Printer-friendly version

If anyone reading this story discovers a typo or other error, please let me know. You can send an email to: barnold@ralabs.com. Please let me know where you saw the story and what the error was. I'll attempt to get it corrected.

This is a work of fiction, with a few real life experiences added in. All of the characters in this story are fictional, and any resemblance to anyone else living or dead is probably a coincidence. Please notify me if you are archiving this and the other chapters of the story on a web site. Permission specifically granted to Sapphire’s Place, Crystal’s Story Site and any other free access TG fiction web site to archive this. If you intend to publish this story in magazine or book (paper or electronic) format, please contact me for arrangements. Additional information on this story may be found at: http://www.ralabs.com/zapped/ .

Thanks to Amelia R. for her editing assistance for this chapter.

First, a few notes to readers:

Readers of Zapped! may be aware by now that Jennifer Stevens put in a guest appearance in Fresh Start 2 by Julie O. If you haven’t read either Fresh Start or Fresh Start 2, both are available on these web sites:

BigCloset TopShelf (http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/)
Fictionmania (http://www.fictionmania.com/)
And my own Stardust site (http://stardustr.us/)

While you don’t need to read either of the Fresh Start stories, this chapter of Zapped! features Alexis Eden, a character from Julie O’s stories and used with her permission. Readers of FS2 have expressed some interest in how Jen and Alexis became friends so I decided to explore that relationship in this part of my story.

Please remember that Zapped! takes place about a year before the events in Fresh Start and nearly two years before the events in Fresh Start 2.

And now on with the story…

- - - - - - - - - -

From Chapter 21 of Zapped! -

Saturday, July 5, 2003 – (Saturday night at a party somewhere in Los Angeles, CA)

A hand resting on my shoulder jarred me back to reality.

“Oh, my, Bob. You’ve certainly changed after all these years! I heard all about it on the news when it happened.”

I looked up into Marie’s smiling face. “Yes, I have. I go by Jennifer now. Somehow Bob just doesn’t seem to fit me anymore. How have you been doing, Marie?”

She sat down next to me at the table. “I’ve been doing okay. I moved out here after I graduated from college. I got lucky and got into the fashion business. I have a chain of clothing stores.”

“Really? I guess you already know what I’ve been doing, huh?”

“You’d pretty much have to be living in a cave not to know. You’ve done very well since your change.”

“All luck, I guess. Just being in the right place at the right time.” I started eating a rib section, smearing the sauce all over my lips.

“Oh, here, let me get that for you!”

Marie pulled me closer and planted a big kiss on my lips, letting her tongue explore the inside of my mouth. As she broke the kiss, she dabbed at the remaining sauce on my face with a napkin as she licked her own lips clean.

“Oh my, that was yummy!” A big smile spread across her face. “Want seconds?”

“Uh… no.”

“WHAT? I thought that we were perfect for each other now!”

“Sorry, but it just can’t be. When I changed, my brain got re-wired. For whatever reason, the thought of a relationship with another woman doesn’t do a thing for me, Marie.”

“What a waste. You have no idea what seeing you like this is doing to me, Jennifer.” Her nipples were straining against the low-cut, nearly see-through top she was wearing.

“Oh, I think I do. I’d have to be dead not to feel something from that kiss you gave me.”

She nodded in agreement as we both sat quietly at the table. Several minutes went by with neither of us quite knowing just what to say.

“Um…, Marie, where did you go right after graduation? You just sort of disappeared.”

“I went off to camp three days after we both graduated. A month later my dad got a new job, and we had to move to Michigan.”

“Oh, so that’s what happened. I’ve always wondered about that.”

She sighed then shook her head. “I guess that since both of my parents are dead, my promise to them isn’t valid any more.”

“What promise are you talking about?”

“Remember what we did the night of the last dance?”

“Remember? I’ll never forget it. It was my only time as a man, Marie.”

“It was my only time too.” Her gaze drifted toward another woman in her middle twenties. She had the same red hair and dazzling green eyes as Marie. The woman started to walk slowly toward our table.

“That, Jennifer….” She pointed at the woman walking toward us. “… is our daughter.”

And now chapter 22 of Zapped!…

The woman stopped at our table then stood for a few moments looking intensely at me. A look of disgust came over her face; she shrugged her shoulders slightly then spoke. “Mother, I’m going to head home now. I’m feeling a little tired again. Can you get a ride if I have William take me home in the limo?”

“Sure, sweetie. I’m certain that I can arrange something. I’ll see you in a few hours, Angela.”

“Thanks, Mom.” The woman slowly walked away from the table toward the back entrance to the house.

I had just as much of a chance to study the woman’s face as she did mine. What I saw unsettled me. Other than our hair and eye colors, we looked enough alike to be sisters. Not identical, but you could certainly tell there was a strong family resemblance.

“Okay, Marie, what’s going on here?”

“Like I told you, she’s our daughter.”

“HOW CAN SHE BE OUR DAUGHTER?” I must have been almost yelling, because I saw quite a few heads turn our way from the surrounding tables. I lowered my voice to almost a whisper. “Come on, we need to find a place to talk about this, and you need a ride home anyway.”

”All right. Lead the way.”

Marie followed me to the front of the house and waited while I presented the ticket to the valet for the SUV. When we were safely inside and pulling away from the party, the conversation started again a few miles down the road.

“So? How is she my daughter? You know just as well as I do that we used condoms both times.”

“It was dark in the back of your car. I’m not certain if one of them may have broken or not.”

“All right, let’s say for the moment that I believe you. Why didn’t you ever tell me, Marie? What was that about a promise to your parents? Were they afraid I wasn’t good enough for their little princess?”

It was a good thing that I’d pulled over into a rest stop along the road, because I got a very hard slap across my face. “Don’t you dare go there, Jennifer! Just don’t! I told my parents everything. EVERYTHING! How you helped me and never asked anything for it. How I was the one that asked for the sex, not you! That you were more than willing to abide by our original agreement, and that I talked you into it!”

“So why didn’t you tell me. Marie?” The sting from the slap was slowly subsiding.

“My parents told me that just because I’d screwed up my own life, I shouldn’t screw up yours too. It took me a few days, but I finally realized that it would be wrong to expect you to give up your future too.”

“Marie, you couldn’t have been more wrong about that if you tried.”

“What?”

“You heard me. I was never able to tell you just how much you meant to me. Just how much I came to love you back then. It broke my heart when I finally realized that we could never be together. I knew that you had little interest in any kind of a relationship with a man. Hell, if I thought we had any kind of chance together, I would have asked you to marry me!”

“Really?”

“Yes, but as I said, I knew that it could never be. A person just can’t change their sexual preference overnight,”

“But you did when you changed, didn’t you?”

“I don’t know if I was given any say in the matter, Marie. The circumstances of how and why I changed will probably never be known. All I know is that, back then, we never had a chance of a happy life together, so I never pushed it.”

“So what about Angela? If I’d told you, what would you have done?”

“I know for certain that my feelings about having children haven’t changed. If anything, they’ve grown even stronger now that I can carry a child of my own. If I had known that she was my daughter, I would have done whatever was in my power to love her and help raise her as my own flesh and blood. Both of you would have lacked for nothing within my ability to provide the support you needed. It wouldn’t have been much, but we would have been a family.”

“Do you really mean that?”

“I do, Marie. I’d like to get to know the daughter I never knew I had.”

Marie broke out in tears. “That may be impossible, Jennifer.”

I pulled Marie closer to me and held her tightly as the floodgates opened in her eyes. “What are you talking about? Didn’t you tell her she had a father?”

It took a few minutes before Marie had cried herself out enough to answer. “Oh, she asked all right, but my answer was always the same. I had to tell her that her father died before she was born. I never wanted her to get hurt, and I didn’t know if you would accept her or not.”

“So what are you going to tell her now? I do want to meet my daughter and let her know that her father loves her.”

“Father? How can you be her father? You’re not even a man any more! Even if I told her the truth right now, I’m not certain that she’d accept you. While she doesn’t know that you are her father, she does know about your transformation and calls you a freak of nature. I’ll be damned if I know where she picked that up, because I sure didn’t raise her to be that way.”

Now it was Marie’s turn to comfort me as my own tears flowed freely. “Damned hormones. If I was still a guy, I’d never be bawling like this.”

Marie took a tissue out of her purse then started to gently wipe away my tears. “If you were still a guy, I wouldn’t even consider doing this….”

Marie’s left hand pulled our heads together until our lips locked in the most soul-shattering kiss I’d ever had from anyone. Her right hand started teasing my nipples alternately as her tongue explored the inside of my mouth. After a few seconds, her right hand slowly worked its way down to my crotch and gently but firmly teased the pleasure centers there.

While my mind was screaming that this just wasn’t right, my body was screaming that this was what it craved and was denied since my last time in bed with Adam. I had no choice but to yield to the incredible pleasure that was flooding into my brain as Marie’s kisses teased first one nipple then the other as she worked slowly down toward a spot between my quivering thighs.

Sunday, July 6, 2003 –

Now, Dear Diary, I am not proud of what happened in the SUV last night, but I’m not ashamed of it either. The feelings I have for Marie still run very deeply, and if it were any woman other than her last night, I never would have gone through with it.

I have very pleasurable, if a bit hazy, memories of our activities in the back of the SUV. I do remember attempting to return Marie’s affections, and it seems that I was rather successful. So successful in fact that we wound up back at my place very late. My body craved still more release from the sexual frustration I had been experiencing, so we resumed our mutual exploration of each other in my bed. I think some time after two in the morning we fell asleep naked, entwined in each other’s arms.

I drifted back toward consciousness to the gentle strokes of Marie’s fingers around my hardened nipples. While my mind was willing, my body was sending me a much more urgent message.

“Sorry, Marie. Gotta go, and I do mean NOW!” After a sprint to the bathroom, I just managed to hit the seat on the toilet before I let everything go. Marie followed me into the bathroom and spread out a towel to sit naked on the edge of the bathtub.

“Um… can I have a little privacy here, please?”

“So what’s the big deal? After last night, there isn’t anything either of us has that the other hasn’t already seen, and from pretty close up I might add.”

After giving her comment a few moments of thought, all I could do was nod in agreement. “I suppose we did go a bit too far last night, didn’t we?”

“No further than either of us wanted, Jen. I seem to recall that you were a rather willing participant too.”

“I guess I was. You do know that we can’t go further with this right?”

“Now that I’m out of the closet about my sexuality, every tabloid in the country would have you solidly in their sights for the next thirty years if our past together ever went public. I also know that I wouldn’t mind ravishing you again right here and now.”

“I just got rid of the last target the press put on me.” I finished my business on the toilet then started the shower running. “I don’t have to be anywhere today. Care to scrub my back?”

All I’m willing to write is that the shower was highly satisfying. I didn’t know where my relationship with Marie would head, only that I wanted her to remain a good friend. I was also determined to meet my daughter, if only as a close friend of her mother. I hoped that I could overcome her view of me as a “freak of nature” and at least get to know the daughter I never knew I had.

We had a leisurely breakfast, then I took Marie back to her house. It turned out to be around an hour away on the busy LA freeway system. I pulled into a long driveway that led up to the house – well, more like a mansion – set well back from the road behind a security gate. Marie pulled me inside, saying that she wanted to give me a tour. Secretly, I was hoping to be able to meet my daughter.

The mansion was huge, and as Marie led me around the place, I didn’t see Angela anywhere. Finally, as Marie took me into the kitchen, I saw Angela sitting at the table picking apart a bagel loaded with cream cheese.

“Angela, I’d like you to meet a good friend of mine, Jennifer Stevens.”

She never bothered to look up from her bagel. “Yes, I recognized IT from last night.”

It felt like someone had plunged a knife deep into my heart, and I decided that I’d better leave before I completely fell apart. “Well, I think I’d better head back home, Marie. Thanks for the house tour.”

“All right, Jen. I’ll show you the way out. This place can be like a maze at times.”

I followed Marie toward the front of the house.

“Sorry about that, Jen. I’d hoped that she would have a better response to meeting you.”

“I won’t press any further to meet her, Marie. I’d better go now.”

“Jen, there’s one thing you need to know about Angela.”

“What’s that?”

“She normally isn’t like this. She’s been ill the past few weeks. She’s undergone a bunch of tests to find out why she’s been so tired lately. She’s nervous about what they’ll find. Give her another chance after the test results come back, okay? I think her attitude might be better then.”

“I’m not certain that it’s a good idea, Marie. I don’t know if I can take another rejection from her. Maybe it’s better for both of us if I just leave things as they are.” I pulled a business card out of my purse and wrote my cell number on the back. “I’d really like to keep in touch though. Just give me a call sometime. It was great seeing you again.”

I pulled Marie close for a hug then walked out of my daughter’s life.

Saturday, July 12, 2003 –

There’s really not much to write about from this past week. Angela’s rejection hurt me deeply. When I was a guy, I would have simply shaken it off and gone on with things. Now, trapped in this female body, I couldn’t shake the deep feeling of longing inside for my daughter. I desperately wanted to get to know her, but the realization that she didn’t want to know me hurt. Someone stabbing me with a knife probably wouldn’t have hurt me as deeply as her rejection of even talking to me. It was so hard to put on the “happy face” I needed when I went to the studio and to do the show each night. The staff around me sensed my internal torment but was powerless to help me out of the deep funk I had settled into.

I learned on Friday that Benito did indeed complete the film on time and without further cost. Starting Monday, the studio crew will tear down his scenery to prepare the space for the new Around Midnight set. I’ll stay in the old warehouse until the new set is ready.

No parties tonight either. On Friday, just as I was headed for the stage to do the show, I got a call from Wayne Zachery. He was recovering well and, in another week, would be well enough to take over duties as studio head again. He also asked me to come over to his home on Saturday night to talk about how things were progressing.

Wayne’s place was just a five-minute drive away from my rented place. I pulled the SUV into the driveway and parked next to Wayne’s car, a fire engine red Ferrari.

His wife escorted me to Wayne’s study then served some refreshments as we waited.

“Thanks for taking over on short notice, Jennifer.”

“Well, it wasn’t quite what I was expecting to do, but it seems to have worked out okay.”

“Stepping up to the challenge the way you did took a lot of tension off of Wayne and let him relax enough to recover pretty well. I’m a bit concerned about him starting back in so soon, but I’ve got him talked into taking it easy. He can work from home for a while longer managing the studio.”

“Sounds like a good plan.” We heard a cough coming from the doorway.

“Damn tickle. The docs said that I’d have it for a while as the bruising on my lungs from the surgery went away.”

“Wayne! Glad to see you’re alive and complaining, as always!” Wayne walked slowly over to the couch I was sitting on and plopped down. “I’d give you a hug, but I think that your ribs have taken enough abuse.”

“I still get a bit tired, but that’s to be expected. I’ll get better.”

“Are you sure coming back so soon is a good idea, Wayne?”

“Well, I’m not exactly coming back. I’ll work through Bill at the studio and handle the business stuff from here. If you handle the talk show, I think I can handle the rest.”

“That sounds good to me, Wayne. Just how up to speed are you on things at the studio?”

“I’ve talked with Bill every day for the past week. I’m about as up to date as I can get, Jen. Bill told me about what you did to poor Benito.”

“I’m sorry about that, Wayne. I really should….”

“Oh, don’t apologize, Jen. I approve of how you handled that little toad. He’s been setting himself up for a thrashing like that for years. I’m just glad that it was you that did it. He treats women like they’re his personal sex toys. Nearly any woman he’s ever met, he’s tried to seduce except for you. I think you scare the crap out of him.”

“Thanks, Wayne. I was afraid I went too far with him.”

“There is one thing that upsets me about the incident though.”

“What’s that?”

“There was no camera present to record that for posterity!”

The rest of our meeting dealt with future plans. It turned out that there was one thing that Wayne hadn’t had time to document.

“You know I’m gonna have to toss you out of the warehouse, don’t you?”

“Why? There’s nothing planned for the space until after the new set is built.”

“Well, there’s a bit of a problem. Just before I went into the hospital, I signed the contracts to do another movie. I guess that the deal never made it to your desk.”

“Bill never said a word about it.”

“That’s because he didn’t know either.”

“So, what are we going to do about the show?”

Wayne looked at me for a couple of seconds. “Um… Jen, I know there’s been something bothering you this past week. I’ve gotten a couple of calls from Bill about it.”

My stomach started doing flips and spins. “I’m sorry, but it’s a personal matter. I really can’t talk about it.”

“You don’t have to, Jen. I’ve known Marie for several years now. She’s done a great deal of work for the studio providing costumes.”

“Oh….”

“Look, Jen, I know what happened. Marie is very concerned about you. She said she’d never seen you so upset as you were when you left her house on Sunday.”

“Yes, I was very upset. Did she also tell you that her daughter is MY daughter too?”

“I know the whole story, Jen. Why haven’t you answered Marie’s calls?”

“What calls?”

“To your cell phone. She’s been calling about a half a dozen times a day. It always goes to your voice-mail.”

I pulled the cell phone out of my purse and looked at the display. While it looked normal, I couldn’t get any connection. “My cell phone must have broken when I threw my purse on the kitchen table Sunday.”

“Well, Marie asked me to tell you the doctors have discovered that Angela has leukemia. They’re treating it now. They’re hoping that they can get her into remission. If not, they’ve also started a search for a suitable bone marrow donor.”

