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struggle
with the technique. She was confident that over the next hour or so
her relaxation skills would be tested to the limit.
    Pulling back her sleeve, she glanced at
her watch. She knew she hadn’t been standing at the door for
more than a few seconds but it felt like an eternity. Time was cruel.
It stood still for things dreaded and flew by for things enjoyed. It
wasn’t fair.
    The door swung open suddenly, and
Samantha’s head snapped up. “Hi, I’m Samantha.”
She smiled weakly at the unfamiliar face. “Marie is expecting
me.”
    “Yes, she’s been waiting
for you. I’m Ginger,” the woman said as she waved a
friendly hand. “Come on in.”
    Samantha nodded and took a cautious
step forward as the woman stepped aside and allowed her in.
    “Marie is in the guest room. Up
the stairs and it’s the first door to your left.”
    Samantha observed Ginger, whose bright
pink lips offered a surprise flash of color in her otherwise
fair-complexion face. The cheery woman held a feather duster in one
hand and a can of furniture polish in the other. She smiled and
pointed over her shoulder toward the stair.
    “Yes, I know the way.” She
didn’t have to be told where the guest room was. She already
knew every room in the house.
    Tucking the duster under her arm,
Ginger shifted her weight. Her gum snapped at the back of her mouth
as she slowly nodded. “Holy crap.”
    Samantha looked over her shoulder and
then back to Ginger. “What?”
    “When he said a nurse named
Samantha was coming by, I didn’t think he meant the Samantha.”
She chewed her gum with a wide mouth. “He calls you ‘Sam,’
” she nodded. “I think that’s what threw me. The
little devil didn’t tell me.”
    The woman’s statement took
Samantha by surprise. Puzzled, she said, “Excuse me?”
    “Your looks gave you away.”
She nodded in agreement with herself. “You’re just as he
explained.” She shrugged. “Of course, that was some time
ago, but you still look the same.”
    Samantha felt like she had just walked
into an already existing conversation. Was she missing something?
“Who explained?” Her stomach was beginning to flip-flop
again. She swallowed hard against the queasy feeling. Is this how
Alice in Wonderland felt? Lost, confused, and a little out of place.
    Ginger moved forward and cocked her
head. “I have to see these eyes.” She focused in on
Samantha as she rolled her gum from side to side and began to nod.
“Yes, I do see it. He said ‘angelic’ and he was
right. What is that, a hint of gray around the edges?”
    “Angelic? Gray?” Samantha
shook her head. She knew she shouldn’t have come. Something
wasn’t right. She couldn’t even carry on a conversation
with this woman. She was beginning to feel like an unintelligent
idiot who wasn’t able to follow the simplest of conversations.
    “Boy, he has you down to a T. I
didn’t believe that gray bit, but he was right,” Ginger
said with an aloof shrug of her shoulders.
    Samantha was certain the woman was
either confusing her with someone else or she was having some type of
reaction to the ungodly amount of makeup on the woman’s face.
Whichever it was, Samantha didn’t take offense to her babbling.
If anything, it eased her into the awkward situation by keeping her
mind off the fact that she was standing in what used to be her home.
She couldn’t really dwell on the reality of where she was and
what it meant to her, while Ginger was constantly talking. The woman
had a way of worming her way into your head and allowing nothing else
in.
    “The hair is nice too. I can see
what the fuss is all about. It’s not easy to have a good head
of hair, because it’s all in the genes.” Ginger poked her
finger in the air and waved it from side to side. “But them
there eyes are something else.” She gave a long soft whistle as
she let her breath out. “You know, it’s been a long time
since he talked about you but—” She tapped her temple
with her finger.