Still Asleep

Still Asleep

By Cynthia Brennan

    Crystal waited with sick anticipation for the doctor to come. Filled with dread, her stomach felt as if she’d swallowed a stone. She had been through this before, but as she waited for the results this time, she was having a hard time staying calm. The stakes were so much higher than in the past. All that money she had piled up over the last few years would be of no help to her if things didn’t turn out the way she hoped they would. The only difference that being well off made now was that she had access to the best surgeon and was afforded the luxury of recovering at home. And because she paid handsomely, he was more than willing to makes house calls, which is virtually unheard of anymore.

Her best friend Constance sat in the leather chaise lounge next to her, complaining about the discomfort of the chair thanks to the humidity but making no move to change seats or get up to adjust the air conditioning. Instead, she waited for the maid to come in with their second batch of dry martinis (extra, extra olives if you please) so she could ask her to do it. The young girl nodded her head and turned the temperature down before quickly leaving the room. Crystal had a reputation for accusing her help of eavesdropping and gossiping about her behind her back. The newest maid was twenty-two years old and had only been in the job for just over a month. Her name was Carla, and she was very pretty with glossy black hair and wide brown eyes, which Crystal found quite irritating. She preferred to be surrounded by people who weren’t a constant reminder of how much her once dazzling beauty had faded. But it was becoming increasingly harder to find good help she said, and Carla was the eighth one to fill the position in the last year. So, she tried to keep their interactions brief and practically shooed the girl away once she had satisfied her employer’s current whim.

“I don’t know about that girl, Constance. I might have to start looking for someone new. She really should have anticipated that we would want the room cooler, don’t you think? Doesn’t she realize I am positively broiling under all these bandages? You should not have had to ask her to do something that would be obvious to anyone with a half a brain.” Constance had seen this coming from the minute she met Carla. The poor girl was just too pretty to last long with Crystal.

“I was thinking the same thing as I waited for her to finally pour the drinks. She should have known to adjust the air conditioning first instead of making us sit here sweating like a couple of swine while she fiddled with the olives.” She fanned herself dramatically with a bamboo leaf shaped fan.

“Well, if I get good news from Dr. Carleton today, maybe I’ll go to the agency later this week and try again. What time is it? Shouldn’t he be here by now?” Just as she asked the question the doorbell rang. It was silent for a moment and then it rang again. “You see what I mean about her? Why the hell isn’t she answering the door?” Any excuse to make the case for Carla’s swift removal. She was about to yell to her, which she knew was ill-advised in her condition, when the girl appeared in the doorway along with the man of the hour.

“Thank you, Carla.” The doctor said with a smile. She returned it gratefully and returned to the kitchen to get the next pitcher ready for the ladies. “Well Crystal, how are we feeling today?” He said hello to Constance who asked if she should leave the room.

“Don’t you dare!” exclaimed her friend. “You stay right here and be my witness.” Constance looked at Dr. Carleton to gauge whether he thought that was all right. He nodded and she settled back in her uncomfortable chair. “Hello doctor. We are feeling anxious and tired of waiting. You’re a bit late, aren’t you?” Even with him taking the time to come out to her home, he still wasn’t safe from her sharp tongue.

“Well, maybe a few minutes, yes. I apologize. Things come up, as I’m sure you can imagine.” She snorted at that and told him to get on with what he had come for.

“Ok, let’s see, shall we?” He pulled the large leather ottoman over in front of where she was seated. Carefully he removed several bandages and laid them on a tray she had requested Carla bring in that morning. The last to go were the ones covering her eyes. Her face was now completely uncovered. Constance gasped. The doctor sat back and retrieved a mirror that had been left on the tray for this moment. He handed it to Crystal and waited for her reaction.

She stared at her reflection for a long time. The room was so quiet the only sound was the ticking of Dr. Carleton’s watch. He began to brace himself for her wrath. She obviously wasn’t happy with what she was seeing.

Finally, she opened her mouth to speak. “It is…….fabulous.” Constance and the doctor breathed an audible sigh of relief. “I look like a completely different person! Wonderful job, doctor. You’re worth every penny!” He thanked her but looked a bit uncomfortable He felt like a sell out when she talked about money. Then again, he had agreed to do it, so maybe that was exactly what he was. They talked over the details of her continuing recovery and she invited him to join them for the next round of drinks. He graciously declined and said he had a full schedule and better be going. Carla escorted him to the door and came back to swap the empty pitcher for the new one.

“Well, Constance? What do you think?” Constance knew what the right answer was, no matter what she thought. “I believe it was worth all these months of hiding myself in this house waiting to emerge remade and renewed.”

“Amazing. Just fantastic.” She slid three olives off a toothpick and into her mouth.

“So now, onto the next phase of the plan. You have been observing Matthew, correct? He is not seeing anyone at the moment, right?”

“No, he was seeing some blonde who works as a paralegal in his office, but that’s over all ready.”

“Excellent. So, I want you to throw a party and invite him. You’ll introduce us and I’ll take it from there.”

“Right. What name are you planning to use?”

Crystal looked at her blankly. “Oh my, I haven’t even thought of one yet. Let’s think about this.” They batted some possibilities back and forth and finally she landed on one she was happy with.

“Catherine Black?” Constance repeated.

