The Haunting of the Gemini by Jackie Barrett Page A

call you back after the bathroom is clean,” I said.
    I ended the conversation and waited for my client to finish her scrubbing. “So, what’s up?” I asked with gentle amusement in my voice. “Did you see
The Exorcist
?”
    She got a sheepish look on her face. “Yeah, it was on last night.”
    I gave her the phone and listened to her talk to her mother. They laughed and cried, and her mother turned out to be very understanding. Except about the demon possession. “Why would you say you were possessed? How awful! You’re going to church every Sunday with me. You need God!” her mother said.
    My client hung up the phone and looked at me. As I walked her out, I gave her a hug.
    â€œGo to church, girl,” I said, “and leave the devil alone.”
    * * *
    I burst out of the drugstore, letting the door go so that it almost hit Will as he followed me outside. Let him get his own damn door. I was sick of his questions. