Page 22 of Meet Me on Greenwood

"Lightning?" I said, trying to catch my bearings. "No, I was on a roof with my sister."

"Who is your sister?"

"Brittany Cross. Could you call her, or better yet, my stepmother?"

"I’m afraid we don’t have a phone here. Dr. Whitaker has one installed at his office, though. Maybe he can send a message."

I shook my head. "You don’t have a cell phone I could use?"

She gave me a look of confusion. "I don’t think I know what you mean. Where are you from so that we can get word to your folks?"

"I’m from Tulsa."

"What part?"

"Maple Ridge."

That seemed to give her pause. She put the back of her hand to my head as if checking my temperature. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. My family has lived there my whole life."

"The Crosses? What is your name?"

"Gemini, but everyone calls me Gema."

Her eyes traveled along my body, assessing. "Gema, what kind of work do you do?"

"I’m a board-certified neurologist and and a neuropsychologist, but now I mostly do research."

"Of course," she said with a smile that didn’t meet her eyes. "Give me a moment. I’m going to check on breakfast, and then I’ll get Dr. Whitaker to take a look at you."

"Dr. Whitaker?"

The woman gave me an empathetic smile. "Yes, the doctor who found you on the road. It was lucky he was around, or they would have taken you to the hospital. People don’t always come back from there with the physician shortage."

"You mean Morningside Hospital?"

Now she her brows knit in confusion. "We don’t have a Morningside Hospital."

I rubbed my throbbing head in my hands. "Who are you? Where am I?"

She perched her hands on her hips proudly. "I am Dr. Whitaker’s housekeeper. This here is his estate. My name is Lettie by the way," she said extending her hand.

I shook it tentatively. "It is nice to meet you."

"Take your time. The doctor said you’d be disoriented."

She left the room which gave me an opportunity to take in my surroundings. I was in a four-poster wooden bed with curtains that hung down in large sheets. The room was old-fashioned, like it had come from a museum with small, patterned chairs, an all-wood vanity, and green textured wallpaper that ran from floor to ceiling. I noted the wooden floors peeking through the multiple rugs that lay over them.

Lettie walked back in with a tall stack of pancakes and a basket filled with biscuits and honey.

As she put the biscuits in my lap she asked, "Gemini? Is that your real name or is that a stage name?"

I paused. "I don’t know what you mean."

She chuckled, shaking her head. "It doesn’t matter. I took the liberty of changing your clothes. All I had were my daughter Viola’s old dresses. They seem to fit you all right. So, do people call you Doctor?"

It was a strange question, but somehow, I’d accepted that whatever was going on was strange.