“Thanks for letting me know, Wayne. I’ll have to call Marie when I get back home tonight and apologize.” I put the now useless cell phone back in my purse. “This still doesn’t resolve what we’re going to do about the show though.”

“You’re been away from home for how long now?”

“Three months, maybe more. I’ve been traveling so much, I’ve lost track. Living out of a suitcase in a rented house or condo has started to feel normal.”

“Well, I think it’s time you went home.”

“I can’t go home. I have to do the show for a few more weeks.”

“Well, I sort of fixed things so you can go home. I called the theater back in Syracuse and arranged with Greg to have the show originate live from there for up to five weeks. With a bit of luck, we’ll only need three weeks to get things back to semi-normal around the studio. Bill will coordinate with Greg to get the theater ready, so you don’t have to make yourself crazy with it. The writers will take care of the monologue from here, and the booking staff will get you the guests you’ll need. I even talked with Barb in your office, and she said she’d help with booking any hotel rooms that you’ll need for guests and visiting staff. ”

I could hardly believe my ears. “I get to go home?”

“Now I know you’re stressing out. Yes, Jen, you’re going home in a week. You’ll still have to do the show for at least three weeks, but when the show ends every night, you can go home and sleep in your own bed.”

“I’m going home!”

The rest of our meeting was used to catch up on a few things. I learned that the Maggie O’Malley movie had been put off for a year. Things would still progress toward filming it in upstate New York, hopefully somewhere in the Syracuse area, if problems with permits and scheduling could be worked out to everyone’s satisfaction.

I gave Wayne a last minute update on the Stewart Agency’s internal investigation into the fire. As the fire department investigators had discovered, it was a case of arson. The undercover people still hadn’t come up with much information though. I only knew that there were at least six people from the Stewart Agency involved. Other than that, I’d tried to stay out of the investigation, so I wouldn’t upset any leads they were developing.

Saturday, July 19, 2003 –

My return to upstate New York was just a matter of hours away. Earlier in the week, I’d sent Gertie and Gillie back to Syracuse on a private jet, along with a huge load of my clothing and other stuff I’d accumulated on the road. It surprised me just how much new clothing I’d bought, along with over a dozen new pairs of shoes to go with the various outfits. My meager three suitcases and a clothing bag had mushroomed into half a dozen more sturdy cardboard boxes of stuff.

I’d also made a bit of an investment as well. While I liked the house I was renting, I thought that something a bit more permanent was in order. When I heard that a large old warehouse had gone up for sale, I took a long, hard look at it with the idea of renovating it into several condos. I’d keep one and rent the others out to people in the entertainment industry, either as a permanent home or temporary housing while they were in Hollywood. It cost a little over a half a million dollars to buy the building, and the estimates were as much as another million to renovate it into useable apartments. They wouldn’t be super luxury apartments, just good livable space. My own condo would be a bit more elaborate than the others, with two levels and at least four guest rooms besides my own bedroom and room for Gertie and Gille when I was traveling.

Several real estate agents worked on the numbers for me, and it looked like I would be able to recoup my money within a few years of the completion of the renovations. I’d have to make occasional trips back to Los Angles to supervise the work, but it wouldn’t be the months on the road that I’d just gone through.

I did call Marie and apologize to her. After explaining about the cell phone not working, I learned that Angela was showing signs of going into remission. The bone marrow search would continue just in case things got worse, but at the moment the situation looked very good for her. Marie was still reluctant to talk to her about me though, and I decided the best thing to do for both of us was for me to try to put the matter out of my mind.

I know I’m probably forgetting lots of little details here, but they’ve just called my flight. I’m taking a regular commercial flight back to Syracuse instead of another charted private jet. I know I’ll get recognized, but I hope that my request for one of the seats on the upper deck of the 747 will be honored.

* * * *

I’m finally back home! The plane arrived in Syracuse nearly an hour late, after some bad weather in our flight path caused us to divert around it. Barb met me at the airport with the Caravan. For the first time in months, I feel at ease again. I celebrated my return home with a stop at Heids, a favorite hot dog place a few miles away from the airport. Two dogs, a bunch of fries and a huge thick chocolate shake satisfied the emptiness in my tummy quite nicely.

I have the rest of the day plus all day Sunday to recover enough to launch myself into working on the show for the next few weeks. At least, I won’t have to worry about running Wayne’s company and doing the show too.

Saturday, August 2, 2003 –

For the past two weeks, I seem to have fallen into a rut, and I must confess it feels good. On the weekdays, I spend my mornings at home trying to get my own little empire started again, since I’d put things on hold to run Wayne’s company. Things were going fine, not spectacular, but good enough that my bank balance was slowly growing. Not that I really needed it either. If I did nothing else, with my modest needs I was set for life, even after the projects in progress were taken care of.

Afternoons were spent at the theater getting ready for the show. Between rehearsing the monologue and any musical numbers I had been talked into doing, I had my hands full. Most of the show’s staff was still back in Los Angles. Only about a dozen people had come to work on the east coast version.

Each afternoon I had a conference call with the staff and writers back in LA to figure out the next show. The staff had managed to do a great job of lining up guests. Between the guests and a small cast of “village idiots” I selected from the cast of the community theater plays, we had more than enough material to fill the hour (minus commercials) we had available.

I knew for certain that we had one more week to go. Wayne will call me on Monday and let me know if we were needed beyond the last show we were anticipating on August ninth.

Thursday, August 7, 2003 –

The call from Wayne came in Monday morning. Everything was under solid control in Los Angles, and the hype was building for Wayne’s return to the show next Monday night. Promos were running all over the network’s schedule. Wayne had suggested that I come out to LA and be his guest on his first show back, but I refused. I felt that the spotlight should be all his after the public putting up with me for weeks on end. I’d managed to hold Wayne’s ratings while he was recovering, and the antics we pulled on the shows from Syracuse had actually pushed them up a little higher. I wanted the focus to be on Wayne’s return, not any success I had doing the show.

Friday, August 8, 2003 –

The last day. I was looking forward to the show tonight. Most of the staff from the show had gone back to LA to prepare for Wayne’s return, and the remaining staff had spared no expense in the preparations for this one.

The hotels in Syracuse were good. Sadly, they weren’t the world-class places some of the guests of the show were used to being in. Since this was the middle of summer, the convention season was in high gear. What few accommodations were left were hardly what I’d want a guest of the show to stay in, even overnight or to use for a few hours to rest and change clothes.

I decided when the show’s support staff discovered the problem to meet each of our guests personally at the airport and offer everyone the use of one of the guest rooms in my home. Most of the guests surprised me telling me that they’d stayed in accommodations far worse than the hotel rooms we had been able to book and opted for the hotel instead of my guest room.

Today I was standing in one of the passenger areas at the airport. While the name on the large card I was carrying said “Finster,” I was expecting to meet Alexis Eden. She was the new co-star of one of the hottest crime/drama series on TV. The show had stopped production for a few weeks, and the producers had urged her to make a publicity tour during some of the down time.

I’d heard the call over the PA system that her flight had landed and was waiting for her to come through the check-in counter area. I knew what she looked like from watching her show several times and from the publicity stills that her agent had sent along to the show. I was far less certain what she would look like while she was traveling.

The woman walking toward me was dressed in an old cotton work shirt and faded blue jeans with holes in both knees. With the clunky work boots she wore and her shoulder length brown hair, nobody would think she was who I was waiting for.

“Miss Finster?”

“Yes. And who are you?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Please call me Jennifer or Jen. How was your flight?”

“It was okay, I guess. I’ve been on so many these past two weeks, I’m not certain where I am any more.”

“Well, I can tell you that you’re definitely in Syracuse, New York, and you’re supposed to be a guest on Around Midnight tonight. That’s why I’m here to meet you. Hey, do you have your baggage claim checks?”

She fished around in the pocket of her jeans then handed two crumpled slips of paper to me. “Here they are.”

“Great! Let’s get your bags and get you out of here before you get spotted.”

We managed to get both of her bags without anyone tumbling to her identity. I took one bas as she lugged the other. We headed for one of the guarded exits to the terminal building.

The guard, seeing me approach, unlocked the door.

“Thank you, Bruno.”

“Always a pleasure, Miss Stevens. While I know you, I have to ask who this is with you.”

“You might not recognize her in her traveling outfit, but this is Alexis Eden. She’ll be the guest on Around Midnight tonight.”

Alexis looked up at the large man and waved.

“Ah, now I see. Miss Stevens, Miss Eden, you both have a good day!” Bruno held open the door for us.

“Thanks again, Bruno!”

He tipped his hat as we stepped into a long hallway that led to the employees’ parking lot.

We were nearly halfway down the hall when Alexis stopped in her tracks.

“He said Stevens, didn’t he?” I simply smiled and nodded. “Stevens, as in Jennifer Stevens? The host of Around Midnight Jennifer Stevens?”

“Guilty as charged, Alexis!”

“Oh dear Gawd! I’m so sorry I didn’t recognize you! I thought you were just some local yokel sent to pick me up and take me to the hotel.” She dropped her bag then buried her face in her hands. “Can you ever forgive me?”

“There’s nothing to forgive. As a matter of fact, it felt rather good to NOT be recognized for once. Something I’m sure that you yourself can appreciate.”

A big smile spread across her face. “You got that right. Everywhere I go, there’s always someone that wants something from me. An autograph, a picture, always something! Just for a few days, I’d like to just be plain old me.”

“We can talk about this later. Right now, we need to get moving before you become a target. There’s a whole flock of local paparazzi out there waiting for you.”

She grabbed her bag, and then we hurried along to the door at the end of the hallway. I punched a code into the security pad next to the door then pushed on the crash bar when the lock released. We both stepped outside into the bright sunshine.

“So, where’s the limo?”

“There isn’t one. We’re using this instead.” I pointed to a large red Dodge Ram 1500 extended cab pickup with a red cap on the back of the bed. A big yellow revolving light sat in the middle of a sea of antennas on the cab roof. Magnetic signs saying “Airport Maintenance” were mounted on each passenger door.

Alexis’ eyes got real big. “Where did you get this thing?”

“I own it.” She was shaking her head in disbelief. “It’s legit, I promise. About fifteen years ago, I designed and built the airport’s data network. I’ve been a support person for it ever since then. When I heard that the paparazzi were going to be out in force today, I decided to bring the Twister truck instead of my Caravan. Would you expect a big star to be riding around in something like this?”

“Twister truck?”

“Well, it looks a lot like the truck they used in the movie Twister when you take off a few of the things I added to it this morning. The biggest difference is that my truck has those two white stripes on the hood and roof. The truck they used in the movie doesn’t have them.”

Alexis stood there just looking at the truck.

“Umm… Alexis, we really do need to get moving. The paparazzi already know you’re here. If we’re not moving in a couple minutes more, there’s a pretty good chance they’re going to find us, even with this monster as a disguise.”

I put the bag I was carrying in the cab of the truck behind the seats then motioned for her to put her bag in there as well.

“Now, I want you to get in the passenger seat. There’s a baseball cap in there you can put on. Have you got a pair of sunglasses?” She nodded weakly.” Okay, put them on too. Don’t touch anything in there, okay?”

I hurried around to the driver’s side and got in. The engine rumbled to life, and the low purr told me that the renovations to the engine and some bodywork while I was away had brought the old truck back to life again. For something built in 1996, it looked and ran just like it had come off the showroom floor.

The radio roared to life along with the engine, filling the cab with airplane chatter. I changed to the ground control frequency and picked up the microphone. “Net One to ground control”

“Go Net One.”

“Net One ready. All set when you are.”

“Okay, Net One. Proceed per normal ground route to runway two-seven west. Taxi behind United 747 on taxiway two delta. Hold clear of runway until we contact you after two inbounds.”

“Affirmative ground. Net One monitoring.”

“Umm… Jen, what was that all about?”

“Well, I just got clearance to head for one of the runways. At the far end of the runway is a small weather station monitoring building. It has a rarely used entrance gate. That’s how we’re going to get out of here without getting spotted.”

“We’re going to go out there?” She pointed toward a runway as a huge 747 jet roared past.

“Yup, we are.”

“Are you CRAZY or something? We’ll get killed!”

“Alexis, I’ve done this very same thing for over fifteen years, and I’m still here aren’t I?”

“I guess.” The look on her face said she still didn’t believe me.

“Okay. Just don’t be surprised if I get asked to do a runway check while we’re out there.”

Alexis seemed to relax a bit and enjoy the experience. There aren’t many people that have had the experience of driving around huge jumbo jets, and I’m certain that this was a first for her.

By the time we got to the end of the runway, she was pretty stoked. I stayed well back as the 747 made a left turn onto the runway then stopped. The whole truck shuddered as the engines on the huge jet revved up for a final full power test just before the pilots released the brakes. We heard the ground control tell the jet to switch over to the flight frequency for takeoff clearance. Moments later, the jet’s brakes released as the engines revved up again. The giant roared forward, slowly picking up speed. Finally, nearly two-thirds down the fifteen thousand foot runway, if lifted off, soaring into the sky.

A few moments after the plane lifted off, the radio crackled to life.

“Ground to Net One.”

“Net One.”

“Net One, the pilot reported several rabbits on the runway. They’re not certain if they hit one. It happened near the middle taxiway. Check and advise please.”

“Roger, control. What about inbound traffic?”

“First inbound is about five minutes out, Net One. You should have plenty of time. You can hold north of the runway on the old concrete strip if you need to.

“Roger, control. Permission to occupy the runway?”

“Permission granted, Net One. Check runway condition and advise.”

“One the move, control.”

I pulled the pickup onto the runway and hit the four way flashers. The headlights were already in high beam, and the light on top of the cab was already running. We cruised down the runway at about fifty miles an hour until we reached the center point of the runway where an old concrete landing strip crossed it. The new runway had been built over the old concrete strip. The old strip was leftover from the original runways of the airport and had been unused by aircraft for many years. The south part of the old landing strip now served as a taxiway from the center of the new runway. It was kept in good shape and wasn’t overgrown with weeds from the cracks in its surface as the northern part of the old strip was.

I slowed the truck to about five miles an hour and did an inspection of the runway about a hundred yards either side of the taxiway.

“Net One to ground. “

“Go Net One.”

“Runway check looks okay, Ground. No sign of our critters and no sign of anything hit. Will hold north of the runway on the old strip for inbound traffic. Will also advise if we see anything, ground.”

“Roger. Net One holding on the old strip north of the runway. Will advise if runway status changes.”

“Net One monitoring.”

The microphone wound up on the seat next to me as I pulled the truck off the runway onto the old strip. I moved back to a safe distance then shut the truck down, leaving the yellow light on top going along with the radio gear.

“You heard, Alexis?”

“Yup.”

“Sorry about the delay.” I sighed. “At least out here the paparazzi can’t get to you.”

“Don’t worry about it, Jennifer. I’m having a good time for a change.”

“This is a good time for you? Boy, are you easy to please!”

“Well, I have been traveling an awful lot lately. I’m just glad to have my feet planted on the ground. Besides, you can only take the pampered life just so much; well, at least that’s how it is for me.”

“I know; I’m like that too. I’m just so glad that I can go home to my own bed after I do the show each night. I was going crazy in Los Angles.”

“That’s right, you live here don’t you?”

“Yup. And I have an offer for you. Since we’re kinda stuck here for a few minutes, I’ll ask about it now.”

Alexis looked sideways at me. “Okay, what are you going to ask?”

“Oh, nothing much. I just wanted to give you an option on where to stay while you’re here. I can take you to the hotel where you’ll be hunted by the paparazzi relentlessly, the food will be mediocre, and the hotel staff will probably fall over themselves trying to wait on you, or….”

“Or?”

“I can offer you a guest room at my house. There’s just me, my housekeeper Gertie, and her cat, Gillie. I can guarantee the food will be infinitely better than the hotels, and nobody will bother you while you’re there. Well, maybe Gille will want to curl up on your lap if he takes a liking to you, but I guarantee that my home is a paparazzi free zone.”

“Hmm… let me think… put up with the endless barrage of flashbulbs, poor hotel food and service that’s a bit too intense, or a nice quiet room with good food and maybe even a cat to cuddle. Sounds like a real tough choice to me.”

Alexis froze in place and stared straight ahead.

“Whatta ya see?”

“Next to that light. See what I think I see?” She pointed to one of the lights that marked the taxiway on the southern side of the runway.

“What?”

“Just watch.”

It took nearly a minute before a furry head with long ears poked up out of the ground next to the light post.

“Net One to ground.”

“Go Net One.”

“Ground, we’ve got rabbits here. There’s a burrow next to the three alpha marker light. Unknown how many, but we see at least one there now.”

“Roger, Net One. Hold there. Will advise both inbounds to land close to the end of the runway. Both are small commuter jobs, so they shouldn’t have a problem stopping short. Standby until Animal Control gets out there.”

“Affirmative, ground. Holding on the old strip on the north side near the middle taxiway for Animal Control.”

Alexis was still watching the lone rabbit.

“Good sight. Thanks!”

“Are animals really that much of a problem out here?”

“You’ve heard about birds getting sucked into the engines, right?” She nodded in agreement. “Well, the problem is almost as bad with small animals. If a jet hits one, either taking off or landing, the landing gear could be damaged, causing all kinds of problems. Anything from blown tires to something a lot more serious.”

“I never knew….” The rabbit had disappeared back into the hole again. “So what will happen to them? Do they kill them?”

