Vacation—Part Seven

Farnsworth Manor

Saturday, August 31, 2002

12:30 AM

*~~~*

The smell of damp earth assaulted Jenna’s nostrils—the coldness seeped through the sweater and jeans she wore and seemed to go right through to her bones. Her arms had grown completely numb from being tied underneath her-not that it really mattered at this point.  Frozen tears seeped out of the corners of Jenna’s eyes and ran down her face. Her chest convulsed with pain as she fought to breathe, the duct tape making a sound as it was being sucked in and out of her mouth. The burning in her ribcage was so bad that Jenna was afraid she might pass out. She had tried so hard to be brave, not to show him any fear or pain, but now all the bravado had been stripped away and she finally knew.

All that was left at the end was panic.

The dark figure loomed over Jenna, silently watching her struggles. 

“You’re not going to get away from me—not this time,” Gary Johnston crouched beside her trembling form, his knife gleaming dully in the darkness.  Slowly he traced the side of her face with the knife. “But I suppose you know that already.”  Jenna closed her eyes as the knife traced lower, towards her throat—

*~~~*

“No!” 

Jenna sat up in bed.  She looked around the dimly-lit room, not sure where she was for a moment—but then she remembered. Her breathing began to slow, the comforting normality a stark contrast to the nightmarish images still inside her head.  Jenna wiped at her damp eyes with back of one still-trembling hand. Her nightshirt was equally damp—the cloth sticking to her skin. 

‘It wasn’t real,’ she thought to herself ‘It didn’t happen that way’. But in the dream it had felt so real. Absently Jenna rubbed at her wrists, half-expecting to still see rope burns there.

Her eyes fell on the bedside clock. Half-past twelve in the morning. Part of her felt like waking her mom or dad but she knew that she really shouldn’t do that—they needed their sleep. For Jenna, however, sleep would be impossible. She climbed out of the giant four-poster bed, pulling on her robe and sliding her feet into a pair of matching slippers. Quietly Jenna padded down the hallway, heading for the stairs.

SMK  SMK SMK SMK.

Jenna could see a light coming from the kitchen.  Nearing the doorway she could see Emily, sitting at the kitchen table, a coffee cup in front of her and her head bent over a stack of papers.  Emily looked up and smiled as Jenna entered.  

“Hello my dear,” she said. “I didn’t expect to see you up at this hour. Is everything all right?” 

“I—I just couldn’t sleep,” Jenna said. “I hope I’m not disturbing you or anything.” 

“No not at all,” Emily rose from the table and put her arm around Jenna’s shoulders. “I was just going over some papers—nighttimes are quiet and I seem to find that the older I get the less sleep I need. Now you just sit down right here and I’ll make you some cocoa—it’s the best thing after a bad dream.” 

“That sounds nice,” Jenna watched in silence for a few moments as Emily retrieved a mug and a tin of cocoa from the cupboard, poured milk into a saucepan and put it on the stove. The clock on the wall ticked steadily—it was a soothing sound.  “How did you know I had a bad dream?” 

“Well I couldn’t have been a spy all these years if I wasn’t observant,” Emily said. “Would you like to talk about it?” 

“Not really,”   Jenna said.

“Talking might help,” Emily said.

“It was just a bad dream,” Deciding the change the subject, Jenna looked at the stack of papers on the table. “Those papers—is that spy stuff?’  

“No, nothing that exciting,” Emily said as she placed two heaping spoonfuls of cocoa into the mug and stirred.  “Just some of the household accounts. At my age I don’t do as much of the ‘spy stuff’ as I used to, I’m afraid. Here you go.”  

Jenna wrapped her hands around the mug and took a sip, letting the warm liquid seep down her throat. “Thank you,” she said. 

“Does it interest you?”  Emily asked as she sat back down across from Jenna. “The spy stuff?” 

“I guess so,” Jenna said. “Mostly I’m just getting used to the whole idea.” 

