by Rose, Imogen
“Except your regular life no longer exists,” Mom pointed out.
“That sucks big time.” Ariele scowled.
“One option would be to start again, here, under different names and—” Dr. Moreau started to propose.
Ariele interrupted her. “No way! See, this is why I wanted to be here!” She looked over at me.
I had to agree. That plan seemed ridiculous. What the heck was the point in moving back here, then? They might as well come back home with the rest of us. At least over there, they had a life.
“We may not have any choice,” her mother replied.
“We do. We just have to get back into our lives again, and deal with all the crap from the fallout of what Dr. Darley did to us.” She sent my mom a venomous glare.
Again, I couldn’t blame her.
“Enough, Ariele. Go back to your room. Your dad and I will decide what’s best.”
Ariele jerked to a stand, pushing her chair back so it fell to the floor with a clank. “Fuck that!” she shouted, and stormed off.
I got up and followed, catching up with her in the bedroom. She stood by her bed, beating her pillow against the headboard. I let her get on with it, quietly watching her. She beat the poor thing again and again, until it started to break up. Feathers flew all over the place. She finally flung the remaining piece of pillow hard against the wall and sat down on her bed. Her mascara was streaking down her face, sobs heaving from her chest.
I reached out and held her hand, letting her take her time.
“We’ll go, just you and me,” she finally whispered through the sobs.
“What do you mean?”
“To Princeton. I have to get back there. After what we saw during our last visit to Princeton, I need to see that nothing has changed here in this dimension—that my friends are still there.”
“Our last visit?”
“Yeah. Still a blank?”
“I guess.”
“The last time we went was in the other dimension, so not surprisingly, everything was different and unsettling. I need to see for myself that we’re back in the right dimension this time. For real. Who’s to say that we’re not still where we started off? That whole pod thing could have been a hoax.”
A hoax? “Why would Mom do that?” I asked, bewildered.
“To keep us where she wants us.” She scowled.
“No way. Dad wants us in this dimension to keep us safe—that’s the reason we’re here.”
“Well, I’d like some proof. We have to get to Princeton. You want to go anyway to see your doppelganger, so let’s go.”
I nodded, wondering how we were going to pull that off.
A soft knock on the door brought back Ariele’s anger. Her face clouded over in fury again as she marched over and flung open the door.
Kellan stood on the other side. “Dinner is ready, ladies.”
“Fuck dinner.” She pulled him into the room. “Sit.”
He sat down beside me, grinning at Ariele. “Yes, ma’am.”
“What went on out there after we left?”
“Not much. Your mom was pretty upset. She left right after you did, followed by your dad.”
“What about the rest of you? Did you talk about me?”
“Not you so much as the situation. Dr. Darley and my dad were trying to come up with some suggestions on what to do. My dad can get your mom a job at Ames, either as herself or with a new identity. The problem with keeping your own identity will be coming up with a story that everyone will believe.”
“We’ll just say that we lost our memories and that we don’t remember anything.”
“Won’t wash,” Kellan said. “You’ll probably have to undergo psych evaluations if you say that. The trick is to do this while raising as few questions as possible, which is going to be tricky since the press got so involved when you first went missing. They are going to be all over it when they find out you’re back from wherever.”
“This just sucks. All I want to do is go back home and hang with my girls.” Ariele sat down, looking deflated again.
“Look, I’m sure among all of us—including our parents—we’ll come up with a plan, but in the meantime, I need to eat. So, let’s go.”
“Yes, come on, Ariele. I’m starving,” I agreed.
Dinner was in full swing when we arrived in the dining room, which, unlike the rest of the house, was painted a deep red. A chandelier illuminated a large oak table covered with sizzling plates of grilled steak, baskets of warm biscuits, colorful bowls of salad, and a variety of platters, all full of delicious-looking foods.
“Ah, there you are!” Celia said cheerfully. “Sit down and dig in.”
I sat down between Kellan and Ella, who had her mouth full of steak but somehow still managed to say, “This is delish, Arizona!”
I took a deep breath. “Everything smells so yummy and looks so awesome. Thanks, Celia.”
“That’s Mrs. Pope to you.” My mom smiled.
“Sorry, I didn’t know your last name.”
“Think nothing of it, and Celia is fine with me. This is my husband Greg, or Mr. Pope.” She put her hand on the shoulder of a tall, slim, gray-haired man.
“Pleased to meet you,” he said in the same accent as hers. “Welcome to our home.”
About halfway through dinner, we realized that Ariele’s parents weren’t going to show, which I thought was totally rude, but I guessed they had an excuse. Their absence helped Ariele relax, though, and she was back to being herself in no time. Gone was the seething anger, replaced by excited chitchat about her life in Princeton. So much of it centered around her best friend, Arizona.
I could see the confusion in Celia’s—Mrs. Pope’s—eyes. “You mean you were friends in Princeton before Ollie moved to California?”
“Yes,” Ariele said slowly, probably realizing that she was talking about my doppelganger as just another person. She shut up after that, letting Ella run the conversation as usual.
“All right, let’s move out to the pool. Anyone want to swim?” Celia asked after dinner.
