"Well how did it go" Eileen or should I say 'Mum' asked me once we were back in her car.
"I have no idea. I didn't lose my temper or anything like that. I honestly don't know what she thinks of me"
"All we can do is wait and keep our fingers crossed. Let's get home and have lunch"
We drove back to the McKenzie's house. When we got there 'Mum' said "Get out of Sarah's suit make sure you hang it up. She is right it would be ideal to wear for your job interview tomorrow. If you give me the shirt I'll hand wash it so it is fresh tomorrow"
I went into Jenna's room. The door was locked. I had seen some keys in the handbag on my shoulder and found a key that fitted. It felt like I was snooping. But then after what she had done to me what was I to feel guilty about. I took off the suit and hung it in Jenna's built in robe. Like her sister she seemed to have a lot of clothes. I found some shorts, a tee-shirt and sandals and put them on.
I gave Sarah a ring using Jenna's phone. "Hi Sarah we are back home. Has Jenna been back?"
"Hi Rod, no all has been quite. He didn't take your phone so I can't ring him. I rang the council and he has not shown up at work. I ended up telling them he is sick"
"What should we do?"
"Well I think I'll come around there. I'm a bit scared by the idea of confronting him on my own. I'll leave your phone on the kitchen bench and a note asking him to ring"
"Ok I'll see you soon. Will I let Eileen know you will be over for lunch?"
"I've just made myself a jaffle, Tell her I will around in about an hour"
I returned to the kitchen where Mum was making some sandwiches "Where would you like the shirt?"
"Put it on the ironing board. I'll wash it after lunch"
I took the shirt to the laundry. When I returned "I just been speaking to Sarah, she will come around in about an hour"
"You and Sarah on speaking terms? Things are changing"
"We had a bit of a reconciliation last night"
"Not before time. I have never understood why you have been so nasty to her...... Could you go out and get your father. Tell him lunch is ready"
I walked out to the shed, stuck my head through the door and told 'Dad' lunch was ready. I could see he had made a lot of progress on what now was obviously an outdoor table and chairs. He took off his safety glasses and earmuffs and beckoned my into the shed.
"Jenna, before we go in, listen to me please. We were both really concerned when we couldn't contact you yesterday. You do understand the consequence if you break your bail conditions don't you?" He continued not giving me time to answer "I would like you to start treating your mother with the respect she deserves, We may not be perfect parents but we are trying our best"
What should I say "Dad I have my own demons. I am sorry for what I have put my family through. I will try and turn a new leaf"
"That's all I ask Jenna. We love you" He gave me a hug. "Let's go and get lunch"
We had lunch and Eileen went to the laundry to deal with the shirt. I went the watch what she did. She was surprised to see me there and explained what she was doing. I watched as she put the shirt in a bucket of cold water added a touch of detergent and agitated it with her hands. A rinse then she lay the shirt between two towels. Finally she lay the shirt on a drying rack
I went back to Jenna's room and checked to see whether Sarah had rung. She had not. I sat on Jenna's bed and looked at the room. Unlike Sarah's room there was no decorations. The room was really quite stark. She had a queen bed with a cream doona on it. There was a mirrored dressing table which I guessed may have been made by Ted. There were various bottles and spray cans on top of the dressing table, as well as brushes and hair accessories. All the things you might expect to see on a dressing table. However what was noticeable was there were no pictures, posters or anything the least bit decorative. There were none of the teddy bears that Sarah had in her room.
I found myself opening the built in robe. There were two meters of hanging space filled with a colorful variety of dresses and coats. Another meter wide section contained numerous skirts and tops in 2 tiers. I wondered why Jenna kept 'borrowing' clothes from Sarah when she had so many of her own.
On the floor under the dresses was a great array of shoes. Some of the heels seemed monstrous at least 6 inches tall.
I opened some drawers inside the robe. The first was filled with feminine undergarments many of them still had labels attached. The second with new packets of stockings and pantyhose. My snooping was interrupted by the doorbell ringing. I stuck my head out the door to see 'Mum' greeting Sarah.