“No, Alexis. They don’t. They trap them humanely and relocate them to an area well off the airport grounds. I’ve even taken a few rabbits to build up the population near my home in the country after hunters reduced their numbers.”

“Really? You live out in the country?”

“Yup. I live south of the city in what you’d probably call a log mansion. It’s set well back from the road in a large grove of pine trees. I even have a spring fed pond for swimming.”

“Okay, you twisted my arm now. Given the choices, I’ll take the room at your place, even if it’s only for a day or so.”

“Why just a day or so? Do you have to be anywhere after you do the show tonight?”

“Not really. This was the last appearance on the schedule. I was going to head back home, but every time I go there, something else happens, and I get asked to do another appearance. I never get any time to myself.”

“So, tell your manager that you need some time for yourself. You’ve earned it.”

“I can do that?”

“Huh?”

“I’ve tried, but the studio keeps insisting.”

“Look, you’re hot right now. Of course, the studio wants you to keep doing things. The more you do, the more they make off of you. They’ll let you work yourself into the ground if you don’t stand up for yourself. I’m not talking about throwing a fit and getting the “Little Miss Prissy” star label dumped on you. I’m talking about simply taking control of your life and telling them that you aren’t going to jump when they say so. It’s YOUR life we’re talking about here, not their wallet.”

“Emily Waterman, she’s my manager, has been after me to slow down a bit. She said a lot of what you just said to me.”

“She’s right, you know. I wish that I’d had someone like her when I started out.”

Our conversation came to an abrupt halt as a van marked “Animal Control” pulled up on the other side of the runway. Alexis got out of my truck then pointed to the light with the burrow near it. She got back inside when the man in the van acknowledged her.

“So, Alexis?”

“Huh?”

“Got a short attention span?”

“Comes with the territory. Oh, yeah. I think I’m going to tell Emily I want at least a week off, starting right after the show tonight. As far as I know, there’s nothing scheduled for me anyway.”

“I’m glad to hear that. You look like you really need the time off.”

“Do I look that bad?”

“Nope. From reading your bio that Emily sent, I’m guessing that you haven’t had more than a couple of days in a row off since you started, right? And even those days you were in some hotel somewhere.”

“Do you read minds too?”

“Not lately.”

We finally got the clearance to go the rest of the way down the runway and out the gate on the far side of the field. As I’d hoped, no paparazzi were in sight, and none were anywhere near my home as I pulled into the driveway.

It was just a few moments after we got Alexis’ bags stashed in one of my guest rooms that a four footed furball started to dance around our feet.

“Well, that answers that question. Alexis, that’s Gillie, my housekeeper’s cat. I think he’s taken a liking to you.”

Alexis bent over to pick him up. He snuggled down into her arms after maneuvering around for the best possible position for a tummy rub. “He’s adorable!” His purring grew louder as she scratched his belly.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to find him curled up on your pillow later tonight either. He does that to me all the time.”

“That’s fine with me. I live in an apartment complex and can’t have any pets other than fish. It’s kinda impossible to hug a goldfish.”

By now, Gillie appeared to be snoozing. “So, what do you want to do until it’s time to go to the theater?”

“Well, I really didn’t have anything much to eat this morning. Can I get a soda and maybe a sandwich?”

“I think so. Why don’t you put Gillie on the bed and follow me to the kitchen; I’ll see what we’ve got.”

Alexis gently placed the dozing cat on her bed. Gillie let out a low yowl of displeasure at being so rudely woken up but quickly curled up again to resume his interrupted late morning nap.

The lights were out in the kitchen. “Well, that explains why I didn’t see the van in the driveway.” I pointed to the white board next to the door. It read “out for groceries, Gertie.”

“So Gertie is your housekeeper?”

“Yup. If you need anything or have any special dietary requirements, be sure to let her know. She’s an excellent cook, by the way.” I opened the fridge door to take a peek inside. “We’ve got some fried chicken left from supper last night. Does that appeal to you, Alexis?”

“Sure, why not?”

“Okay. There’s some dressing and a bit of jellied cranberry sauce to go with it.”

I pulled the plate out of the fridge and set it on the kitchen table. “Do you want yours hot or cold? I can heat it up in the microwave.”

“Hot, please. Do you have any soda?”

“Sure do. There’s a couple of different kinds in the fridge. Glasses are in the cabinet over there, and ice is available on the door of the fridge. Help yourself while I get this in the nuker.”

Alexis grabbed two glasses from the cabinet then filled both with ice. She selected a bottle from the fridge then set everything on the table. “Was that a chocolate cake with vanilla icing that I saw in there?”

“It was. We keep the cake in the fridge, because Gillie will get into everything when nobody is around, even if he won’t eat it. If you want some, just set it on the table. Cake is better when it’s at room temperature.”

She put the cake platter on the table then sat down to await the chicken and dressing.

“Alexis, do you mind talking while we eat? I’d like to get to know you better before we get to the theater. I usually try to do this in the green room, but there’s never really enough time to get to know someone very well.”

“I don’t mind, Jennifer, but I reserve the right to decline to answer if the questions start to get too personal.”

“Fair enough.”

Our conversation started off with her childhood years, moving through her tryout for a TV commercial and her impending stardom.

“Okay, now that you know so much about me, can I ask about you?”

I simply smiled and echoed her own words back to her. “I don’t mind, Alexis but I reserve the right to decline to answer if the questions start to get too personal.”

“Fair enough, Jennifer.”

Her questions were more about my time as temporary CEO of Wayne’s company and my experiences dealing with the press because of my change. Eventually, the questions did go deeper toward my transformation. While I really hadn’t talked much to anyone about it, I felt very much at ease with Alexis.

“Was it really a lightning strike that caused your change?

“Well, I guess I’ll never really know what happened. I did get hit by lightning though.” I took off a silver necklace and handed it to Alexis. “Look at the chain.”

Alexis looked closely at the silver chain that held a flat piece of highly polished stone. At least a third of the links on the chain were fused together. She looked closely at the flat stone. It was about two inches in diameter and slightly less than a quarter of an inch thick and was polished so well that the surface looked like colored glass. One side appeared to have an image of a lightning bolt coming out of a cloud heading toward a stick figure of a man. The other side had another female appearing stick figure with what looked like rays of some kind surrounding her.

“What is this, Jennifer?”

“A couple of days before my accident, it was given to me by the shaman of a local group of Native Americans. One thing that most people don’t know about me is that I have some Native American heritage. Back in the early 1900’s, a great uncle married the daughter of the local shaman. Our family has acknowledged that heritage, and I’ve participated in some of the local rituals and ceremonies. One day, the shaman came up to me and made me promise to wear it. He told me I would know when it was safe to take it off. I was wearing the day I was hit.”

“Have you been able to find out what these symbols mean?”

“No. Sadly, the shaman died while I was in the hospital recovering from the lightning strike. He was well over ninety years old and may have been the younger brother of my great uncle’s wife. All I know is that he told his family that his time had come and his last great task was finally finished.”

“So you don’t know what really happened?”

“I haven’t a clue. Alexis.”

“Why do you still wear this anyway?” She handed the necklace back to me, and I placed it around my neck again.

“I wear it as a reminder that I should have died that day. While I’ll never really know how I survived, I’m grateful for each and every day I’m alive. I decided to try to live every day to its fullest and enjoy the renewed chance at life I’ve been given.”

“I see. Is that why you appear to be so comfortable with who and what you are now?”

“I don’t know how, but I think I had some help in accepting my change. I still have nightmares about some of things that have happened to me since my transformation.”

“Nightmares?”

Over the next hour, I told her what had happened over the past year or more. I left out the attempts on my life and the rape I had to endure.

“WOW! If I’d gone through all of that, I think I’d be a basket case by now.”

“It has been an adventure.”

We cleared the dishes from the table and placed them in the dishwasher. Its roar drove us out of the kitchen into the living room. I made a stop in the bathroom then caught up with Alexis in the living room. Gillie decided to take up a position on the couch, rolled over on his back with all four paws in the air.

I giggled as Gillie pawed the air trying to catch Alexis’ attention. “He wants another belly rub.” Both of us took turns while our conversation continued.

“Jennifer, if I’m getting too personal here, feel free to let me know, but I have to ask this next question.”

“Go ahead.”

“Have you figured out your sexual preference yet?”

“Huh?”

Alexis started to blush. “Do you like guys or girls?”

“I’m still trying to figure that one out. I would have thought that I’d have a preference for girls, but guys appeal to me much more than women.” I looked at her for a few moments. “I have a question of my own to ask, if you don’t mind.”

“Okay, I think….”

“How long have you liked girls?”

Alexis stiffened as if I’d dumped a couple of ice cubes down her back.

“WHAT?”

“You heard me, and don’t be so upset.”

“How did you….”

“Easy, Alexis. It seems my special circumstances have given me a degree of trust with the LGBT community in the entertainment industry. You’d be surprised at what I know.” I reached over and patted her hand. “I’ve been through a bit of what you’re experiencing now before I changed.”

It took nearly an hour as I told her all about those days in high school and my involvement with Marie. I even told her about my daughter.

“So your dates with Marie actually worked? Nobody suspected that she was a lesbian?”

“Yup, and nobody ever accused me of being gay again. I got kidded a lot about the hottest cheerleader in the school being my girlfriend though. Everyone on the football team kept asking how she was in bed. All I ever told them was that a true gentleman never spoke about things like that. I remember Marie telling me that all the other cheerleaders wondered why she was so attracted to me. She usually told them that I wasn’t like the apes on the football team. I respected her and never asked for sex whenever we were alone.”

“I’ll bet your relationship really blew a few minds.”

“Marie and I really enjoyed tweaking the noses of a few people. Her girlfriend was bi, so she felt comfortable about going out with boys to keep her secret. Marie and I even set up a fight between us. We had a little separation, and her girlfriend “dated” me for a week. That set up a fight for me between Marie and Beth, so that the school thought they hated each other. It was a lot of fun watching it happen and knowing that they were actually deeply in love with each other at the time.”

“And to this day nobody else knows?”

“True. There was never any need for anyone else to know until now. It was and still is an application of the M.A.D. principle.”

“Mad principle? What’s that?”

“Something left over from the cold war between the US and communist Russia. It’s called Mutually Assured Destruction. In the nuclear arms race, it meant the both sides had more than enough ability to completely destroy the other. In our little group, it meant that we all had enough information on the others in our group to completely shatter their lives if any of us tattled on anyone.”

“I see. Hey, you said group. Were there more besides you, Marie and Beth?”

“Well, I have to admit that there were a bunch of folks at school that were in the closet about their sexual preferences. That was over thirty years ago, and you just didn’t come out in the open about things like that. With the success that Marie and I had, we wound up arranging dates for some of our other classmates to protect their true preferences. We did a pretty good job of it too. With all the breakups and pairings that we arranged, nobody suspected a thing.”

Alexis sat there for a few moments. “You know, Jen, that just might be the solution to the problem in the entertainment community. As long as we’re careful about being with our true lovers, we could set up dates between gay and lesbian people to act as a smokescreen for them. The gossip people and the paparazzi would actually be helping us by spreading the word that we were dating!”

“You know, that should work! You’d need to be careful on how many times you were seen with a particular person, but that could be an advantage too. Say, for example, that you decided to date the same guy a half a dozen times in a row. The press will think the two of you are getting serious and make a big deal out of it. They’d make an even bigger deal out of it when you staged the breakup and began dating someone else!”

Alexis was bouncing on the couch slightly in excitement. “I can hardly wait to try it!” A few moments later, she got a funny look on her face. “Jen, do you think we’re the first to think of it?”

“Most certainly not! I do suspect though that we’re the first to think about actually organizing something.”

“I can see it now!” She waved her hands in the air as if imagining some kind of sign on a storefront. “The Jennifer Stevens LGBT Hollywood Dating Service!”

“WHOA there, gal! Don’t go out to get any business cards printed! We want to keep this underground as much as possible, right? If word leaked out about what we’re doing, then the press would start examining everyone instead of taking things at face value.”

“I see your point, Jen. I’ll keep it quiet.”

“Good. Just let your friends know that if someone calls me, I’ll be happy to put them in contact with someone else. After that, it’s up to them to work out the details. The less I know about what goes on, the better it will be for everyone.”

“Okay. I have your first request then. Can you set me up with a date for a movie premier I have to attend in a couple of weeks? If I go alone again, the press is going to start speculating in a direction I really don’t want them to go.”

I smiled and reached for my purse. “I’ll see what I can do.” The PDA in my purse contained a calendar, and I entered the date of the premier and how to contact Alexis when I had a date for her. “There, all done. I should be able to find someone before you leave – that’s assuming you’re staying a week or so.”

“DAMN! I haven’t called my agent yet. I need to let her know where I am. I’ll bet she’s sent out someone to look for me by now.”

“Don’t worry about that, Alexis. On the way from the bathroom, I called the show staff and had them let Emily know you were staying here instead of the hotel. You should call her about the time off though.”

“Can I use your phone, Jen?”

“Go ahead.” I pointed to the phone on the table at the end of the couch. “Just hit the first button to get a line out.”

About thirty minutes later, Alexis hung up the phone with a big smile on her face.

“Well? What did Emily say when you asked for some time off?”

“She agreed that I’d been going at it a bit too strong lately. Think you can handle a house guest for a week or so?”

“Yup. Can you handle a week of peace and quiet?”

“I’ll certainly give it my best effort, Jen.”

“What about clothes? From the look of how many bags you have, I’d guess that you only packed for a couple of days or so.”

“True, but that situation is easily corrected. That’s what a credit card with an unlimited spending ceiling is for isn’t it?”

“It doesn’t have Alexis Eden on it does it?”

“No. A. Finster is all the card says, and I have my normal driver’s license with me if anyone needs to see it.”

“Good. We’ll hit a few local places tomorrow afternoon. I need to stop at the local science museum to work on a small project for them in the morning, then I’m free for a shopping trip. I’m afraid that we don’t have much in the way of high-end stores around here. No Macys or Versace.”

“The K-Mart or whatever your local equivalent is will do fine. Kinda helps my undercover image, since Alexis Eden probably wouldn’t shop in a store like that, but Alexis Finster certainly would!”

The watch on my wrist started an insistent beeping. “Well, time to get ready to head for the theater, Alexis. We’ve got to leave in about an hour and a half. We’ve been shooting the show on tape starting around eight thirty every night, since we discovered that it was a lot harder to do the show live at eleven thirty at night. We seem to get better audiences at the earlier hour.”

“Okay. I’ll go get ready. Is there a shower at the theater, or should I use the facilities here?”

“There is a shower, but I suggest using the one here instead. There’s a problem with getting enough hot water at the theater. Every time someone flushes a toilet, you get blasted with really hot water!”

“Do I need to dress in what I’m going to wear for the show?”

“No, just bring it with you. Dress comfortably though. We’ll be there a few hours before we need to change for the taping. I’ve got to run over the musical numbers and the monologue.”

“Musical numbers?”

“Yup. I do one at the start of the show before the monologue. On this final show, I’m going to do a few more after I talk with you.”

“I’ve heard you sing before, Jen. You’re pretty good.”

“Well, I think I’m just fair. If it weren’t for the revealing outfits I wear, they’d probably toss vegetables at me and boo me off the stage.”

“You’re good enough to make a career out of it if you decided to, and don’t tear yourself down like that. It’s pretty clear to your audiences that you’re having fun out there, and they’re having fun just watching you.”

“I have to admit that I’m most alive when I’m performing in front of a live audience, whatever I’m doing. There’s something about that instant feedback and the energy of the audience that invigorates me.”

“I wouldn’t know about that, Jen. I’ve never performed in front of a live audience before, except for talk show interviews and such.”

“Well, try it if you get the chance. Either you’ll love it or hate it. There doesn’t seem to be any in-between with the other people I’ve talked to.”

Alexis headed for the guest room, while I headed for my room. I took a quick shower, being careful not to get my hair wet since I’d washed it in the morning. Drying it would take much more time than I had available.

My outfit of choice for going to the theater was my usual jeans and a short-sleeved satin blouse. I’d change into my outfit for the taping about twenty minutes before we started, so it stayed clean. Tonight’s outfit was supposed to be a pastel pink top with a matching knee length skirt with a cut up my left leg almost to my hip. It gave a good view of my outer thigh and was fairly easy to dance in if I had to.

When we got to the theater, I got Alexis settled in her dressing room then went out to see what was happening in the theater area. Greg was busy arranging chairs on the stage.

“So, what’s all this for, Greg?”

“Didn’t someone tell you?”

“Tell me what? I like being kept in the dark until the show starts!”

“We had to move the orchestra up here tonight. Instead of our usual fifteen piece band, I got almost the whole Pops orchestra to play tonight.”

“So that’s why you suggested we do a lot of music tonight!”

“Yes, I know how much you love the big band sound, all brassy and a big strings section.”

“Well, I suppose since we have to go, we may as well go out with a bang rather than a whimper. Thanks, Greg. I think I’m really going to enjoy tonight.”

Greg called me back as I started to walk away. “Did you think about my offer, Jen?”

“You mean the State Fair thing?” The Pops orchestra was booked for four performances at the New York State Fair at the end of the month, and Greg had asked me to perform with them. “I’m still thinking about it, Greg. My movie got postponed, so I should be available. Please ask me again on Monday or Tuesday. Right now, it’s a little too close to this show for me to think straight about what I’m going to do for a few months.”

