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!