I joined them as they went to the kitchen and 'Mum' put the kettle on. Sarah told a white lie explaining she had a bit of diarrhea in the morning hence had taken the day off. Her tummy had now settled.
After we had finished a cuppa I asked Sarah if I could show her something in my room.
'Mum' looked in shock. "My god you have reconciled"
Sarah looked a bit embarrassed "Hopefully things have turned the corner"
'Mum' glanced at Sarah and said "Go before she changes her mind"
We got to the room and I shut the door and said to Sarah "What was that all about"
"Jenna has not let anyone into her room in years. I think Mum was shocked that you invited me in"
"Oh, I didn't know"
"How could you?"
'Mmmm. I gather you haven't heard from Jenna"
"No. No sign of him"
"He's probably on a drinking spree"
"Who knows"
"Can I ask a question?"
"You just did"
"I'm serious. I just wonder why Jenna keeps taking your clothes when she has so many of her own"
"I don't think so"
"Well what are all these" I opened the wardrobe door and showed her all the dresses and shoes
It was now Sarah's turn to look shocked "Some I recognize but not many. Look they are new and unworn" Many had labels attached. "Jenna hasn't worked for a long time. These are expensive dresses, She couldn't afford these dresses.... or the shoes"
I showed her the underwear and the hosiery
Sarah looked at me "I suspect she has stolen these clothes, probably shoplifting"......."It explains why she would not let anyone into her room"
"What do we do? I don't want to go to jail"
"Let's get out of here for a start. I need to find out whether Mum knows already"
"Before we go you must tell me Jenna's habits. If I am going to pass as Jenna I need to know how she fills in her days"
"Jenna often locks herself in this room for hours, only coming out to eat or watch TV. Her favorite show is ‘Home and Away’ and she would get stressed if she missed an episode. Some days she is reasonably sociable and will help around the house. You never know from day to day what sort of mood she will be in. Another habit she had was to disappear for days at a time, no-one knew where, however that had finished since the court appearance - until last night"
Evidently It had been difficult sharing a bathroom with Jenna. She would lock herself in the bathroom and ignore Sarah’s pleading that she was in a hurry. Another reason she had been happy to move in with Rod.
Sarah had not been in the Jenna’s room for years. Jenna always kept it locked.
She suggested that to keep up the pretense of being Jenna I should stay in the room, while she went out and had a chat with Mum. She thought I might find an ipad somewhere as Jenna often would have one with her, evidently It had been a Christmas gift from Mum and Dad several years ago. Sarah said she would knock on the door if she found out anything interesting.
Sarah then left and I locked the bedroom door. I checked out the remaining drawers in the built in robe. The 3rd contained shorts, gym wear and other more ordinary clothes whilst the 4th and 5th drawers contained nighties and jumpers respectively.
I looked through the drawers of the dressing table. One was locked so I looked through Jenna’s keys and found one that fitted. I opened the drawer to find an ipad, what looked to be several diaries and some jewellery boxes. The boxes revealed quite a collection of very nice items, Gold and silver bracelets, bangles and necklaces. There was quite a collection of earrings as well.
I tried to start the ipad but it required a code which at the moment I did not know.
The second drawer was filled with various bags of all shapes and sizes. The bottom drawer contained makeup, creams and feminine necessities including a range of pads and tampons. It made me wonder how long I would have to stay in this body. There was a box of pills, I read the label. They were birth control pills ‘Yasmin’ was the brand name. Something else to ask Sarah about. I hoped they were effective and that Jenna had been taking them. I didn’t like the thought that I may have been impregnated last night or this morning.
I was tired and lay down on the bed. I must have fallen asleep.
I woke to a knocking on the door “Jenna, come out” It was Sarah.
I opened the door “I’m not Jenna” I whispered
“Sorry, but you are at the moment. Come to my room. Lock your door”
I followed her into her old bedroom. She had a key to unlock that door.