“Thanks for considering it, Jen. I do need to know what to tell the Fair folks, since we’ll need some time to get the promotional stuff together. Judging by the fact that we’ve had standing room only while we’ve been taping the show, your appearance there should be a major draw. Right now, we’re just filler at the Center Court stage, but with you on the bill we just might out-draw the Grandstand acts that night.”

“Who did they get anyway?”

“Those two nights are supposed to be a couple of new country stars making their first national tours.”

“Wouldn’t my appearance take the crowd away from them?”

“I doubt it. You have a completely different style that appeals to a different group of people, Jen. There’d be something available for anyone entertainment-wise, if you performed with us.”

“Did you want me for the afternoon performances too?”

“Yes, if you don’t mind, but I’d be delighted with any of the performances you can make.”

“All right, Greg. Call me next week, and I’ll let you know then. I’ll probably say yes to all four performances. I just need some time to rest and think about where I’m going when tonight’s show ends.”

“Thanks, Jen. The orchestra should be ready for the run-throughs in about an hour. Do you want to do it in front of the audience again?”

“You know my policy, Greg. If someone comes early, please extend our hospitality and let them in. I love the feedback I get from the folks out in those seats.”

“You got it, Jen!”

When I got to my dressing room, my outfit for the night was hanging on the rack. Under it was a matching pair of thin-strapped four-inch heels. I knew my feet were going to hurt tonight by the time I stood on them for at least two-thirds of the show. I did like the way they made my legs look, so I decided to put up with the problems they caused me.

Several sheets of paper were on the makeup table along with a stack of cue cards on the floor beside the table. Tonight’s monologue was very good, and I had to laugh at the jokes and some behind the scenes insider stuff. As I usually did, I marked up the cue cards to remind myself of the pacing and inflection I thought would be best for each joke.

When I got to the “bomb” joke, I winced when I read it. As Wayne had done in his monologues, I always had one really bad joke, then made some comment about it when it did indeed go in the toilet tank with the audience. This time I decided to let the joke speak, as it were, for itself. I wrote something with a Sharpie™ marker on a yellow Post-It™ then glued it to the card, so it wouldn’t come off. On the back of the card I made a note for our cue card guy about what I was going to do. Fortunately, Andy and I had worked together on the Community Theater plays, so he was good at a bit of improvisation when needed.

About the time I was finished marking the cue cards, I heard the orchestra tuning up. I headed for the stage and did a complete run-through of all the music we’d be doing tonight, both for the on-air taping and the stuff we did for the audience when we were supposed to be in a commercial break.

Alexis was standing in the wings and smiled as she watched us work the numbers. What surprised me completely was when she heard the first few notes of “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” she grabbed a wireless hand microphone from one of the sound guys and came walking onstage to stand next to me. I almost fell over when Alexis started to sing along. Her strong, clear voice blended perfectly with mine, along with the two backup singers I’d selected to give the song the proper performance.

The approval from the small audience that had filled the theater early was overpowering as they clapped and whistled. I simply smiled and grabbed Alexis’ hand and with the two backup singers, we all took a bow. As the applause died down, I turned to Alexis.

“Well, I think I figured out what song we’re going to open with tonight – that is, only if you’ll sing it with me, Alexis!”

“You want ME to sing tonight? In front of all the people you’re going to have here, plus a few million watching on TV?”

“Yes. Don’t worry about the people watching on TV. It’s the audience here you have to please, and from the reaction we just got, I’d say that’s locked in.”

Alexis took a big gulp of air and tried to settle herself. “Emily is going to say I’m crazy, but I’ll try it, Jen. It did feel pretty good doing it. Just like when I did the same song as part of a high-school talent showcase.”

“I wondered how you knew that song! HEY! Didn’t you say you’d never performed in front of a live audience before?”

“Well, I’ve never done it professionally.”

“So tonight’s the night. Just do it the same way when we start taping, and we’ll bring the house down.”

She nodded weakly. “Are you sure, Jen?”

“You heard the crowd yourself, Alexis, and that’s just about a fifth of what this place holds.”

“How many people?”

“Well, it seats about a thousand. I suspect that it’ll be standing room only as it has been the past three weeks. The tickets are free you know.”

“Oh dear God. What have I set myself up for?”

“Look, just go back to your dressing room and change into your outfit. I’ll have someone come and get you just before we start. Now go and relax, and don’t worry about it. If you don’t want to go on with me at the start of the show, you don’t have to. The number still works with the three of us, but it’s really special with you out there.”

Alexis handed the microphone to the sound guy, then almost stumbled back to her dressing room. I had one of the crew follow her to make sure she was okay as I headed over to talk to Greg.

All Greg did as I approached was to hold up the sheet music for the song and point to a big number one he’d written in the upper right hand corner of his copy. I’d worked enough with Greg to know that if he felt the same excitement that I did about the song, we were both on the right track. I left the final selection of the order of the rest of the songs up to Greg, trusting in his unerring skill at what song should go where to maximize their entertainment value.

With less than five minutes left to go before the taping began, I peeked out between the curtains drawn across the stage. With the orchestra now on the stage instead of the pit, a small stage had been added. It was about a foot lower than the existing stage and extended to within a few feet of the front row of seats. A small step split the difference between the old stage and the newly added one, making it far less likely that anyone would trip trying to get down to the lower extension.

As I looked at the audience, I realized that nearly every “big shot” in town had commandeered the first few rows of the seats. The mayor, the county executive and almost all of the city and county councils were in attendance. The rest of the theater was packed to overflowing as well. I guesstimated that there were somewhere around twelve hundred people shoehorned into the theater.

A soft cough from behind me made me carefully close the curtain. When I turned around, Alexis was standing there looking a bit frightened.

“Can I take a peek, Jen?”

“Yes, you could, but I wouldn’t recommend it. I still get a major case of butterflies every time I look out there before I do one of these things. Doesn’t matter if there are a thousand in the audience or just a few people.”

“You? The ‘old pro’ still gets butterflies?”

“Would you believe that my stomach is turning somersaults as we speak?

“How can you look so calm then? I don’t see any sign of it on your face!”

“It’s because I know that in just a few minutes I’m going to be so busy that I won’t have a chance to think about my fear. I also know that if I go out there and have fun, then the audience will have fun right along with me. I can’t explain it, but I know that when I’m having fun doing something and freely show it, then everyone around me can sense it. If I go out there all grumpy and moody, then it seems to affect everyone else too.”

“Really?”

“Yup. Have you ever noticed when you’re shooting your own show that the better the atmosphere is on the set, the better everyone’s performances are?”

“Now that you mention it, yes, I have. I kinda thought I was imagining it though.”

“I was raised watching some of the greatest comics of all time, people like Red Skelton, Milton Berle, Jackie Gleason and Carol Burnett, just to name a few. On all of their shows, it was very clear that they were having fun with whatever they were doing. The audience picked up that they were having fun and fed an incredible energy back to them. That’s what I strive to have happen with every show I do. If I have fun and clearly show it, then the audience will respond to it and have a good time too.”

“Don’t you worry about looking silly out there?”

“No, well, sometimes I do. It’s kinda hard to describe, Alexis. I know that as long as they’re laughing, they’re having a good time. It really doesn’t seem to matter if they’re laughing at me or with me, as long as they laugh.”

The stage manager came over and had us move to the wings a few moments before the curtains were opened. As we stood there, someone came on the sound system to get the audience ready by telling them what was going to happen. We’d tape each segment that would be aired in its entirety, then have a few minutes between each segment as things were set up on the stage. Most of the time, the orchestra would provide some music between taping segments.

With less then fifteen seconds to go, I turned and gave Alexis a big hug. She smiled then held tightly onto my hand as the first notes of the show’s theme song (Rock This Town by the Brian Setzer Orchestra) came from the orchestra.

The huge projection screen behind the orchestra showed the opening video sequence of the show. Normally it was shots of the various places around Los Angeles where the show originated. Wayne and the crew had surprised me by shooting a new opening sequence of the various places around Syracuse. Places like the Carrier Dome, Syracuse University, and loads of other things were included. I’d managed to shoot a few additional places like the Dinosaur Barbeque and Heid’s hot dogs during the run of the show and included them in the opening. It was the talk of the town every time it ran at the start of the show.

The announcer had finished the guest list and started to introduce me, “… and now here’s Jennifer Stevens!”

The applause was nearly deafening and seemed to double in intensity (if that’s even possible) as I pulled Alexis out next to me. We made it to the lower stage without tripping. I headed stage left, shaking hands as I went, while Alexis headed stage right doing the same. The orchestra wound up the theme with a blistering improvisational ending as the audience settled back into their seats after giving us a standing ovation.

A sound technician squatting in front of the stage handed us both microphones as the first notes of “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” started. As I expected, the applause when we finished might have been enough to blow the roof off the old theater, well, figuratively anyway. From the huge smile that lit up Alexis’ face, I knew that any fear she had about doing the song was completely gone.

The applause must have lasted for well over a minute before I motioned for everyone to settle down and started the monologue as Alexis waved and moved offstage.

The bad joke paid off after I had the camera do a close-up on the Post-It I’d placed on the cue card.

It read:
“Turwilliger’s Used Joke Emporium”
“Bargain Bin – 6 for fifty cents”
The price was crossed out and FREE was written below it in large letters.

I shook my head slowly. “I knew we were a bit over-budget, but I didn’t think it went quite that far!” The audience roared with laughter.

I looked at Andy, the cue card guy, and asked if there were any more in the pile like that one. As I’d asked, he ruffled through the pile then tore the rest of the cards in half, tossing them on the floor, then he shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, I guess that’s it for the monologue. We’ll be right back with Alexis Eden and a visit from the Burnett Park Zoo animals.” Before I could turn away toward the stage, I heard the announcer introduce the Mayor and the County Executive.

I nearly lost it when I was presented with a plaque proclaiming that the theater would be renamed the Jennifer Stevens Theater. It took a few seconds before I could squeak out my thanks. Mercifully, the announcer did the toss to a commercial break, and the orchestra started to play another song for the break.

The interview with Alexis went extremely well. She seemed to come out of her shell more than any other interview she’d given as she told several stories about things that had happened while shooting her TV show. She had the audience clamoring for more, but sadly the allotted time had almost passed and we had to move on.

The rest of the show is just a blur to me now, and I’d really have to go back and watch a copy of it to write all the details. I do vividly remember the applause at the end of the show seeming as though it was never going to end as someone brought me a huge bouquet of roses. All I could do was stand there and wave as the orchestra played the closing version of the theme, then the stage manager gave us the all-clear sign.

The audience started to file out as the curtains closed across the stage. I slumped down in one of the chairs and tossed the bundle of roses on the table.

“Damnit, we did it! The ball’s in Wayne’s court now, and I can finally get some rest.”

Alexis came over and sat on the arm of the chair, placing an arm around my shoulders. “You okay, Jen?”

“I am now. It’ll take a little while to get the stuff in my dressing room together, then I can go home and fall into bed. This one took a lot more out of me than the others did.”

Alexis grabbed my arm and pulled me up. “Come on, Jen. I’ll help. It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to toss the stuff into a box and dump it in the van.”

“But you’re my guest. You don’t have to help!”

“You really helped me, Jen. You made me realize that I’d been letting my fears rule me too much whenever I performed. I finally relaxed and just went with the flow tonight. It was the most incredible experience I’ve ever had, something I’ll always remember.”

“I know one thing. You’re gonna be the talk of the water cooler set on Monday.” Alexis pulled on my arm until I started to follow her to the dressing room.

She was right. It took less than thirty minutes to get everything packed up and stashed in my van. As I was digging the keys out of my purse, Alexis grabbed them away from me and pushed me toward the passenger side.

“If you think I’m gonna let you drive in your state, then you’re much further gone than I thought.”

“If you think I’m going to fight you on this, you’re oh-so-very wrong. Know where you’re going?”

“I think I can find the way with a bit of your help.”

“Well, I want to stop for a bite to eat. I’m famished.”

“Nope.”

“No? And why not?”

“I’m taking you home. I called your house and learned that Gertie made a big pot of beef stew and some fresh bread. It sounds great to me. A nice relaxing supper out of the public eye, then a long soak in the hot tub before bed; I know it’s just what I need. How about you?”

“It sounds divine!”

Saturday, August 9, 2003 –

I have to hand it to Alexis. She was completely right last night. A good meal, a long hot soak, then diving in the bed was exactly what I needed. With the worries of doing the show out of the way, I had the best night’s sleep since I started my whole adventure many months ago. If only Adam had been here to share it with me, it would have been heaven.

Gilllie was nowhere to be seen, and I had to assume that he’d spent the night in the company of my houseguest. The aroma of frying sausages, eggs and waffles permeated the house. My morning business couldn’t wait, but the smells coming from the kitchen made me hurry all the more. When I finished up, I wrapped a robe around myself and slipped my feet into the slippers at the end of the bed then padded toward the kitchen.

Alexis was sitting at the table working on a plate of food as I came into the kitchen. Gertie was still at work making breakfast.

“Good morning, Miss. The usual this morning?”

“Yes, that’s fine. Gertie, how many times have I told you that you don’t need to be so formal?”

“I know, Miss, but you have a guest.”

“Guest? A Guest is here?’

“Yes, Miss, right there at the table.”

“I don’t see a guest, Gertie, just a good friend.” I put my arm around Alexis’ shoulders and smiled.

“You mean Miss Eden?”

Alexis looked at Gertie with a bit of a frown on her face. “She’s been doing that to me all morning. I’ve told her a gazillion times to call me Alexis!”

Gertie smiled then shook her head. “All right, Alexis. I see that I’m outnumbered two to one.”

I poured a cup of coffee before sitting down at the table. “Alexis, did I tell you that Gertie here used to be the Queen of England’s main cook? That’s where she gets her proper attitude.”

“Ah, that explains the accent and these excellent bangers then!”

Gertie was beaming. “I make ‘em meself, Mi… um Alexis.”

“They’re great, Gertie, and the waffles are so light and fluffy, you must have made the mix yourself too.”

Gertie set a plate in front of me. “Gertie, fix yourself something and join us, please.”

“Sorry, but I had me own breakfast over an hour or so ago. I made a new batch of sausages and had to try them out before I served them to anyone else. I couldn’t get my usual spices, so I had to make a few substitutions.”

I cut of a chunk of sausage, then popped it into my mouth. It took a few seconds to swallow it before I could talk. “I can’t tell the difference, Gertie. Good job!”

Alexis started giggling and pointed toward my feet under the table.

“Bunny slippers? You wear bunny slippers?”

“Hey! My other slippers musta got kicked under the bed. I wasn’t about to go digging for them with my stomach growling as bad as it was!”

“Okay, I’ll let you get by with that feeble excuse.”

“I’ve gotta confess that I really do wear ‘em, but usually just in the wintertime when it gets so cold. The extra insulation in them really keeps my feet warm.”

“You get cold feet too? I thought it was just my problem.”

“Well, I can’t speak for other women, but I get cold much easier than I did. Before my change, I was a big guy with a lot of spare tire around my middle. I had more problems with the heat in summer back then than I had with the cold winters around here.”

“So you’re fine in the summertime now?”

“It’s so much easier being a woman in the summertime. When the weather is hot, it’s a lot more acceptable for a woman to wear an outfit that shows a bit more skin than normal. The guys seem to appreciate it too.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gertie quietly leave the kitchen. I guess she felt we were getting into more personal territory that she really didn’t need to know about.

“How did you get used to the attention, Jen?”

“Who said I was used to it?”

“But you seem so relaxed in public that I….”

“You assumed? Well, I can tell you that I’m not all that used to it. I’ve been able to accept that I’ll always turn heads wherever I go, both because of the way I look now and the fact that my face is recognized by millions of people. The pictures of my transformation plastered all over every newspaper, TV station and tabloid guaranteed that.”

“So why did you decide to run with it?”

“I didn’t have a whole lot of options. Either I could become a hermit and close myself off from the world, or I could get on with the rest of my life and make the most of my new situation. I tossed the hermit idea out, so I went with what was left.”

“Did you ever think that you’d become as famous as you are now?”

“Alexis, I would have been very happy just to return to my job and pick right up where I left off. Then things started changing, and I wound up where I am now. I feel like there’s someone out there pulling my strings like I’m a marionette or something. Either that, or I’m a character in some cheesy dime store novel.” I shook my fist as I stared at the ceiling. “You hear me, you third rate hack! Stop playing with my life!”

Alexis looked from me up at the ceiling and back. “You’re weird, Jen.”

“Alexis, my friend, you have no idea.”

As the rest of our breakfasts disappeared, I filled her in on the strange things that had happened since my change.

“All that stuff really happened?”

“Yup, now you see why I feel like I’m in some third rate novel. All this stuff just CAN’T happen to someone as much or as fast as it all happened to me.”

“Who says it can’t? I went from a college student to doing commercials, modeling, and then being in a TV show myself. I never knew that it could all happen so fast. I just think you’re maybe a bit paranoid that things are going so well that it’s all going to come crashing down around you overnight. I know that I feel that way sometimes.”

I sipped at the rest of my coffee after popping the last bit of egg and waffle in my mouth. “Hmmm… you might have something there.” I drained the coffee remaining in the cup then set it back down on the table and picked up the glass of orange juice. “Well, if it all does come crashing in around us, we’ve both had a hell of a ride, right?” I held out my glass toward Alexis.

She picked up her glass of O.J. and clinked it against mine. “You got that right!”