The unanimous shaking of heads answered the question. We all sat back in our seats looking like beached whales. Swimming wasn’t really an option. Plus, it was time for Ariele and me to make plans to head to Princeton.
Relationships that don’t require nurturing and stand strong in the tides of life are few and far between. Celia and Olivia had that kind of friendship. The connection they shared didn’t need rekindling in the form of birthday gifts, Christmas cards, or even occasional phone calls. It simply existed.
Olivia changed into her pajamas and joined Celia in her private den, a basement room underneath her bedroom, accessed by a spiral staircase in her closet.
“This is wonderful!” Olivia said enviously, wriggling her bare toes at the flames from the wood fire.
“Yes, it’s my favorite place in the whole world, plus it serves as a safe room. That was the hook for Greg to let me build it.” She laughed. “Here,” she held out a glass of Champagne for Olivia. “And now, spill! What is going on? I was so surprised when you called.”
“Oh, Celia, where do I start?”
“How did you get here?”
“That one is easy. Through that Portal I told you about. I guess the last time we had a proper chat was when I had just completed it and was getting ready to leave?”
Celia nodded slowly, looking slightly tentative.
“It’s been a long time,” Olivia agreed. “And I’ve not been able to contact you.”
“So you did it? Hooked up with Rupert?”
“Yes. Quite something, right?” She smiled.
“No kidding. Are you happy with your decision? Leaving Dillboy and all that?”
“I am,” she said so vehemently that she surprised herself. After all that had happened, she would normally have second-guessed herself.
“Wonderful! What’s life like in the other dimension?”
Olivia thought about it for a while. Only one w
ord came to mind. “Complicated.”
“That sounds like a Facebook status.” Celia giggled. “Explain.”
“Well, you know all about the Portal and stuff, which is complicated enough. However, wait for this.” She launched into babble about Wanderers, kidnappings, and global terrorism. By the time she was done, they had finished the bottle of Champagne.
“Did you have anything to drink before we started on this bottle, Oll?” Celia crunched up her nose.
Olivia chortled. “Nope, not a drop. And, no, no drugs either. I am not making this stuff up. It’s for real, like the teens say.”
“Shit. Complicated is an understatement. If anyone else told me this, I’d have them shipped off to the loony bin. But you, Oll? I don’t know. I can get my head around most of it… but Wanderers? Come on!”
“I don’t expect you to buy that, not right away. You’re one of my closest friends. I have never lied to you, and I wasn’t going to start now by making up a whitewashed picket-fence perfect American family story for you. It’s far from that, but we are happy.”
“Well, let’s move on to Glenda and Pierre for a while.”
“In a minute. It’s your turn first.”
Celia’s face dropped. “I want to share what happened, but it’s so difficult. Sarah was my life.” She stood and picked up a frame from the mantle. “This is Sarah, just months before the accident.”
Olivia looked down at the photo of the glowing young blonde, a carbon copy of her mother. The last time she’d seen Sarah, she’d been a young child. Celia had given birth to her when she was only seventeen. Luckily, her family had jumped in and helped to raise her daughter until she met and married Greg, who had become a father to Celia’s daughter. “I am so sorry, Celia. Are you able to talk about it?”
“No, not really. Not without bursting into tears. She’s just gone, you know? It’s so hard.”
“I am so sorry, Celia,” Olivia repeated, leaning over to hug her friend.
“Let’s get back to talking about you instead,” Celia said. “My life is pretty boring now that I’ve moved to Mountain View. Greg will live anywhere he can find good curry houses, and there are plenty near his work. I’d like to move to San Francisco, but we’ll see. Now, tell me about Glenda. She seems a bit… tense? She was one of your profs at Imperial, right?”
“Yes, and she took a position at Princeton University before we moved to New Jersey. I’ve always admired her and kept up to date with her quantum research. Her daughter Ariele is friends with my daughter, or was before we moved.”
“How did she end up in the other dimension? Through the Portal, of course, but why?”
“I needed her. Her brains, anyway.” Olivia proceeded to tell Celia what she’d done.
“No way!” Celia gaped. “You transported her without her permission? The whole family? Have you lost your mind?”
“Seems like it. I was so invested in the project that I lost sight of everything else. I truly believed the work would keep Glenda so challenged that she’d happily deal with the change.”
“What about her kid? Her husband?”
“I figured she’d make friends with Arizona again. And her husband is used to moving with her… Yes, it sounds lame even as it’s coming out of my mouth. I was selfish. In my defense, Glenda did accept the job at Ames, so she and her family were all set to move to California anyway—just not to a different dimension.”
Celia’s mood changed. She was no longer her usual perky self. “Wow, that’s some serious stuff.” She got up and uncorked another bottle. “So, what now for Glenda and her family?”
“They decided that they all wanted to come back, so I am going to do my very best to facilitate that. I owe them that much. I have contacts over here who can sort a job for Glenda at Ames, but the Moreaus want to get back home to Princeton, so we’re trying to figure out what to do. I will make this right. I have to.”
“Good, I am glad to hear it, and I will help in any way I can.”
