Valentina gives her a shy smile. “Mommy? Mommy?” she hollers, running from the hallway toward the kitchen.
“Where’s Mrs. Hunter?” I ask.
Nancy points in the direction of the kitchen. “She baked sugar cookies for Valentina.”
Sugar cookies are Valentina’s favorite. I’m pleased that Cassandra is trying.
When I walk into the kitchen, Cassandra is kneeling, her arms opened wide, but Valentina is just standing there, staring at her.
“You’re not my mommy. I want my mommy!”
Despite the hypnosis, I’m not surprised at her reaction. After all, aside from the dark hair and similar build, the new Cassandra looks very different from the mother she remembers. I’ve hypnotized Valentina to believe that her real mother had green eyes. It’s a happy coincidence that this Cassandra has green eyes, like Valentina’s; it should help to cement the belief in both of them that they are related. My mother’s eyes were the same green.
I come up behind Valentina and put a hand on her shoulder. “Valentina, it’s okay. Click in,” I say, using her trigger words. She’s quiet suddenly, and I whisper, “That’s Mommy. You love Mommy. It’s the Mommy you remember, she just looks different because of how her face was hurt in the car accident.” I stand again. “You’re with me,” I say quietly, and she comes out of the trance.
She takes a tentative step toward Cassandra, whose expression is anxious. “Mommy?”
“Yes, sweetheart. It’s me. I made your favorite. Sugar cookies.”
Valentina allows Cassandra to hug her, but I can tell that she’s holding back. It’s a start, though. They will have time to have new experiences together, and after a while Valentina will love her just as much as she loved her first mommy.
“Why don’t you have a seat, and I’ll get you some milk,” Cassandra suggests.
Valentina puts her hands on her hips. “I’m lergic to milk.” She turns toward me, her face red and angry. “I told you that’s not my mommy.”
How did I forget to tell Cassandra about Valentina’s allergy? “Valentina, no. Mommy meant almond milk.”
Valentina doesn’t look quite convinced, but she sits down at her little table. Cassandra hands her a plate with two cookies on it. Cassandra’s about to say something, I can tell, but I give her a look that says I’ll explain later. When Valentina finishes, Nancy takes her upstairs to help her unpack.
Cassandra looks at me. “How could I forget that she has a milk allergy?”
“You didn’t know, honey. She just recently developed an intolerance. You were in the hospital at the time, and then, of course, she was with my father. It’s my fault for forgetting to tell you.”
“Oh,” she says. “I just feel so strange. Like I’m walking around in a cloud half the time.”
I put my arms around her and pull her toward me. “It’s okay, my love. It’s probably just the meds, which can make you feel a bit fuzzy at first. You’ll get used to it.”
I have her on a combination of Tofranil and Halcion. I can’t depend on the hypnosis alone to ensure she doesn’t remember who she really is. I have to keep a close eye on her and watch the interactions and side effects for any signs of tremors, but so far, the drugs are keeping her just confused enough to depend solely on me. It’s my hope that over time I can wean her off them, once I’m confident that the rewiring in her brain is permanent. But as I know all too well, the brain is a most unpredictable organ.
She leans her head on my shoulder. “I just want to feel good again, to feel like myself.”
I lift her chin and touch my lips to hers. “It will get better. And in the meantime, you can lean on me. I’ll always take care of you.”
“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” she whispers.
I smile. “Fortunately, you’ll never have to find out.”
??54??
Julian
“I don’t want to wear a jacket. It will hide my Belle shirt,” Valentina tells me, her arms crossed across her chest in defiance.
“Sweetie, it’s cool today, and we’ll be outside,” I tell her. “You can take it off when we have lunch.”
“No!” She stomps a foot.
Cassandra comes out of the kitchen and kneels down next to her. “That’s your favorite princess shirt, isn’t it?”
Valentina’s eyes are large, and she nods solemnly, but her arms are still crossed.