As we cleaned up then loaded the dishwasher, we talked about our plans for the day.

“So Jen, you said that we were going shopping today?”

“Yup, but I promised a couple of hours to the Science Museum folks this morning. I talked the MouseWorld folks into making a traveling exhibit based on the Future Is Now attraction. It will open first at the Museum tomorrow. I’ve got to go and make sure things are running properly, since some of the stuff was my designs. If you want to stay here, I can come back to get you.”

“Are you kidding? I want to see what you’ve bee working on. Then we can go shopping.”

“Okay. I need to be there in about ninety minutes. Let’s get ready to go. I suggest a casual look, and remember that the temperatures are supposed to get into the high nineties today. It’s going to get very sticky out there.”

After a quick shower, I dressed in a light pink halter top that came a couple of inches below my breasts, leaving most of my tummy exposed. A pair of matching hip hugger shorts that went about halfway down my thighs finished the outfit. The narrow strapped low heel sandals on my feet would protect them from the hot sidewalks and pavement and still look reasonably stylish.

As a concession to the blistering sunshine outside, I threaded my ponytail through the opening in the back of a Heid’s Hot Dogs baseball cap then found the darkest pair of sunglasses I had. After rubbing on some sunscreen on the exposed parts of my body, I added the bottle to my purse for touch-ups as needed.

Alexis caught up with me in the garage as I was peeling the magnetic signs off the pickup truck.

“You’re taking this beast? Why not take the van instead? It’ll draw less attention.”

I pointed to several large cases in the back of the pickup bed. “I need to take this stuff with me. It’s my tools and supplies, in case I need something to fix the exhibit. There’s another reason for taking the pickup too.”

“Oh, what’s that?”

“I love messing with people’s minds. Imagine the looks I get when this lumbering beast pulls in somewhere and I get out looking like this.” I twirled around to let Alexis see exactly how I was dressed.

“Jen, you’re a terrible tease!”

“I know. I figure that if I have to look like this, I may as well enjoy it as much as I can.”

I started the pickup and backed it out of the garage.

“Jen, you never really did tell me what your preferences were. All you said was that you were still trying to figure that out.”

I was dreading this conversation, but I felt that I owed Alexis an explanation. “Well, I told you about Marie, right?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t think I told you I have… umm… had a boyfriend, did I?”

“No, you haven’t said a single word about him, Jen.”

“His name is Adam Tilton. Up until we had a big fight, we were really good together. Right now, he’s away somewhere working on a movie.”

“He’s in the business?”

“Well, he is now.” I told her the story of how we met.

“So you and Adam had a fight over him feeling inferior to you?”

“That’s the gist of it, yes. We haven’t seen or talked to each other in months.”

“I sort of figured that out when I heard you in the hot tub last night. Feeling a bit… umm… lonely?”

“Yah, you could put it that way.” A quick look in the rear view mirror told me that I’d turned a brilliant shade of pink.

Alexis laughed. “Look, Jen, don’t get upset over it. It happens to all of us at one time or another. Those urges are just a part of being female. Every woman has them.”

“So I’ve been told several times. It still doesn’t help though.”

“If you and Adam aren’t seeing each other any more, have you found someone else?”

“I haven’t tried. Somehow, it feels wrong to me.”

“Jen, you can’t ignore this. How long has it been?

“Months. At least four.”

“There’s something that applies pretty well here. If you love someone, let them go. If they come back, they’re yours. If they don’t, it was never meant to be.”

“I’ve heard that before. Intellectually, I know that I should let him go, but my heart keeps telling me that I ought to hang on. Every time I try to decide what to do, I only get more confused and upset.”

“You can’t wait for him forever, Jen. You said that you intended to move on with your life. This is just another one of those things you need to deal with and move on.”

“I know you’re right, Alexis. Let me have some time to think about it, okay?”

“Just don’t take too long. It isn’t healthy.”

The rest of the trip to the Museum was relatively easy, and we pulled into the loading dock area right on time. I pulled a plastic card from my purse and ran it through the reader by the loading dock door. There was a loud buzz as I pulled the door open then motioned for Alexis to step inside.

It took a few moments for our eyes to adjust to the dim light inside. Since it was the weekend, most of the staff had the day off, and only the minimum staff was on hand to open the Museum. We wound through an exhibit area that was being renovated to head for the front desk. I wanted to let everyone know that I was in the building, so when I started up the new exhibit and made some noise, the staff wouldn’t be too concerned.

“Hi, Tracy!” I recognized the girl behind the front desk ticket stand as Tracy Reed, the Museum’s fundraising director.

“Jen! Here to finish the last tweaks on the new exhibit?”

“Yup. I think it’ll only take an hour, or maybe two at most, to get it ready for the opening tomorrow.”

“Have you given any thought to attending the big kick-off dinner tomorrow night? You’re invited of course.”

“I did get the invite in the mail last week. I’m going to try to be there.”

As I looked at Tracy, I noticed that she was looking at Alexis. Alexis was in her ‘disguise’ mode with a dark brown wig.

“Is that who I think it is, Jen?”

I giggled a bit. “And just who do you think that is, Tracy?”

“Well, get rid of the brown wig, and that’s Alexis Eden.”

I looked over at Alexis and winked. “Want to fess up?”

“I might as well, I guess. This wig is really hot anyway. Yes, Tracy, I’m Alexis Eden.” Alexis held out her hand after taking the wig off. “Nice to meet you.”

Tracy and Alexis hugged, then Tracy gushed over Alexis’ performance on the show last night.

“It was fun, Tracy. I have Jen to thank for that experience.”

“Do you mind if I get my digital camera and snap a few pictures of you and Jen visiting? I’ve started a celebrity wall of fame.” Tracy pointed to a group of photos behind the ticket counter. Alexis noticed Jen’s picture prominently displayed with a few others under it. Alexis didn’t recognize any of the other people and assumed, correctly, that they were local celebrities.

“No, I don’t mind at all, as long as it doesn’t get in the way of what Jen is trying to do today. I’m just here visiting with her while I’m on vacation.”

We headed for the area where the new exhibit was being installed. The lights were on, and I heard the soft hum of the equipment as we entered. A dark haired man was working on one of the consoles.

“Jerry? What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to work with you a bit more, so I’m certain I understand how everything is supposed to run. You’re not going to be able to be here all the time, Jen.”

“Okay, Jerry.”

Alexis pulled me off to one side, well away from Jerry.

“Who is he?”

“That’s Jerry Mercer. He’s a volunteer here during the summer. He’s actually a phys-ed teacher and coach at one of the local high schools.”

“I kinda thought so. That tight fitting t-shirt looks pretty good on him. And that jet-black hair and those green eyes of his are pretty hot too. Is he single?”

“Yes. Hey! I thought that you weren’t interested in guys.”

“I’m not. But even I have to admit that he’s quite a hunk.”

“Look, don’t go trying to play matchmaker for me, okay? I’m not looking for anyone else right now. My life is screwed up enough as it is without adding another relationship to it.”

“Calm down, Jen. Don’t get your panties in a bunch!”

Just then, we heard a loud pop followed by a heavy thud as something hit the floor. Jerry was nowhere to be seen.

We ran over to where Jerry was working and found him apparently out cold on the floor. We could smell a heavy electrical odor too.

“Alexis, get the first aid kit. It’s over there on the wall next to the drinking fountain.” I pointed her in the right direction and gave her a good shove. My EMT training kicked in as I checked Jerry for a pulse and breathing. Both seemed to be fine. What wasn’t fine was that my fingers were marked with red as I looked at my hand after checking the back of his head.

Alexis returned with the first aid box. I cleaned my hands with an antiseptic wet-wipe type towel then put on a pair of the latex gloves from the box. Fortunately, Jerry’s eyes started to flutter as he groaned then tried to sit up.

I put a hand on his shoulder and gently pushed downward, forcing him back onto the floor. “Easy there, tiger. You took a nasty fall, and you’ve done something to the back of your head.”

His eyes fully opened as he stared at us. “Have I died and gone to heaven so that I’m seeing these two incredible angels before me?”

I looked over at Alexis as she giggled a bit. “Now I know this big goofball is okay. Again with the B.S., Jerry?”

“Hey, Can’t blame a guy for tryin’, you know. I’ll take any opportunity I can get, Jen.”

“Anything else hurting?”

“Just my heart from all the times you’ve turned me down.”

I groaned at Jerry’s lame attempt. “Look, you think you can sit up without damaging that fragile male ego of yours?”

“I’ll try.” He made it into a vertical position, still sitting on the floor. He seemed to be a bit unsteady though. “OOOH. Did anyone get the number of that bus that snuck up on me from behind?”

Alexis giggled a little more. “I don’t think it was a bus. Look there.” She pointed to the console. A little tuft of hair and a tiny bit of skin hung from the corner. “Looks like it needs to be padded.”

“It’s supposed to be. Jen and I just haven’t put the padding on yet, so as to be able to get to the wiring under the console.” Jerry looked over at Alexis as a big smile spread across his face. “Now I’m positive I’ve died and gone to heaven. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. Alexis Eden?”

“Damn, outed again. Jen, I thought you told me nobody would recognize me here.”

I shrugged. “I’ve been wrong before, and I’ll be wrong again. Think you can help me get this big guy up off the floor and into that chair over there? It’s easier to work on him when he’s up higher.”

Jerry got a big goofy grin on his face. “I can think of an easy way for you to get me up higher. Just give me a big wet kiss, Jen!”

My face felt like it was on fire when I realized what body part he wanted me to get higher.

“You’re so cute when you blush like that, Jen.”

“Look, give it a rest, funny boy. You’re still bleeding.” I shoved a gloved hand smeared with his blood under his nose. “Now, do you want me to try to fix this, or would you prefer to drive yourself to the hospital?”

The smile disappeared as he tried to stand up. He managed to make it to his feet, then wobbled a bit as he tried to walk to the chair.

“Alexis, would you roll that chair over here, please?”

“Sure.”

Jerry leaned heavily on me, and it took quite an effort to help support his greater weight. He slumped down in the chair as Alexis pushed it against the back of his knees.

“Alexis, will you go to the front desk and have Tracy call for an ambulance? I think he needs to go to the Emergency Room to get checked out. He might have a concussion.”

Alexis nodded then headed back the way we’d come. Meanwhile, I cleaned the wound and applied some gauze to contain the bleeding. There wasn’t a good way to make a compression bandage with the supplies I had and the position of the wound, so I pressed the gauze to the back of his head with a gloved hand.

A couple of minutes passed before Alexis returned with the news that an ambulance was on the way. Jerry seemed to be feeling a bit better and was able to sit up properly in the chair. He looked up at me and smiled.

“Sorry I teased you like that. I didn’t mean to make you mad at me.”

“Jerry, I wasn’t mad at you, just worried that you were seriously hurt.”

“Thanks, Jen. Um… you haven’t given me an answer yet. Will you go to the fundraiser dinner with me tomorrow night? I’d really like to have your company.”

Alexis leaned over and whispered in my ear. “This is a good thing to do, Jen. I say go for it.”

Maybe Alexis was right. I needed to move on with my life. Waiting for Adam just wasn’t working out.

“Jerry, if the doctors say you’re okay, then I’ll go to the dinner with you. Just give me a call on my cell phone when you find out what kind of damage you did to yourself. By the way, what happened?’

He pointed to one of the consoles. “I was powering it up after hooking up the AC power. I saw a flash and heard a big bang. I felt something hit my chest, and it surprised me enough that I fell backwards.”

Alexis walked over to the console then picked up something lying on the floor. “Looks like a shell of some kind.”

I looked at the bent piece of aluminum. “It’s the casing from an electrolytic capacitor. Must have exploded when the power was applied.” I took a sniff of the remains. “Yup, the same odor as we smelled a few minutes ago. Must have been installed backwards, or maybe it was marked with the wrong operating voltage.”

A few minutes later, the ambulance crew arrived then confirmed my suspicions about a possible concussion. They loaded Jerry into the ambulance and headed for the closest hospital.

It took only a few minutes to determine that the capacitor had been correctly installed on the power supply board. I fabricated a quick and safe replacement from several caps from my repair stock, and the console came to life when the power was applied. I’d order the proper replacement part and get it installed when the Museum closed for the night.

Alexis turned out to be pretty handy with a screwdriver and an adjustable wrench. Between the two of us, we had the rest of the exhibit all buttoned up inside of two hours. Everything checked out, and we were loading the last of my cases into the pickup when my cell phone started ringing.

“Hello? … Oh, hi, Jerry. They did? That’s great! … Yes, I’ll call you first thing in the morning. … Yes, I WILL… Gotta run. Bye!”

“So I assume that you have a date for tomorrow night?”

“Yup, thanks to your matchmaking, I do.”

“I certainly did NOT do any kind of matchmaking, Jen. The decision you made to go with Jerry was completely yours. What I did do was simply point out that waiting for Adam hasn’t gotten you anywhere. Have you been seeing anyone else since the split?”

“No, of course not!”

“Well, then he’s getting the message that you’re willing to wait for him. Am I right?”

“And just how has he been getting that message?”

“Jen, your life is roughly equivalent to living in a fish bowl?” I nodded in agreement. “He sees the pictures of you doing things the same as everyone else. Have there been any pictures of you on some other guy’s arm since you and Adam split?”

“Well….”

“No, there haven’t, and don’t tell me that there have been. The tabloids would have been all over you like white on rice.”

“Okay, I’ll admit that I’ve been pretty much alone publicly since we split.”

“This is going to send a very different message to Adam than the one you’ve been broadcasting.”

“And just what is this new message anyway?”

“The message is that you’re done waiting for him. If he wants you, he’s going to have to be the one that does something about it.”

“How do you know he’ll even get the message? This is just a small town thing. It isn’t going to get any national press coverage.”

“Just leave that to me, Jen. And you need to decide on your own if this is just a date, or if you really want it to be more than that. It’s entirely up to you, and I’m not going to push you one way or the other.”

Was it going to be just a date, or maybe more than that? My overloaded brain was a jumble of disconnected thoughts and feelings. Adam was the only man I’d willingly had sex with. Was I missing something by not having more experience with other men? Did I really want to wait for Adam? Or did I even want to have a boyfriend at all?

I forced myself to clear my head of all the questions without solid answers before my head exploded.

“So what do you want to do now, Alexis? I’m in need of lunch myself.”

“Sounds pretty good to me. Do you know someplace?”

“You bet!”

It was only a few blocks from the Museum to my favorite place to eat. I managed to find a spot for the pickup in the parking lot.

“Morotcycles, pickups, Volvos, BMW’s, I even see a Mercedes! Just what kind of place is this, Jen?”

“The best barbeque place in the city! Come on.”

“Are you sure it’s safe in there the way we’re dressed?”

“Well, I wouldn’t go in there dressed like this in the evening, but we’re fine right now. You’ll see.”

Alexis followed behind me toward the entrance. The sign above the doorway said “Dinosaur BBQ,” and the smells from the kitchen and the meat smokers made my mouth water.

Alexis settled down after she realized that we weren’t going to get mobbed with autograph seekers, and the meal was, as usual, excellent. Try as she might, she couldn’t finish the BBQ sampler she ordered, so we had the leftovers packed up to go.

With our tummies filled, I headed over to the Carousel Center, the largest mall in Syracuse. Being the local celebrity and quite recognizable, I drew most of the attention, leaving Alexis free to shop for whatever she needed. She did make several attempts to get me to buy a few things, but thanks to my recent guest hosting duties, my wardrobe had been expanded considerably.

I guess some of my old male persona kicked in, because I soon found myself bored with the clothing stores and wishing that I could go off on my own. Alexis must have sensed my discomfort, since she asked for the keys to the pickup, saying that she wanted to drop off her purchases and continue shopping. We agreed to meet in the Commons area two hours later.

I put the time to good use visiting the computer stores and one of my favorite local chocolate shops. As the agreed meeting time approached, I wound up sitting on a bench in the commons area in the center lower level of the mall.

A computer magazine on my lap had most of my attention as I slowly munched on dark chocolate covered vanilla buttercreams from the chocolate store. I guess that I should have been paying more attention to things going on around me, since a pair of feet in shiny black shoes appeared in my vision as I was reading. I looked up into the face of an older man with black hair with streaks of gray. The man’s eyes were also gray, and their icy glare made me unconsciously shiver.

“Get thee gone, witch. We need none of your perversion here. Go peddle your filth elsewhere.”

After a second or two of looking around the area to make sure that I was the target of his anger, I placed the magazine aside and swallowed the last bit of chocolate remaining in my mouth.

“If you were addressing me, sir, I have nothing to sell, nor was I bothering anyone else. Just who are you to order me to leave this public place?”

He drew himself up to his full height as if he was puffing himself up on his own self-perceived importance. “I am Jeremiah Bagsby, Founder and Pastor of the Guiding Light Church of the Devine Inspiration. I have made it my mission to find and call into His Light the Spawn of Satan such as you.”

“Satan’s Spawn? Well, that’s a new one. Pastor, what makes you think Satan had anything to do with my creation?”

“God creates us in His image. He would never create the perversion of life that you represent.”

“Perversion of life?”

“You should have died. Yet you lived. You have publicly admitted your rejection of the Lord, so Satan stepped in and took you as one of his own.”

“I must admit that I should have died when I was hit by lightning, but I’m not certain that I can accept your assumption that I survived because the Devil stepped in. If I was as possessed as you seem to believe, shouldn’t my head be spinning around or something? Should I be talking in strange languages or levitating things?”