“Thanks, Celia. It’s really good to connect again. I’ve really missed you. It has been so hard not being able to keep in touch via email.”
Celia shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Oll, there is something you should know, and it’ll probably freak you out.”
“What?”
“You were here at my house for dinner just last week, with Ella.”
Olivia flinched. “Come again?”
“We’ve been meeting up every other week or so, depending on our schedules, ever since Greg and I moved here. I was really confused when you called me to say that you were coming over with a bunch of people, and I am not sure what to think even now. I didn’t say anything right away because Ella looked so different, and she acted like I was a stranger, so I just went along with you. I can’t figure this out.” She sat back in her chair and took another drink from her glass.
Olivia’s head spun, and not from the alcohol, but she questioned Celia’s sanity.
“You don’t believe me, do you? I can see it written all over your face. And, no, I am not drunk. Maybe a bit tipsy, but I needed to be to have this conversation with you. Hold on.” She picked her iPhone up from the coffee table and flicked through a bunch of pictures. She passed it to Olivia. “Check that out.”
It was a picture of Celia and a little girl. Olivia gasped. The little girl was clearly Ella, but she looked so different with her hair dyed red and cut into a smart bob, just like Celia’s. “I don’t understand...”
“Take a look at the next one.”
Olivia could hardly move the tab with her trembling finger. It was a picture of herself and Celia all dressed up in ball gowns. If it hadn’t been for Celia’s haircut, it could have been a picture from their years in London when they’d attended many formal events together. And she didn’t recognize the emerald dress she was wearing. “Celia, what is this?” Her voice shook.
“Well, that’s you and me at a fundraiser in Hollywood last month.”
“I don’t know what to say…”
“When you called me this morning I thought it might be a hoax, even though I was totally sure it was your voice on the phone. I called you back, just to double check. When I say you, I mean the you in that picture,” she emphasized with air quotes. “You—that Olivia—said that she hadn’t called me, so I assumed someone was messing with me. Probably my friend Allie, she’s always trying to punk me. Anyway, I expected Allie to show up with a case of bubbly and a big grin this afternoon. I was a little taken aback when you actually arrived. I wondered what you—Ollie in the picture—was up to, but I quickly realized that it wasn’t that you at all. Ella was different, and you had Arizona with you! Gosh, I haven’t seen her for years. And a son! I left you by the poolside and called Greg.”
“What did he say?”
“He thought I had gone quite potty but hurried home for dinner and saw that I was right. I told him I’d talk to you.”
“Gosh, Celia. I really don’t know what to think. This other me, what does she do?”
“She gave up science after she decided that the project she was working on—the Portal—was not something she could subject her kids to. She moved to Hollywood because Ella wanted to act and works as a writer for various TV shows.”
“But I did make the move,” Olivia said. “To be with Rupert.”
“And you stayed here. Without him.”
One thing was clear: our parents weren’t going to help us to get to Princeton. And there was no way I would be able to talk my brother into helping, not without spilling about the doppelganger, and he’d probably think me crazy if I told him. So, it was the three of us—Ariele, Kellan, and I—sitting in Celia’s guest bedroom who would have to come up with a plan all on our own.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Shrimp?” Kellan asked. “The last trip to Princeton was a disaster.”
“Sounds like it, from what Ariele said, but this will be different.”
“If this is really the right dimension,” Ariele pointed
out. “And that’s why we need to make the trip. To know for sure.”
“Yes,” I replied vehemently. “I have to meet her, my doppelganger… well at least see her for myself.”
“And then what?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Probably nothing. I guess we’ll just come back here and get on with our lives. I think.”
Kellan sighed. “You think? Look, we don’t even know what would happen if you two actually met. Maybe one of you would go poof and disappear all together, seeing that there is only supposed to be one of you. Maybe that’s happened already.”
“You mean the other Arizona might have self-combusted when we arrived here?” Ariele said.
“Something like that…”
“Well, that should be easy enough to check out. I’ll call her.” Ariele picked up the mock 1920s phone from the nightstand.
“Wait!” I said. “What are you going to say to her? And anyhow, neither of us combusted the last time I was here, so I am sure we’ll be fine.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t actually meet,” Kellan pointed out.
He had a point. It would be really weird to meet myself. Unnatural, against the natural order, like Grandma would say. And honestly, I only wanted to see her, to make sure that this was real. “True, and it’s not like I want to chat with her or anything. And even if I wanted to, David would totally kill me if I revealed myself to her, so I won’t. I promise.”
“Whatever,” Ariele drawled. “We still have to find a way to get there. It’s not like we can jump on a flight to Newark or anything. We don’t have any money or IDs.”
“I think our driver’s licenses will work,” Kellan said. “It’s not like they look any different here. And I brought all my savings in cash.”
“Me, too.” I’d learned the last time not to be caught without cash.
“Do you have enough to buy me a ticket?” she asked. “I don’t think I have more than fifty bucks in my bag. I do have an ATM card though, from before. I wonder if it will work.”
“We probably shouldn’t try it,” Kellan said. “Those are easy to trace. Arizona and I have enough money. We’ll be fine.”