“Yes, I like that. Sounds serious. A strong, formidable woman.” She looked at herself in the mirror again and smiled. “He’ll never know what hit him.” She looked around the room and realized something else she hadn’t taken into consideration in all her scheming.

“What is it?” Constance asked.

“I just realized. I will have to rent a house or luxury apartment somewhere. Matthew has been here. He will know this is my home. It will ruin everything.” She was annoyed she hadn’t thought about it before.

“Or you could rent room at one of the more expensive hotels. I could tell him you are here from out town on business or something. It would add a little mystery to your story.”

“That’s perfect. Very smart.” Constance smiled widely. It wasn’t often Crystal was excited about something that hadn’t been her own idea. After one more drink, they agreed to speak the next day to cement plans for the party. Constance left to go home and prepare dinner. She did not have the luxury of a maid or cook. Sometimes she wondered why Crystal considered her an acceptable friend since she didn’t have anywhere near the money she did. But deep down she knew that she was probably one of the only people willing to put up with the unpleasantness of the woman’s personality. If she was honest with herself, she enjoyed the perks of Crystal’s lifestyle; the pool, the gourmet food and drinks and even the clothing and jewelry she bestowed on her once she had tired of them.

Once she was alone, Crystal took a photo album down from the bookcase and sat down with it and the remains of her martini. She turned to a series of photographs of a happy-looking couple. The woman was a striking redhead and the man had thick salt and pepper hair and warm, soulful eyes. She took one out and turned it over to read what was written on the back. Me and Matthew, London 1998. How had they gone from being madly in love to clawing at each other’s throats? Well, whatever it was, she was determined not to repeat it. Matthew Brody would be hers again soon. She held up the mirror to her face. “Or should I say he’ll soon belong to Catherine Black?”

After a couple of weeks of planning, Constance had set the date for the soiree at her home, with the help of Crystal’s domestic help. She was more than happy to lend them out, considering it was for such a good cause. Catherine Black had rented a suite at The Grand Hotel for a month, with the understanding that she may need to extend it. Just like everyone else, they were happy to accommodate her once she began waving money at them. Matthew was surprised to receive the invitation but agreed to come once he was assured that Crystal would not be in attendance. Things had ended badly between the couple and he had no desire to socialize with her. He had always liked Constance, though, and since he had no plans the evening of the event, he couldn’t think of a reason not to go. They had other shared acquaintances and he mingled easily among them.

About a half an hour after things got started, Constance’s new friend Catherine arrived. She made the rounds shaking hands and introducing herself to everyone. She and Constance had made up a back story about their meeting at a resort the last time they were both in Hawaii. She looked around the room for Matthew and found him engrossed in a conversation about politics with a couple of other lawyers. When he saw Crystal (Catherine) he stopped mid-sentence. She was breathtaking. Hair so black it was almost blue, porcelain skin and icy blue eyes. Constance introduced the two of them and left them to get to know one another. By the end of the evening, he was smitten.

The next two weeks were a whirlwind of dinner dates, theater, and museums. When they weren’t out on the town, they holed up in her hotel suite. Every moment he could spare, he wanted to spend with her. She extended her stay by a couple more months, long enough she figured to really rope him in. One day when they were sitting at an outdoor café having lunch, a familiar face approached the table.

“Well hello Crystal. You are looking wonderful!” Dr. Carleton said, obviously proud of his handiwork.

“I think you must be mistaking me for someone else.” She said, shooting daggers at him with her eyes.

“No, no. I remember all my clients. I never forget a face, especially one I created!” He laughed, not taking the hint that she was sending him. “Well, nice to see you. Take care of yourself.” He continued down the sidewalk, oblivious to the earthquake he had just created.

Matthew stared at her in disbelief. “Crystal?”

She denied it at first. “I have no idea who that is. That man must be delusional.”

Then he remembered something that had struck him as odd one morning as they lay in bed together. He noticed that she had a strange birthmark on her upper left shoulder that was exactly like the one that Crystal had. At the time he wrote it off as some crazy coincidence, but now he suspected just how insane the truth actually was. He mentioned the birthmark and her eyes grew dark with anger.

“Damn! I cannot believe I forgot about that!” She realized right away what she had done. Her expression changed to one of resignation. “Matthew, please let me explain. I knew that our parting was all my fault, and that you would never agree to give me another chance. But I thought, if you didn’t know it was me maybe I could make you fall in love with me again.”

He was dumbfounded. He tried to think of something to say, but no words would come.

“Please Matthew, say something. You have no idea how much pain and expense I went through for you.”

“For me? None of this was for me? This was to feed your enormous ego because you couldn’t stand the fact that I just didn’t want to be with you anymore. What was your end game here? Pretend to be someone other than yourself forever? Do you know how insane that sounds?” He rose from the table.

“I know, yes. But I just missed you so much I couldn’t stand it anymore.” She reached for him, but he backed away from her.

“You would never have had to miss me if you hadn’t treated me so horribly. Or have you forgotten? Let me remind you. You slept with my best friend. And not just a one -time slip up. You carried on behind my back for months. You may be beautiful on the outside Crystal, or Catherine, or whatever the hell you’re calling yourself, but you will always be ugly on the inside.” He threw a hundred-dollar bill on the table. “Here, wouldn’t want you to have to go to any more expense on account of me.” He turned and left her sitting there alone.

She picked up the money and put it in her pocket. Then she finished her drink and left before the waiter could return with the bill.