“Those manifestations may yet come to pass.” We both saw a small contingent of the Mall’s security service striding across the Commons area toward us. “Just let it be known that I’m aware of your allegiance with the Dark Lord and will do everything in my power to thwart your perverted plans.”

He turned on his heels and walked away with around a dozen of what I assumed were his followers behind him. The security people arrived moments later.

“Was he causing you any problems, Miss Stevens?”

“No more so than any other religious zealot these days, officer.”

“Did you know that you were being videotaped? There were at least two people on the first floor balcony looking at that little mess with camcorders.”

“No, I didn’t know, but I should have expected as much.”

“We’ve had problems with him before. He seems to thrive by creating these incidents then using them on his weekly cable TV ‘church service’ to fleece his flock and anyone else that will believe his claptrap. This time, he had some of his cronies start a protest at a magazine store that sells Playboy at the other end of the mall. I suspect that was going to be the main target of this week’s ‘sermon’ until he spotted you sitting here alone.”

“Yes, my unique circumstances do make me a ready target for the con men and religious nuts of the world. Others before him have tried it, and I suspect that many more besides him will try. I have nothing to hide from the world, officer, and I won’t lower myself to his level to try to stop him.

“I wouldn’t be so certain that he’s not worth stopping, Miss Stevens. I know you’ve been away for a while, so you aren’t aware that he and his flock have forced the closure of a couple of adult bookstores and a local topless bar. I have a hunch that now that he’s got his hooks into you, that he’ll push to go nationwide. There’s a whole lot more people that will believe his trash talk out there at a nationwide level than just his little cable access show here. I’d be very careful of him and his followers.”

A quick glance at his badge gave me his last name. “Thank you, Officer Curtis. I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”

He tipped his hat slightly in response. “David Curtis, Miss Stevens. It’s a pleasure to be of service. Do you want us to hang around a little while?”

Through almost the entire incident, Alexis had been watching from across the Commons area. “No, I think the person I was waiting for is ready to go. But thanks for asking, I do appreciate it.”

I restored the magazine and the chocolates to their respective bags then gathered up my things to head for the exit to the underground lot. The security people were watching me as I walked away, so I put a bit more swivel into my hips than normal, knowing that they would appreciate the enhanced view. A few low whistles and a barely audible “Gotta be jelly, ‘cause jam sure don’t shake like that” told me that I’d accomplished my goal.

On the way back to the house, I got a rather intense grilling about what went on. Alexis simply shook her head in amazement as I finished the story.

“So, you’re sure he’s gonna leave you alone?”

“Nope. Nothing is certain, Alexis, well, maybe except for death and taxes. I’ll have a few friends at the Stewart Agency keep an eye on him though. If he tries anything, I’ll know about it.”

“Do you run up against these guys very often, Jen?”

“Oh, maybe one or two every few months. Someone is always trying to make a buck off of my situation. As long as they stay in the area of free speech, I don’t bother them. When they start in making accusations I can prove to be false beyond any reasonable doubt, that’s when I drop a little legal bomb on them. When faced with a multi-million dollar lawsuit, they tend to fade away very quickly. It’s the same way with the tabloids that occasionally set their sights on me. Most of them have learned that it isn’t worth the trouble I can make for them.”

“Changing the subject, what do you have planned for tonight? Going out? It is a Saturday night after all.”

“Alexis, you should know me well enough by now to realize that I’m not a party animal. I wasn’t then, and that’s one thing that hasn’t changed since the lightning bolt. No, my plan is a quiet night in watching TV, then taking a good long soak in the hot tub before I crawl naked into my bed.”

“Let me guess… satin sheets?”

“Uh huh. I found that they feel so nice against my skin. I wake up so relaxed.”

“Got an extra set? I’ve got cotton sheets on my bed.”

“Sorry, I had Gertie make up the bed with cotton. If you wanted satin sheets all you needed to do was ask. There are a few sets in the big drawer in the walk-in closet. Help yourself.”

“Thanks! I need a real good night’s sleep. Being on the road so much lately has worn me out.”

“I know how you feel, Alexis. It feels so good to be home again after being away for much too long.”

“I’m so glad that you talked me into taking a vacation. I really need it.”

“As you’ve frequently pointed out to me about tomorrow night, I didn’t talk you into anything. I simply pointed out that running yourself into the ground isn’t good either for you or the studio. What you did with that piece of information was and is entirely up to you.”

“Speaking of tomorrow night, what are you going to wear? Something classy, I hope?”

“I was planning on a Navy blue pants suit. It’s just a local thing.”

“Well….”

I started to get a sinking feeling in my stomach again. “Alexis, what did you do?”

“Well… I ….”

“Alexis!”

“Okay, Jen. I called Emily and told her all about attending with you tomorrow night. She said it was a good publicity thing and is going to have a few photographers and a couple of the Hollywood entertainment shows cover it.”

“WHAT?”

“You heard me, Jen. It’s too late to change things too. I’ve already talked to your friend Tracy Reed. She’s positively over the moon to have the additional press coverage of the event.”

I sighed as I shook my head. “Another three ring circus!” I looked skyward and shook my fist at my principal torturer. “Doing it again, eh, fatso? Can’t leave well enough alone?”

Alexis giggled as she looked upwards at the sky outside the pickup truck too. “Being a little paranoid, are we?”

I took a deep breath, held it for a few moments as the tension flowed out of my body, then let it out. “Maybe, maybe…. Oh hell, I don’t know anymore. I’m just going to go home and relax. I’ll worry about tomorrow when it gets here.”

Sunday, August 10, 2003 -

I padded quietly into the kitchen. The two main sounds were the scuffing of my slippers on the floor and the burbling of the coffee pot. Alexis was standing quietly near the glass double door leading out to the back yard, watching the wildlife. Several rabbits were grazing in the garden as the squirrels tried in vain to get to the seeds in the bird feeders. Alexis giggled as the antics of the furry pests increased to a fever pitch.

I walked over and stood quietly behind her looking out at the comedy playing itself out before us. “They are quite the clowns aren’t they? I really enjoy watching them. Sometimes either Gertie or I will make sure we scatter some extra seed around, just to keep them coming back. What the birds drop on the ground usually helps with that too.”

“So much wildlife out there, Jen. I counted at least a dozen or more rabbits, at least that many squirrels, and so many different kinds of birds I lost count. It’s a regular paradise out there!”

“Thanks. I work very hard to keep it that way. You might even see a few deer and other critters later during your stay. By the way, thanks for starting the coffee this morning.”

“No problem.” Alexis glanced at my feet then started giggling. “The bunny slippers again?”

I looked down at the fluffy slippers on my feet then shrugged my shoulders. “I couldn’t find my mules. They seem to have disappeared again. Gillie seems to like playing with my shoes. I find the things in the strangest places. Last time, they wound up in the guest room you’re staying in.”

“I’ll take a look around in there for them. Say, Gertie isn’t up yet. Is she okay?”

“She’s fine. I should have let you know that Sunday is her day off when we’re at home. Unless there’s something special going on that is.”

“And I’m not special?”

“Oh, you’re ‘special’ all right, just not that special.” I swatted her behind. “Now come on and help me make breakfast.”

I started pulling leftovers out of the fridge, placing them and a dozen eggs on the countertop.

“What in the world are you going to make with that stuff, Jen?”

“Well, I call ‘em ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ scrambled eggs. Here, take these two sausages and chop them up into small cubes. About half an inch or so.”

“Okay….”

As Alexis prepared the sausages, I diced some onions, green peppers, red peppers and a tomato into small chunks. Some aged cheddar cheese was also turned into small cubes. Next, I dumped the sausage, onions, and peppers into a large frying pan and added a bit of bacon grease we kept for cooking. After gently warming and stirring the mix, I poured in a mix I had whipped up of six eggs, a little milk and some salt and pepper. I stirred the pan then waited for the eggs to start to firm up. As they turned from a thick fluid into a jelly-like solid, I occasionally stirred the pan to keep it from burning. Within a few more minutes, the scrambled eggs were finished. I filled two plates, adding a bit of the cheese on top of the eggs on each plate. I left some eggs for Gertie after covering the pan, turning off the burner under the pan, and sliding it off the stove top onto a cooling rack.

Alexis was busy making toast and had finished up just as the eggs were ready. We sat down at the table. A few yummy noises from Alexis were all the indication I needed that she found the eggs tasty.

“How did you learn to cook like this, Jen?”

“From my mom, I guess. We never had a lot to spare when I was a kid, so everything got used up. Very little ever got tossed out, unless it went bad before we could eat it. I remember my mom making scrambled eggs rather frequently, since my grandmother and grandfather kept chickens. Whatever we had as a leftover was fair game to go into the pan. Ever tried scrambled eggs made with roast beef or hot dogs or maybe even bologna? I’ve had them all, and I still make them occasionally when I feel like it. They always remind me of a time in my life when things were so much simpler.”

“I keep forgetting that you’ve got over forty years of memories crammed in that head of yours.”

“And I keep feeling like I’m going to start having bits and pieces of who I was disappear only to be replaced with something that’s not who I was or want to be.”

“I don’t think you need to worry about that any more, Jen. Other than your obsession with the ‘ghostwriter in the sky,’ you’re probably one of the most well adjusted people I know. With everything you’ve told me that has happened to you, if you haven’t completely lost it by now, I doubt that you ever will.”

“Is this a professional opinion? Were you studying psychology in college or something?”

“No, nothing like that. Just the opinion of someone who has been around you long enough to admire the grace and quiet dignity that you display to everyone around you no matter what happens. I hope that I can do as well when I grow up, Jen.”

Alexis stood up, walked over to me and hugged me tightly.

“I’m not certain what to say. I’m just trying to get on with my life, that’s all.”

“Well, whatever you think, believe this, Jen… I want to keep you as a friend, no matter what happens to us or between us.”

It took only a heartbeat for me to realize something. “I feel the same way, Alexis. Friends always, okay?”

We stood locked together in a hug for several minutes until a gentle knock came from behind us.

“A tender moment? If so, I can come back.”

We broke the hug with big smiles on our faces. “No problem, Gertie. Alexis and I just realized that we’ve become good friends and want to keep it that way.”

“I was wondering when you two would figure that out. I saw it from the first day.”

“The maids, they always know everything!” I tossed my hands in the air as Alexis giggled out of control.

Gertie moved over to the counter next to the stove and pulled the top from the waiting pan, sniffing the air lightly.

“It tasted pretty good this morning. I hope you like it.”

“As long as it’s not me own cookin’, it’ll be fine.”

Alexis and I finished up then put away everything after putting our dishes in the washer. Alexis followed me out to the living room then sat down on the couch beside me.

“So, what do we do today up until we need to get ready for the fund-raiser tonight?”

“I thought I’d spend some time out in the pond this morning. It’s already over eighty-five degrees out there and climbing. The pond is fed by an underground spring and can be nice and cool when it’s hot outside. One end is set back at the edge of the woods, so if we’re quiet, we may see some wildlife come for a cool drink.”

“Can we go right now?”

“No. We should wait for a little while, since we’ve just had something to eat. I’m not really certain about waiting an hour, but the water is cold enough that we should stretch out a little before we go in to prevent any leg cramps.”

“I’ll race you to the back yard!”

We spent several hours in the pond, sometimes accompanied by various critters at the edge of the forest. Several deer could be seen in the shadows, and we moved to the far end of the pond so they could come in for a good long drink.

My fingers and toes started to look like prunes, so I knew that it was time to get out of the water. We needed to be back to normal for the fundraiser tonight.

I spent a few hours catching up on the web sites I’d neglected for so long. Alexis was looking over my shoulder, asking questions far beyond what most people would have expected her to understand. I’d learned shortly after my change not to take others at face value. Doing so could often lead you into a great deal of trouble.

When it finally was time to get dressed, I tried to hold out for the pants suit, but Alexis was adamant that I dress in something much better. I finally gave in and poured on my standard Little Black Dress. Four-inch heels, smoke colored panty hose, a push-up bra, jewelry and perfume completed the look she wanted for me. I thought that I was overdoing it with the makeup, but she insisted that a sultry look was exactly what I needed tonight.

The doorbell rang a few minutes before seven-thirty. I was completely surprised, Jerry Mercer stood there decked out in a very expensive tuxedo.

“Jerry! I thought we were supposed to pick you up! What are you doing here?”

He pointed toward a limo waiting in the driveway. “A gentleman should always provide the transportation to an event like this one. I have two very beautiful ladies that need to arrive in style.”

“We’ll be right with you, Jerry. We’re almost set to go.”

The trip to the museum took a bit longer than we expected, and we arrived a few minutes later than I would have liked. It didn’t seem to make any difference to the waiting throng of people. To me, it looked like the red carpet at the Academy Awards with all the people milling around.

Jerry stepped out moments after the limo stopped, then extended his hand toward the open door. Alexis was the next out of the limo, and as she stepped out the light from all the flashes and TV cameras was blinding. She stepped a few paces to her left as Jerry’s hand once again appeared in the doorway.

Now it was my turn. Once again, the explosion of lights and flashes was almost overpowering. It took a few seconds for me to get my sight back as the photographers tapered off. Jerry had placed his arm around my waist, while Alexis remained a few paces away as we walked into the museum. I realized that anyone looking at the pictures taken of our arrival would know beyond doubt that Jerry was my escort for the evening.

The banquet went off as planned, with two very large surprises. The first was that the hall where the new exhibit was opening was being renamed the Jennifer Stevens Hall of Science. It brought a few tears to my eyes, and I had to make a little speech accepting the honor. For possibly the first time in my confusing life, words failed me, and all I managed to squeak out was a subdued “Thank You”.

The other main shock was when Alexis presented a check for twenty-five thousand dollars to the museum. She’d never said a word about what she was planning, and it came as a complete shock to me.

I had a little time to recover my composure as the banquet wound down. Afterwards, a small band started up for some dancing and a small wine tasting party. I danced quite a bit with Jerry and a few of the other male guests and left the wine alone.

The evening wound to a close and Jerry took Alexis and I home in the limo. Jerry remained a total gentleman and never asked for anything more than the kisses Alexis and I gave him at my front door.

It was well after midnight when we finally both fell into our respective beds.

Sunday, August 17, 2003 –

I can’t believe the past week has gone by so fast. Having Alexis around was a joy as I looked at the world through her younger eyes.

Something happened in the early hours of Tuesday morning that brought us even closer.

We’d taken to leaving the door to our bedrooms open slightly, so Gillie could visit either of us during the night as he wished. He almost always spent half the night with one of us then sometime during the night moved to the pillow of the other person.

Why they started again, I’m not certain, but somewhere around three in the morning I woke from one of my nightmares, screaming as though I was being attacked. Alexis came running into the room as I cowered under the bed trying to settle my jangled nerves.

“What the hell happened, Jen?”

I managed to squeak out a single word – “nightmare” – before I passed out.

As consciousness slowly returned, I felt something cool and slightly wet over my eyes and forehead. I also heard to voices talking.

“Is she always like this, Gertie? What happened anyway? All I could get out of her was the word nightmare before she fainted.”

“That’s all she’s told me. She never says what’s bothering her, only that she’ll be all right. Sometimes she’s able to get back to sleep, but most of the time she’s stayed up the rest of the night. I think she’s afraid it’ll happen again.”

“Isn’t there anything we can do to help?”

“She’s never mentioned anything to me. I wish she would. I hate seeing her like this.”

“You let me talk to her. Maybe I can get the truth out of her.”

“You’re welcome to try, Alexis. Lord knows I’ve tried enough to get through that foot thick skull of hers.”

I heard a door open, then the wet object was lifted off my eyes.

“Jen? Are you in there?”

I opened my eyes, blinking several times until a face came into focus. Alexis was holding a glass of ice water, and it looked like she was getting ready to sprinkle some of it on my face.

“Am I supposed to drink that or wear it?”

“You can drink it if you want. If you were still out, you’d be wearing a little of it.” She held the glass out. I accepted it and took a few gulps of the icy water. It felt good running down my parched throat. “Now just what happened, and don’t give me the line of bullshit you’ve been feeding everyone else round here. Remember our little M.A.D. situation?”

“You wouldn’t!”

A fierce look of determination shot across her face. “Want to try me?”

The look on her face was too much for me to handle. “No, I don’t want that.”

I started to pull back the covers over me, only to find out that I was still naked since I often slept in the nude.

“Can I at least get my robe?”

“No, you’re not going to use that for an excuse to divert the subject, damn it! Now talk to me!”

“I told you, it was just a nightmare, that’s all.”

“That’s ALL? I come in here to find you cowering in total panic under your bed, screaming your head off, and all you can say is that it was a nightmare! Jen, just talk to me. I’m not going to judge you, and I won’t say a word to anyone else about this, but you need to talk about it.”

“Is this Alexis Eden, the world famous forensic scientist talking?”

“This is Alexis Finster, your friend talking, you fool.”

“You may not be after you hear everything. You sure you want to do this?”

“Yes.”

An hour later, I’d told her everything I’d withheld about what happened to me since my transformation.

“… and it all feels that real to you?”

“I can feel the knife against my throat, I can smell the gasoline being poured around the room, I can taste the brackish water as it filled the Hummer to the roof. Yes, it’s very real to me when it happens, and some of those things happed a year and more ago.”

“What have your doctors said about these nightmares?”