“So I would imagine,” Emily said. “The circumstances under which you were told were hardly ideal.” 

“That’s true,” Jenna said. “I was so scared then—I really thought I was going to—it wasn’t until after that I started thinking about it.”

“I understand.”

Jenna took another sip of cocoa. “Mom and Dad probably think I’m being a pest with all the questions I keep asking.” 

“Jenna I’m sure they think nothing of the sort,” Emily said. “It must be hard not being able to talk to your friends about this.”

“I don’t talk to my friends very much right now anyway,” Jenna thought back to Geoff again, the way she’d yelled at him. “The way I’ve been acting lately I probably don’t deserve any friends.”

“After all that’s happened I’m sure your friends understand.”

“What about Geoff?” 

“I think Geoff will understand as well.”   

“That’s what dad said,” Jenna said. “It’s just when Geoff—when he called me a celebrity I got really upset.”

Emily nodded. “There was quite a lot of press coverage about you back then,” she said. “Tabloid’s talk shows. I didn’t pay much attention at the time—too busy worrying about you.” 

“Yeah,”   Jenna thought back to her dream, a small shudder running through her body. “I was worried too.”

“There must have been press coverage at home.”  

“Some,” Jenna admitted. “But mostly we were left alone—I don’t know for sure but I think the Agency must have had something to do with that. There was one man who kept bothering us, though.  He wanted to make a movie or something—he even followed me and Francine to the mall.” 

“What happened?” Emily asked.

“Francine talked to him,” Jenna said. “I’m not sure what she said but it must have been something pretty bad because his face turned completely white and he practically ran away—after that we never saw him again.” 

Emily laughed.  “I know Francine—I can only imagine what she said.”

“Me too,” Jenna drained the last of her cocoa.

“I don’t know if this helps or not, Jenna—but most of the press was actually complimentary,” Emily said.  “There was some rumor and speculation, but most of it was just about hoping that you’d come home safely.”    

“I guess,” Jenna said. “It’s just feels weird to think of total strangers thinking or worrying about me—I don’t want to be famous for being a victim.” 

“Is that how you really see yourself?”  Emily said. “As a victim?” 

“It’s what I was,” Jenna said. 

“No, you were a very brave girl,” Emily said. “You tried to escape, stole his cell phone to contact your parents, stabbed him with a fork—I’m not too sure that many other girls in your position would have done as well. And then on top of all that you testified against him.” 

“Yeah,”   Jenna’s leg gave a little twinge, reminding her of Dennis Johnston and the price she’d paid for that testimony. She still didn’t remember much about what had happened with him in that  hospital storage room, but maybe that was a blessing in disguise.  “Dad told me that I’m stronger than I know.” 

“Your father is right.”  

Jenna took a deep breath “I’ve never thought of myself as brave,”  she said. “Most of the time all I feel is terrified.” 

Reaching over, Emily took her hand, giving it a small squeeze. “I think you’ll find that most brave people do.” 

“And this last time?”  Jenna said. “How brave was I then?” 

“This last time you were caught in the middle of events that you didn’t have the knowledge to understand.”  Emily said. “I think your father mostly blames himself for that.” 

“Maybe,” Jenna said. 

“Things will get better,” Emily gave her hand another small squeeze. “I promise.”

 Jenna smiled. She couldn’t think of anything to say in reply and for what seemed like a few moments they sat in companionable silence. Jenna covered a yawn with her hand, resting her head on her forehead, thinking that she would only close her eyes for a couple of seconds—

The next thing she knew, Emily was leading her upstairs.

“—some rest, sweetheart,” Emily was telling her as she removed Jenna’s slippers and lowered her into the bed, tucking her in.  “I have a nice day planned for all of us tomorrow.”

“—the light on?” Jenna asked.

“Yes the light’s on,” Emily said.  Jenna felt a light kiss on her forehead. She thought that maybe Emily might have said something else, but by that time she was already asleep.

TBC