Nervous

“Flower was here?” Jonquinette asked, obviously stunned.

Meredith laughed uncomfortably. “Don’t be silly, Precious. Of course, Flower was here. You spent the day with her.”

Jonquinette’s mouth fell open and the rest of us came to the same conclusion simultaneously.

Henry said, “Oh shit! You mean my baby girl spent the afternoon with that wench!”

No one responded and Jonquinette decided to lie down on the chaise instead of just sitting there.

Meredith said, “Jonquinette, does that mean that you don’t know about our news?”

“What news?” Jonquinette asked.

Henry cleared his throat. “The news about your momma getting back together with me.”

I studied Jonquinette’s reaction. She clamped her eyes shut and sighed. “No, I didn’t have a clue.”

Meredith folded her hands on her lap but I could still see them trembling. She glimpsed at me uneasily. “I guess we should talk about that later. We’re here for Jonquinette.”

I waited for Jonquinette to make any comments about the revelation. When she remained silent, I moved on. “As you know, Jonquinette is suffering from Multiple Personality Disorder, otherwise known as MPD. It is also commonly referred to as Dissociative Identity Disorder. Ideas about MPD date back to the 1800s. This is not a new concept.”

Meredith asked, “So what exactly is it and how can we stop it?”

“Basically, Jonquinette has at least one alter personality who was created to free her from the memories and experiences that were too difficult for her to rationally deal with.”

Henry said, “So are we talking about a mental illness? Is she insane?”

I shook my head. “No, Jonquinette is not insane. That was her assumption at first as well. Jonquinette is perfectly capable of leading a normal life without having to drown herself in pills or being hospitalized. What she has done, in a nutshell, is devise an innovative survival technique.”

Meredith shifted in her seat. “You said at least one alter. Does that mean there are more?”

Even as I made eye contact with her mother, I could sense Jonquinette staring at me. “That is a possibility but as of now, the only one we need to concern ourselves with is Jude. She’s obviously the most powerful and the one causing all the problems.”

Henry shook his head in dismay. “I still can’t believe that wench was left alone with Flower.”

Jonquinette sat back up on the chaise. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but why would you let me baby-sit Flower knowing my situation.”

Jonquinette’s parents glared at each other as I could sense their guilt.

Jonquinette continued, “Until we get this all straightened out, don’t dare do that again. Flower is a sweetheart and if she meets up with Jude while she’s angry, there’s no telling what might happen.” She paused and asked, “You couldn’t tell it wasn’t me?”

&nb

sp; “No, not that time,” Meredith quickly responded. “I won’t lie. Looking back on things, there were times when I should have known something was terribly wrong. Like that time when we had dinner recently and you called me a whore.”

Henry glared at Jonquinette. “You called your momma a whore?”

Jonquinette smacked her lips. “It wasn’t me, Daddy. You’re still missing the point. I’ve never intentionally set out to hurt anyone. I would never call Momma a whore. That’s disrespectful and you didn’t raise me that way.”

“But did we raise Jude that way?” Meredith asked. She covered her face with her hands. “This is so confusing.”

Jonquinette got up off the chaise and walked over to the sofa. Her parents made room for her to sit between them. Each took one of her hands.

“You’re right,” Jonquinette said. “This is confusing.” She looked at me. “Marcella, what’s next?”

“We get to know each other,” I responded. “That’s all I want to do today. You’ve told me a lot but only your parents can fill in the blanks of the times you don’t remember. I have several questions I need to ask.”

Henry gripped Jonquinette’s hand tighter and glanced into my eyes. “Ask away.”