“Nothing concrete. Only that they’d eventually lessen and maybe go away. I have no idea why they keep returning like this.”

“Is there anything they can do for you?”

“They said sleeping pills were a possibility, but I don’t want to get addicted to them just to be able to sleep.”

“That wouldn’t be very good.”

I started to shiver. Alexis must have noticed, because she sat down on the bed next to me and hugged me tightly. After a couple of minutes the shivering stopped, and I felt much more relaxed.

“Did my hug really help you, Jen?”

“It’s just that the contact makes me feel like I’m not alone. I know that I have friends and that a lot of people really care about me. I see it every day. The problem is that I feel really alone in the world. There isn’t anyone else that I’ve been able to find who has any frame of reference for what happened to me. The shaman that gave me that necklace said that I’d find others like myself, but I never understood until I woke up after the lightning hit me.”

“I simply can’t imagine what it’s been like for you, Jen.”

“And that’s the problem! Nobody really understands what it’s like to have your life completely ripped apart and mashed back together.”

“Jen, all I can promise is that if I ever hear of someone like you, I’ll do everything in my power to bring you both together. Now do you think you can get back to sleep?”

“Maybe. I’ll try.”

“Would it be easier if I stayed with you?”

“It usually is, but I’m afraid where it could take our relationship.”

“Jen, if it means anything, I started thinking of you as my big sister a day or two after I came here. I’m not going to do anything strange to my sister, just some much needed cuddling and as many hugs as you can stand, okay?”

I managed to sleep the rest of the night as we spooned together in my bed.

On Thursday, I got totally blindsided by a phone call. With my increased visibility thanks to hosting Around Midnight, the producers of the beach picture I’d done a couple of months ago rushed the production of the film to take advantage of it. Now they were holding the premier on Saturday, August 30th in Orlando. By itself, it wasn’t a problem, but on Tuesday I’d called Greg to accept his offer to perform at the State Fair. Those two days were the Friday before and Sunday, the day after I was supposed to be in Orlando!

When the producers heard about my problem, they offered to have a private jet pick me up in Syracuse early on Saturday morning so I could be in Orlando in time for the premier at night. They had also arranged for Ted Saunders, my co-star in the picture, to be my date for the opening.

Since this was a last minute change in the release dates for the film, the producer agreed to supply a gown and some assistance with my makeup and hair. That simplified things considerably. The plan was for me to stay overnight in Orlando at a hotel near the airport, then fly back to Syracuse early the following morning to be back in time for my afternoon performance at the Fairgrounds. I would have to go directly from the airport to the Fair to make the performance on time. It would be a very long weekend and a bit dicey in spots with the timing, but with a bit of help it looked like the basic plan was the solution to my problem of being in two places at nearly the same time. I think I finally realized what it must be like for some of the NASCAR drivers to have to be at one track for practice and qualifying one day then fly to another track a thousand miles away to race the next day. It made me glad that for me this was a one-shot occurrence. There was no way I was going to try to do something like this every weekend!

Although we didn’t do very much, Alexis seemed to enjoy her vacation immensely. I guess that, for her, it was as large a change from her hectic road schedule as being home and not hosting Around Midnight was for me. We did manage a few trips to some of the local attractions. We had a picnic at a local State Park with a large waterfall near Chittenango and a side trip to some of the little shops in Cazenovia.

I didn’t bother wearing a disguise, since my face and general hairstyle were widely known in the area. Alexis made good use of a short brown wig and sunglasses to retain some degree of anonymity as we traveled. It seemed to work for her, since a fan only recognized her once as she presented her credit card at a store’s checkout line.

Sadly, Friday came all too quickly for either of us. For Alexis, it meant the end of her vacation; for me, it meant that I’d lose, temporarily at least, someone I’d come to regard as a very close friend.

I took her to the airport in the Caravan. I used the employee entrance, since the van was also registered with the security folks at the airport. It helped to keep the paparazzi away, but not as completely as either of us really wanted.

I watched as she passed through security then waited until I saw her plane take off and fade away into the bright blue sky.

Thursday, August 21, 2003 –

The days just seemed to fly by until the start of the New York State Fair today. As with nearly ever Fair since I was five years old, I found myself wandering the grounds as the first signs of life came to the buildings.

What was dramatically different this year was that I had a crew of three TV people from one of the local stations following me around. I was still trying to figure out how I had let the station talk me into being a special reporter for them for the run of the Fair. The objective was a fresh viewpoint on the Fair in at least one and possibly two stories a day.

This little task was agreed to just after I accepted Greg’s request to appear with the orchestra and just before the surprise opener of my movie blindsided me. The station wasn’t concerned at all about having their ‘star reporter’ missing for the better part of three days, since they planned to cover some of the behind the scenes aspects of my performances and the premier in Orlando through a sister station there.

My goal today was to explore some of the behind the scenes preparations that most people that visit the fair never see. We’d spent part of the day yesterday taping the setup of one of the food booths that served BBQ chicken, beef and pork sandwiches.

We watched as they started up the smokers then loaded them with massive sides of beef and pork to slow cook overnight. Today’s filming would be to watch as they emptied the smokers of their burden and reloaded them again. I’d also sample some of the fresh BBQ and invite viewers to come on out and try it for themselves.

This story would air on the noontime news. I was also scheduled to co-anchor the six o’clock newscast from the station’s Center Court location for the first two days of the fair. The station hoped that my presence on the air would bolster their sagging ratings for the evening news as well as help draw a larger crowd to their remote broadcast location at the Fair.

Everyone seemed to like the noontime story, and I spent the rest of the afternoon searching for interesting story possibilities on the Fairgrounds. By the time I returned to the station’s setup at the Fair, it looked like the President of the United States was visiting the Fairgrounds. The entourage following me consisted of a very large group of fans plus about a dozen security people who had to rescue me from the fans crushing in around me.

For the first time since my transformation, I really felt scared at the mass of people that tried to press in around me. It seemed like everyone wanted a piece of something that was mine as a keepsake. It really scared me when I realized that I could have been badly hurt in the stampede that could have resulted.

What hurt me even deeper was the fact that even the simple things like a walk through one of the buildings to look at the rabbits or visit the rooster crowing competition were now gone for me. For my own safety and the safety of the people around me, I’d need a contingent of security people to keep the unruly crowds in order.

I waited in the small camping trailer that the station had set up for my use in the back of their fenced-in private area until someone from the makeup department came in to get me ready for the newscast.

My mood hadn’t improved at all by the time the broadcast started. Somehow, I managed to smile through it all and deliver my lines as if there was nothing at all wrong in my world.

While I had been invited to several nighttime activities at the Fair, including being a special guest of the band that was appearing at the Grandstand concert, I decided to go home instead. After a quick ride on the station’s golf cart to one of the very few secured parking lots on the grounds, I climbed into my Caravan and headed home.

Friday, August 29, 2003 –

My mood improved somewhat this past week after the extra burden of hosting the evening newscast was lifted last Friday. While I still needed some security with me to walk the grounds, I’d discovered that a minimum of two people with me was almost always enough to head off the near disaster that had terrified me so much on the opening day of the Fair.

The two young men assigned to protect me weren’t especially upset at getting that duty. It turned out that they would probably have spent long hours out in the blazing sun directing traffic. That they were escorting a moderately pretty young woman around hadn’t escaped their notice either.

Walter Martin was from Carthage in the Watertown, NY area, while David Baxter was from Bath, NY out around the Finger Lakes area. Both were attending Syracuse University and were moonlighting to pick up additional money for their expenses. When we were together out on the Fairgrounds, I didn’t mind picking up the cost of their food or drinks, since I wouldn’t have been able to go out and enjoy the fair without them to protect me.

Today the weather was the three H’s – hazy, hot and humid. The temperature had reached the ninety-degree mark well before noontime, and the humidity made it feel like the temperature was well above a hundred.

My story today was about the company that supplied the tons of ice used every day at the Fair. With the heat, even at the hour in the morning when we shot the story, standing in the back of their freezer truck surrounded by hundreds of eight pound bags of ice cubes sure felt good!

The tiny air conditioner unit in the camping trailer labored to try to keep up with the onslaught of temperature and humidity. With the stifling sun hitting the canvas top and side walls of the trailer, it was fighting a useless battle. I decided to relocate to the artists’ dressing rooms behind the stage at the Center Court complex. At least the brick block building held some hope that things inside would be a little cooler.

A room was reserved for me, since I had two performances today and two more on Sunday on the large stage out front. The temperature in the building seemed to be lower than the pressure cooker outside. My room was clearly marked with a paper sign taped to the door.

Inside the room, another small air conditioner labored in the window to cool things off a little more. In a corner of the room was a small apartment sized refrigerator. Next to it were a few cases of bottled spring water. Inside the fridge there sat about a dozen bottles of water chilled to perfection, along with a small assortment of fruit including a few oranges, some apples, and a plastic tub with some diced pineapple. Some cottage cheese, some cubed cheddar cheese, and a small platter of assorted cold cuts resided on a shelf. Some rolls, a small tub of butter and a gallon of one percent milk rounded out the contents. The freezer portion of the refrigerator contained a couple of half-gallon cartons of Friendly’s Forbidden Chocolate ice cream and two large bags of ice cubes. A small cabinet on the counter next to the fridge contained paper plates, plastic tableware and a couple of stacks of large plastic cups and bowls. My only request when contacted by the staff at the fairgrounds had been the water and ice. I’d have to find out who provided the rest of the goodies and thank them.

My first performance was supposed to be at around four in the afternoon, and although I’d sampled some ice cream as part of my staying cool segment for the noontime news story, I really hadn’t had much to eat. I made some salad from an orange, some apple and some of the pineapple mixed with cottage cheese. A big glass of ice served to chill further a bottle or two of the spring water.

When I’d learned of the movie premier, I’d decided to take it easy with the food at the fair so I wouldn’t get sick before the trip to Orlando. It had been a year or more since I’d had this kind of homemade salad, and it tasted very good to me. I almost made another small plateful, then decided that it would be better to have it at suppertime.

The couch along one wall beckoned to me. It looked well used, but appeared to be good enough to catch a few moments of rest. Two hours later, Walter wound up shaking my shoulder to get me to wake up.

“Jen, you have to get ready now. Greg stopped by a good ten minutes ago. You’ve got about an hour until you go on.”

“YIKES! Why did you guys let me sleep that long anyway?”

“Because you needed the rest. Now get yourself ready, and David and I will run interference for you.”

“Thanks, Walt. You and Dave have made this whole thing a lot easier for me. I really do appreciate it.” I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes as Dave handed me a bottle of the chilled water.

“Remember to hydrate. It’s hotter than the hobs of hell out there, and there’s so much humidity the sweat just runs right off you. It can’t evaporate on your skin to cool you down.”

The bottle cap bounced around momentarily in the garbage can as I chugged down the entire twenty-ounce bottle of water. The bottle followed the cap into the trash.

“Thanks, guys. Now beat feet out of here and let me get changed into costume. If Greg comes back, let him in.”

Walt and Dave left me alone, closing the door behind them. A door off my dressing room was a small bathroom, and I took the opportunity to use the toilet then take a very quick shower, being careful not to get my hair wet. It was more of a cool rinse-off than an actual shower, since I was running short on time.

Greg had provided the costumes, and they were hanging on a short clothes rack in another corner of the room. Greg hadn’t indicated which of the costumes was his preferred choice, so I picked the light blue halter-top and matching skirt from the available choices. I figured the white set of a halter-top and skirt would work better at night under the spotlights that lit up the stage.

The halter-top had a built-in bra, so the only underwear I needed was my panty. Fortunately, I had a blue pair that closely matched the costume’s color. A pair of sheer hose completed the outfit. I didn’t want to have any dangly ear-rings, since they wouldn’t be easily seen by the audience anyway, so I replaced the loops in my ears with a pair of silver studs capped with a small diamond chip on each one. They weren’t really diamond chips but looked close enough to pass for real.

I briefly debated wearing flats onstage, then decided that heels would look much better. Not wanting to get myself injured, I’d brought a couple of pairs with a three-inch heel that went the width of the shoe. There was still a chance of turning an ankle, but it would be much less of a chance with these shoes than most other pairs I’d considered. With all the wires and things running across the stage, the wider heel gave me a lot more stability if I happened to step on one of them.

Greg came in, and we chatted nearly until show time. I followed him out of my dressing room then waited to be introduced.

The Center Court stage was simply a raised area under a wide steel roof. The floor of the stage itself was concrete, since it was exposed to the elements most of the time. There was no curtain. The only curtains were across two open spaces in the back of the ten foot high wall that ran across the back of the stage. The wall itself was part of an enclosed shelter about fifteen feet wide that ran the length of the back of the stage. A pair of ramp-like closed-in walkways connected it to the building that housed the artists’ dressing rooms and a few other multipurpose rooms. The roof of the stage was at least thirty feet high. Hanging near the front edge were several large speaker enclosures and several bars with stage lighting mounted on them. A short wall hung down from the roof in front of the lights in order to shield the lights from any rain that might blow in with the prevailing winds.

I waited behind the curtain at the stage left side until Greg introduced me. As I walked out, the audience erupted with applause. The sea of people extended as far back as the rear of the Center Court area, almost a hundred fifty yards away. If you think of an area half again as long as a football field and almost twice as wide packed with people, then you’ll have some idea of the crowd I faced.

Almost two hours later, my performance ended after at least two encores. It was a good thing that about half of the two hours was instrumental stuff that didn’t require my presence. Still, I remained on-stage a fair portion of the time “air conducting” the orchestra to the delight of the crowd. Despite the fact that I’d gulped down over a dozen bottles of ice-cold water, I had no urge to go running to the bathroom. I suspect that I’d perspired most of it instead, since you could wring the sweat out of my soggy costume. A river of sweat ran down between my breasts as I slowly made my way to the dressing room through a crowd of people backstage.

Walt and Dave had orders not to let anyone in as I staggered into the tiny bathroom connected to the dressing room. With the last of my strength, I took off my costume and tossed everything except my shoes into the sink. After setting the water temperature in the shower to just barely warm, I stepped in and slowly re-adjusted the temperature to as cold as I could stand it.

A few minutes under the icy water, and I felt rejuvenated. After adjusting it to something less glacial, I soaped up to wash away any perspiration odor that remained. A couple of the huge towels the staff provided dried me off, and I was soon getting back into my street clothes.

I told the guys to admit people now and settled down to have another small plate of the fruit salad along with a ham sandwich. This time I washed everything down with some milk over a big cup full of ice. As I put everything away in the fridge, I toyed briefly with the idea of a short walk around the Fairgrounds. That idea lasted until I opened the door to the building and a blast of the hot, sticky air hit me. I knew for certain that I’d never be able to give a good performance tonight if I used most of the energy I’d just recovered walking around in this stifling heat.

I used the two hours until my next performance drinking as much of the cool water as I could hold and making several trips to the restroom in the process. On one of those trips, I rinsed out my previous costume and put it on a hanger for a better cleaning later. Greg told me that he planned on having the costumes cleaned while I was in Orlando for the day.

The eight o’clock performance was nearly a repeat of the afternoon show, but with a somewhat smaller crowd. Greg was right when he figured that we wouldn’t take any audience away from the country act at the Grandstand.

Saturday, August 30, 2003 –

I made it into my bed at the house just after midnight. The private jet would be waiting for me at around eight in the morning, and as tight as the schedule would be tomorrow, there wasn’t any room for a big error.

Somehow, I managed almost six hours of sleep without having one of my nightmares. I considered myself very lucky at that little feat. There was just enough time for a good breakfast before I had to grab the bag I’d packed a couple of days ago and head for the airport.

While I’d managed six solid hours of sleep, the two performances in the sickening heat yesterday had taken much more out of me than I first realized. As the plane reached cruising altitude, I gave in to my drooping eyelids.

I woke up as the plane jerked to a stop next to the limo that was supposed to pick me up and take me to the hotel. The extra few hours of sleep made me feel much better as I stepped off the plane into what I expected to be overpowering heat. It turned out that at the moment Orlando was a good fifteen degrees cooler than upstate New York. Ever thankful for the small weather miracle, I transferred my single bag to the limo. Moments later we were headed away from the airport.

At the hotel I headed for the restaurant as my bag was taken to my room. Since it was lunchtime, I had a good meal then went to my room to get ready for almost three hours of interviews that were promised to various news organizations covering the premier.

The interviews ended promptly at four as an assistant from the movie company shooed everyone out of the room.

After I devoured a plate of fruit salad, a horde of people descended upon me. I felt totally pampered as my hair and makeup were done. Next came the beautiful dress that the company had secured for me. It was a black strapless gown that, with the proper heels, glided an inch off the floor. For my height, a pair of four-inch single strap heels did the trick.

It was nearly time to leave for the premiere, and I wondered when I’d meet up with Ted. I found out as I entered the limo.

“Hi, Jen! WOW! Do you look great tonight!”

“So do you, Ted. That tux looks great on you, but I’ll bet you’d rather be wearing something else.” I gave Ted’s hand a gentle squeeze since I couldn’t say what I really wanted to say with the window open to the driver in the front of the limo.

Ted smiled then winked at me. “You sure got that right. Like your dress, this tux is a rental. They got the pants a size too small, and whatever idiot cleaned the shirt used so much starch the shirt almost broke in half as I was putting it on.”

