a good thing. Besides she thought to herself, she needed to get the monkey off of her back. But then again maybe this was more like a gorilla…
“Okay, have a seat, she’s in with another patient at the moment, she will be right with you.” said the receptionist kindly. “Thank you.” said Genevieve as she turned to take her seat in the waiting room. The room was small and intimate. It was dimly lit with neutral colored sofas and chairs along with a few potted plants and a full stock of literary magazines spread out on the end tables. She assumed this was all to get people relaxed and lull them into a state of comfort so that they’d spill their guts once they got into the doctor’s office. Although Genevieve was never too fond of the idea of seeing a therapist, it was all the rave with the other wives at the gym. But then again, it was L.A. They would sit in the sauna after games of tennis or sessions with Ricardo (personal trainer to almost all of the desperate female gym members) and quietly discuss the advice their therapists had given them concerning one of their many shallow and insignificant issues as if it were some sort of “Aha Moment” or religious epiphany! Genevieve thought it was all just a complete waste of time and money. She would oftentimes think to herself, “Isn’t that what you have girlfriends for?”
But this time she was wrong.
This time she managed to put her judgments aside. This time she needed a good ear and sound advice. But most of all, she needed someone who wouldn’t violate doctor-patient confidentiality. Genevieve sat patiently in the waiting room as each minute ticked by on the clock on the wall. She went back and forth with herself about what she would say or better yet, how she would say it.
After driving for quite some time, she finally stopped and decided to get a room at a little bed and breakfast up the coastline in Monterey and it was there that she’d found a listing for Dr. Hendricks in the local phone directory. She left her family with no clue as to where she could’ve possibly gone and was sure they had put an APB out on her by now. However, not wanting to have any contact with anyone, she had thrown her cell phone out of the window on the side of the freeway and was certain it had become tire dust. The money in the secret account that she had saved up over the past 5 years should have been enough to regain a brand new start for herself she thought. Somewhere away from L.A. where she could be alone and leave the past behind and Monterey seemed so peaceful. Although, she didn’t rule out the fact that what happened might eventually force her to drive a lot farther.
After about 30 minutes, the office door opened and out walked Dr. Hendricks and a very worried looking man. All of a sudden she was plagued by indecisiveness about whether or not she should actually be going through with this. Genevieve felt the urge to run but her legs wouldn’t move. As the troubled man walked out of the door, she heard her name being called, “Genevieve, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Dr. Hendricks.” Genevieve stood up and smiled weakly and shook the doctor’s hand, “Nice to meet you as well.” she said. “Come in” said the doctor “have a seat on the sofa.” The room’s décor matched that of the waiting room but the furniture looked a bit more comfortable, the reason behind that, Genevieve thought to herself, was an obvious one. “Okay” began Dr. Hendricks, “Let’s get started. First of all let me say that I in no way want you to feel nervous or judged. People see therapists everyday for a variety of issues and concerns. Sometimes those issues are more severe than others. Nevertheless, whatever the problem or however serious, most people just need a more defined and unbiased outlet to work out those issues. I try to provide room for positive growth and insight through discussion. Of course as you know, nothing said between us leaves this room. Is that okay, do you understand?” asked Dr. Hendricks. “Yes.” said Genevieve. “Okay so why don’t we start with a little introduction, tell me about yourself and a little bit about why you decided to come and see a therapist.” said the doctor.
“My name is Genevieve O’Hare, I’m from L.A. and I’m a 30 year old soon to be divorcee.” Looking down at her notepad and preparing for a normal one hour discussion, Dr. Hendricks, situated herself in the huge armchair and although listening intently, she responded to Genevieve in the same manner that she oftentimes did with so many of her other patients, “I’m sorry to hear that.” She looks up from her notepad, noticing the uneasiness in Genevieve’s sitting position and the fidgeting of her hands. “You want to talk about what happened? Is this situation what brought you here to Monterey perhaps?” asked the doctor. Without so much as a sigh or a pause, Genevieve began to sob uncontrollably.
A bit startled by the immediate overflow of Genevieve’s emotion, the doctor reached for a handful of tissues strategically placed on the table to the right of her and handed them to her distraught patient. “You know, a divorce can be a very emotionally trying experience. So much is put into a relationship and then all of a sudden it seems as though everything you’ve built with a person is going in a direction that is totally opposite of what you wanted for your life. It’s okay to be hurt, to let it out.” said Dr. Hendricks as she tried unconvincingly to console Genevieve.
“I could give a damn about a divorce!” responded Genevieve firmly.
“I’m sorry…” said the doctor with great confusion.
A cold minute went by as Genevieve, staring at the floor, pondered what she was about to say. “I can’t say I understand what you mean Genevieve. I can’t imagine that you don’t care at all about the divorce. But, I must ask, if it isn’t the divorce that’s bothering you, then what is it? You can talk to me, that’s why you’re here. What has you so feeling so broken at this moment?” asked Dr. Hendricks, sitting on the edge of her chair, now seeming very worried. Genevieve looked up at the doctor with tears in her eyes and in a voice that was suddenly void of all emotion she finally revealed to the doctor why she had really come to see her that day.
“I set it on fire. The house, I set it on fire. My husband and my sister, they were in it…”
Tune in next Sunday and EVERY Sunday for a new post from Dose of Drama for the series, Genevieve O’Hare…
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