“Ok, I was speaking with Mum. She seems ignorant of all the clothes in your room. Evidently in year 12 you were caught shoplifting when on a school excursion, but she was not aware of any episodes since. She did say that you seem to buy a lot of stuff on line and that you are often coming home with parcels from the post office. That you are secretive about what is inside them.”
“So maybe the clothes are legit. But in that case why is she so secretive? And where does she get the money?”
“Did you find the ipad?”
“Yeah but it was locked and I don’t know her code”
“Try ‘Sarah sucks’ I wouldn’t be surprised”
“I do have a couple more questions. There was a box of birth control pills. ‘Yasmin’ was the brand name. Do you think I should take one? I don’t want to get pregnant”
“They are preventatives. Not morning after pills. I can only assume Jenna is on them. Better get them and show me”
I fetched the pills and showed Sarah. “Ok it looks like she has been taking them. See the last pill she took was yesterday. See the days of the week” Monday was the label against the last missing pill. You should take the Tuesday pill now. Swallow it with a glass of water. Best to do it straight away”
I went to the bathroom and swallowed the pill. I returned to Sarah’s room.
“You continue taking the pills until the pack runs out. See you have 3 more days”. She showed me the package there were 3 pills left for this week. “When you have finished these you go off the pill for 7 days then start on the next strip” She showed me another strip of pills, unused, it had 3 weeks worth of pills in it.
“What happens in those 7 days?”
“You will have your period”
Shit, if I was stuck as Jenna for 3 more days I would be having yet another period. I knew the medallion wouldn’t swap me back during the period. “We need to find that medallion”
“You have got me thinking. We have been playing Russian roulette with my cycle. I probably should go back on the pill myself”
“I did have some other questions” I asked after a minute of silence “This dentist I’m to see. Do you know her?”
“Yeah Millicent is one of Mum’s best friends. She has been our family dentist for as long as I can remember. She is really nice and I suspect she might be offering you a job as a favor to Mum. Her practice is on High Street near the supermarket. She is a tall woman with red hair”
“Are there any other friends of Jenna I should know about?”
“She has alienated most of her school friends. She used to be best friends with Bianca from the netball team but I don’t think they are on speaking terms anymore. She has gone through a lot of boyfriends. Mostly pretty sleazy characters. I think Dad would shoot any who showed their faces around here”
“And what is her work history?”
“After finishing school she enrolled in an Arts course at the Uni but dropped out during her first year. For a while she was doing a hair and beauty apprenticeship but dropped out of that as well. She had a job as a cashier at Target for a couple of years but quit that to take a holiday in New Zealand with a boyfriend of the time. For the last 2 years she hasn’t worked and I know Mum has been upset because she has not even been looking for a job”
“I’m supposed to take a resume to the interview tomorrow”
“I imagine there might be one on the family PC. I can remember Mum hounding her to make a resume about 6 month’s back and she commandeered the computer for a few days. Let’s go and have a look”
She took me into Monique's old room which was now set up as a study. There was a PC on a desk. Sarah booted it up and found Jenna’s login. It required a password “Let’s try ‘Sarah sucks’” It worked. We quickly located a resume about 6 months old. Besides what Sarah had told me we earlier, Jenna had also held a job as a shop assistant at a fashion boutique for 5 months, 4 years ago. We fixed some spelling mistakes and printed out a couple of copies.
When we had finished Sarah suggested she could do with a coffee. We went to the kitchen and Mum said she could do with one as well.
Mum asked “Will you stay for tea Sarah”
“I’d love to Mum, but I need to get home to walk and feed Biddy”
“Can’t Rod do that?”
“Ohhh… He’s got basketball tonight and was working late, he thought he might have to go straight to the game after work”
I saw an opportunity “How about I go around with you and help you walk Biddy, then you can come back here for dinner”
“That’s an idea” said Mum “I might even come with you. We could pick up some bread and milk on the way home”
Feeling rail-roaded, but not wanting to confront Jenna on her own, Sarah agreed