I returned his smile and squeezed his hand again. “You think you got it so bad, buster? I’m wearing a waist nipper to be able to fit into this thing, and I’ve gotta wear four inch heels just to keep the hem from dragging on the ground! I’m not going be able to eat much tonight, and by the time we’re done, my feet are gonna be killing me.”

“Awwwwwww, poor baby!” We both laughed.

“I guess we’ll live through this, Ted.”

He shifted uneasily in his seat then leaned over to whisper in my ear. “I wasn’t kidding about the tux. I don’t think the family jewels are ever gonna be the same after tonight.”

I whispered back. “I’m not kidding about the dress and shoes either. I feel like I’ve got a python wrapped around my middle.”

Ted smiled and gave me a kiss on my cheek. “We’ll both deal with it. Hey, what’s the deal with this movie anyway? I thought the premier was supposed to be a couple of months away. Why the rush?”

“When I was told about the early premiere, the producer told me they rushed the release so they could capitalize on my doing the Around Midnight gig. They think they’ll get more people to come and see the flick now than waiting another two months or so.”

“They do have a point there.”

“I wonder if they changed anything from the way the script was written?”

He frowned then shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t know. I couldn’t get a look at it before the premiere. They told me they were still editing it when I asked about it a week ago.”

“That doesn’t sound too great to me. I’m getting a bad feeling about this.”

“Well, look at it this way, neither of us is a main character, so if the thing bombs, we probably won’t be sacrificed to appease the critics.”

“That’s right, together we’re in less than half the picture. Guess we’ll just have to see what they did to us.”

Our conversation turned away from the picture to what we’d both been doing since we completed work on the film. That lasted a few more minutes, until we pulled to a stop a block or so away from the theater.

“Looks like we’re here, Jen.”

“Yup. We’re going in together, right?”

“That’s the way they want it.”

“You got the lecture too, Ted?”

“Couldn’t avoid it. Well, here we go…” The limo slowly rolled the rest of the block to the foot of the red carpet in front of the theater. “You ready for this, Jen?”

“No, Ted, but it hasn’t stopped me yet.”

Ted got out of the limo, posing for a few seconds, then extended his hand back inside. I waited a second or so more to heighten the drama a bit, then placed my hand in his and stepped out of the limo as he steadied me on my wobbly heels.

Sensory overload from the photoflashes and TV lights momentarily blinded me, so Ted put his arm around my waist to guide me on the walk down the red carpet. Anyone looking at the photo might infer something more was involved than just a helping hand, and I wondered if Adam had seen the picture with Jerry Mercer. If he did, this would only add to the impression that I was quite possibly seeing other people. There wasn’t a thing I could do about it now, so I decided to make the most of the situation and enjoy the evening, no matter how things turned out.

We spent nearly an hour on the carpet doing interviews before an announcement was made that we all needed to take our seats. Our seats were in the center section in the third row. I would have preferred seats at the back of the theater. It would have offered a much easier escape route if the movie turned out to be a real turkey and the audience turned on us.

First, the producer spoke for a few minutes then turned things over to Oscar Miltonowski, the film’s director. He spoke for a few more minutes, saying how much he’d enjoyed working with everyone, especially me, and then motioned for the film to start as he took his seat.

The first thing I noticed was the song I’d filmed for the ending of the movie was now being used as the opener for the movie! It was a version of Petula Clark’s “I Know A Place” set in the kids’ hangout my character, Prudence Walker, ran. The film’s opening credits flashed during the number. Much to my continuing dismay, my name was listed as the star of the film, not one of the also-rans, as I had first been led to believe.

That, plus numerous little changes and re-arrangements of the film’s various sequences, placed much more focus on my character and Ted’s than the original script called for. Despite no increase in our total on-screen time, the changes made us look more important to the story. Ted must have sensed my attempt to melt away into the seat cushions, because he held onto my hand tightly as the movie progressed.

Just as the film seemed to lag a bit, after my initial struggle with the bad guys, a ten-minute chase scene in true beach-film style between the surfers and the inept bad guys popped up. It was completely hilarious and so over the top that you couldn’t help but laugh. The chase scene blended into the rescue scene I’d worked so hard to get right.

The movie drew to a close with an instrumental version of the music in the film instead of the piece they’d used for the film’s start. It startled me when the screen seemed to split in two as the right third of the screen displayed a credit roll. The left two-thirds of the screen showed a bunch of out-takes, many were of some of the flubs that I had made.

I’d been much too nervous during the movie to pay much attention to the audience’s reactions. My stomach was turning somersaults as the lights in the theater slowly came up, lighting up a lot of smiling faces around me. My brain remained on autopilot as Ted guided us through the thinning crowd back to the waiting limo.

Ted gently squeezed my hand as the limo pulled away from the theater. “Earth to Jen, come in Space Cadet Stevens. Are you there?”

“Uh… maybe. Are we in the limo?”

“Yes, here, take some of this.”

“What’s in this?” I cautiously sniffed the glass.

“Just some orange juice and sparkling soda. I know you don’t normally drink, remember? Just drink it. You’ll feel better, okay?”

I nodded weakly then started to sip at the cool liquid. I downed about half the glass, and I did actually feel better.

“How bad was I back there, Ted?”

“Well….”

“Tell me the truth, now. Did I make a fool of myself tonight?”

“Not yet anyway. At one point, you were shaking so bad I thought you were going to pass out.”

“I almost did. Remind me to never go to another premiere again, at least to one of my own movies if there are any more.”

“Aww… come on. It wasn’t that bad!”

“It was to me.”

“You’re just too critical of yourself. You were in such a daze going back to the limo that you never heard a lot of the people raving about it. And that included a bunch of the press people too.”

“Huh?”

“You heard me.”

“So we have a hit here?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say a huge hit, but the picture should do well enough at the box office. It won’t be a big flop, if that’s what’s worrying you, Jen.”

“Really?”

“Really, but we’ll have to wait for the general release box office numbers after next weekend to be certain.”

There wasn’t any more time to talk, since the limo pulled up at the hotel the producer rented for the required after-premiere party. I probably wouldn’t have gone, but it was expected of a film’s ‘star’ to be there at least for a little while.

The party was just starting as Ted and I entered the ballroom. Everything seemed to stop as a huge wave of applause spread when we were recognized. I got another shock when I saw that a tape of my evening performance from yesterday was playing on a large projection screen. I knew the station had videotaped the show, but I hadn’t expected that a copy of it would turn up a thousand miles away the next day.

I stayed for about two hours then got shooed away by the director. I was told in no uncertain terms that it would be bad press for both me and for the movie if it’s star were to fall asleep in the middle of a performance the day following the premiere.

Ted had also started to run out of steam, so we decided to leave together since that’s the way we arrived. As we were waiting for the limo, Ted winked at me as he pulled me into a tight hug then planted a toe-curling kiss on my lips. With the feelings my body was sending to my tired brain, I automatically responded and returned the raw passion in his kiss.

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that, from all the photoflashes going off, our kiss would be the front-page topic in all the supermarket tabloids the next day. For once, and I paraphrase a well-known line from ‘Gone With The Wind’ here, I didn’t give a damn!

Sunday, August 31, 2003 –

Somehow, I got nearly seven solid hours of sleep, getting up only once during the night to make a bathroom trip. Comfort was the order of the day, and I dressed in my old well-worn jeans and a satin top. Flats replaced the heels for my trip back to Syracuse on the private jet.

The limo driver found a fast food place on the way to the airport for me. While it wasn’t the best breakfast I could have had, the sausage and egg croissant sandwich and hash browns, plus a large orange juice, would hold me until I got back home.

The plan was to go directly from the airport to the Fairgrounds to save some time. If my schedule held, I’d have more than enough time to get something to eat on the grounds, then get ready for the afternoon performance. With the premiere out of the way, the risk of an upset stomach was no longer a big problem, and I could afford to have a little fun.

Except for a detour around some thunderstorms, the flight back to Syracuse was uneventful. We got in about half an hour late because of the detour. A limo was waiting at the private hanger for me, and I got in carrying my single travel bag. We headed for the fairgrounds a few miles away.

I had more problems getting the few miles between the airport and the fairgrounds than I’d had getting from Orlando to Syracuse. The cold front that had triggered the thunderstorms we flew around had gone through upstate New York yesterday, cooling off things quite a bit. With the now cooler temperatures, a lot of people decided to take advantage of the improved weather to visit the Fair. That caused a large traffic jam as people tried to reach the fairgrounds, and I was caught in the middle of it!

With less than an hour to go before show time, I was still stuck in the massive gridlock around two miles from the grounds. I got through to Greg on his cell phone, explaining where I was and what had happened. He told me he’d have some kind of transportation there in a few minutes.

A few minutes later, we heard the familiar beating of helicopter blades getting closer. My jaw dropped open as a chopper gently sat down in the median between the two opposing lanes of traffic. Greg popped out of the chopper and motioned for me to join him. In well under two minutes, we were back over the fairgrounds headed for the helipad that was set aside for medical emergencies and visiting dignitaries.

There was just about enough time for Greg and I to ride the golf cart from the helipad at the back of the fairgrounds to the Center Court stage just inside the front gate. Greg must have had a signal set up with the orchestra, since they started playing as we rolled down the wide space at the center of the huge crowd.

The golf cart rolled to a stop in front of the stage. Greg and I charged up the steps to the roar of the waiting crowd.

Looking back as I write this a couple of days afterward, that afternoon show after a mad dash back from Orlando was probably the best of the four. I’d had absolutely no chance to think about what I was going to do or to get myself worked up over doing it. All I could do was to jump in and give the best performance I was capable of giving. From reading a few accounts in the newspaper on Monday, I clearly hit my target that day.

While the Sunday afternoon show might have been the best of the lot, the Sunday night show was the most fun. With the cooler temperature and lower humidity, I didn’t get as tired as the first two shows. The crowd swelled considerably after the grandstand show let out too. We went almost an hour longer as the audience demanded more.

Finally, it was time to bring the show to a close and wish our audience a safe drive home. My killer schedule was finally over! My only commitment was to do one last story for the local TV station on Monday, the last day of the Fair.

It didn’t take very long for me to fall asleep when my head hit the pillow of my own bed at home.

Monday, September 1, 2003 –

Nine hours. That’s how long I slept. While I felt much better, I suspected that it would be another day or two before I felt completely rested again. Despite that, I was looking forward to the activities today.

My primary task for the day was the final story for the TV station. Once that was finished, the rest of the day was mine to do with as I pleased. I was still hoping to go out and have something approaching a normal day at the Fair. Well, as normal as I could have with two security guards and an entourage of interested fans following behind me. My biggest fear was that, once the movie went into general distribution next weekend, my life would be turned upside down. I would no longer be able to go out, even locally, and be treated as a normal person.

The weather was slightly overcast, while the temperature had reached the low eighties by the time I got out to the fairgrounds.

The report for the TV station turned out to be a review of my favorite things to do at the Fair. While I felt that it wasn’t one of my better efforts, the station liked it and used it on the six o’clock newscast. They asked me to stay around to do a stand-up lead-in for the story and to tear into a pizza fritte that was presented to me.

Since there were no concert performances either at the grandstand or Center Court, I wandered around the grounds after the newscast with Walter and David following closely behind me. A few of the local paparazzi hung around snapping the occasional picture or two, but then they finally figured out that I was just another person enjoying the fair and mostly left me alone. I did have a crowd of people following me, more out of curiosity than anything else.

Tuesday, September 2, 2003 –

Another nine-hour night, only this time I didn’t have anything scheduled for anyone else other than me, so I felt absolutely no guilt in staying in bed those extra few hours. I’d spent so much time away or occupied with other people’s projects that I hadn’t had much free time to take care of my own business.

“Oh my GOD! Am I seeing things, or is it really you?”

I’d just stepped inside the office at my old house in Syracuse. While it would have been easier for me to move the office to the new house, it would have made Barb travel a lot longer to get to work, and anyone visiting me at the office would have learned the location of the new house, something I didn’t want as general information for paparazzi use.

“Oh, funny! Yeah, I’m real.” I reached over and tickled Barb’s side under her arm.

She pulled away, trying to protect her ticklish spots. “HEY! I give!”

“Okay. So how are things in the salt mines these days?”

“You’ve got such a pile on your desk! Where do you want to start?”

“Give me a few minutes to look things over, then we’ll talk, ‘kay?”

“Works for me, Jen. You wanna hide from phone calls for a while?”

“That’d be nice. Thanks, Barb!”

I walked into my office and discovered that a fair chunk of my desktop real estate was covered in paperwork. Scripts were arranged in three piles over a foot high each, while other paperwork was neatly stacked in manila folders held closed with rubber bands.

I plopped my purse down on the desk and got comfy in the chair as I surveyed the potential mountain of work in front of me. I must have been sitting there for quite a while, since Barb stepping into the office roused me out of my confused trance.

She placed a tray on the edge of the desk then plopped down into a chair beside me. The tray held two big glasses of milk over ice and a large plate full of Oreo Double Stuff cookies.

“You looked like you could use this when I peeked in on you a few minutes ago.”

“Ah, thinkin’ food! Thanks, Barb!” I popped a cookie into my mouth then took a large sip of the cold milk and started to chew the cookie.

Barb took a cookie and dipped it her glass before biting off the part she dipped. “”So, do you want to talk about it?”

“Sounds like this is gonna take a while I suppose.” I kicked off my flats then propped my feet on the corner of my desk as I leaned back in the chair. “Let’s see, where to start…”

“Start anywhere you want, hon. I’ll listen!”

“Well I know one thing for certain, in the year since I changed….”

“NOPE! Wrong!”

“What?”

“It’s been a little over two years since your transformation.”

“TWO YEARS! My God, where has the time gone?”

“Sort of mind blowing, isn’t it? I found your old journals and diaries, Jen. You weren’t very good about dating things back then either. There are a lot of gaps, some of them running days, weeks or months.”

“I’m afraid my newest diary isn’t much better. Two years… has it really been that long? It still seems like yesterday that I woke up like this in the hospital.”

“Yes, two years. According to the newspaper clippings, the lightning got you at the end of June 2001.”

“All right. In the TWO years since I changed, I’ve been so busy that I really haven’t had much time for myself. I’ve always been so busy doing things for other people that I haven’t done some things I should have done for myself. Things like trying to figure out who I am now and what I really want to do.”

“So far, you seem to be doing a pretty good job of handling things, Jen.”

“It just looks like that, I’m afraid. I’ve just been responding to things as they’ve happened. I haven’t done as much as I really wanted to control my own life. I let the events around me dictate where I was headed.”

“Well, it looks to me that you’re heading in a pretty good direction. You have a bank account worth millions, and a solid career in the entertainment industry, and your face is famous from coast to coast.”

“It’s my fame that starting to scare me, Barb. I can’t even go out any more around here to get groceries without drawing a crowd. I used to be able to blend into the crowd. I can’t do that any more.”

“Is that such a bad thing?”

“It is when you’re been used to being a private person all of your life.”

“I wish I had some frame of reference, Jen, I really do.”

“Well, I hope you never have to experience living life in a goldfish bowl. That’s what it’s felt like to me.”

“So what are you going to do? You just can’t hit a switch and put things back to the way they used to be. You’ve come too far to try something like that. Besides, you still have that deal with Wayne to sub-host Around Midnight when he needs you.”

“I’ve thought quite a bit about this, Barb. I think I’m going to try to drop out of sight as much as I can for the next few months. I’ll do Around Midnight if Wayne needs me, but other than that I’m just going to take care of my own business.”

Barb dunked another cookie. “You sure have enough of that. Between the things you’ve promised various people and that old warehouse you bought to renovate in LA, you’ve got your hands full. Are you sure you’re doing the right thing, Jen?”

“I’m certain, Barb.”

To Be Continued?

Some last minute notes to my readers – These, and the notes at the start of the story, were added after Amelia R’s editing so any errors are mine, not hers.

With a fair degree of sadness I must announce that what you’ve just read is probably the last chapter of Zapped! for the foreseeable future. The biggest question (WHY?) is the one I’ll attempt to answer here.

For the past 5 chapters or so I’ve been trying to figure out just where to take the story. I announced in chapter 17 that I was giving up on the sci-fi thread I’d started and as a result I had to dump all of the long range plot that I’d developed. With that gone I’ve been trying to develop another story line to replace it without much success.

Rather than turn it into a bunch of “Jen does this and Jen does that” type storytelling I’ve decided to simply stop at the end of this chapter. If I ever do develop another plot line, which seems highly unlikely at the moment, I’ll be able to pick things up from here and continue.

There are other reasons why I’m stopping. The biggest is my health. I started writing Zapped! in 2001. That’s a little over 5 years ago according to the dates on my archive copies of the first chapter. Back then I was working full time and in better health than at present. Now I’m retired for medical reasons and although I’m not that much worse than 5 years ago I can tell the difference between then and now quite easily.

Will I ever write again? – Possibly. I have a few unfinished stories started and if my health holds up I may get a chance to do something with them. I also have an idea or two for a mainstream non-TG novel and if I can maintain my health I may decide to give one of them a try.

To all other authors out there this does NOT mean that Zapped! is now an “open” universe. There are only two other authors (Julie O is one) that I’ve authorized to use Jen Stevens or my other characters from the series in their stories. They still have permission from me. Otherwise, any use of my characters in other stories is forbidden without prior approval from me.

Well, that’s all I’ve got to say. I’m not planning on a total disappearance, just a slow fade into the background. Bye folks………

Bob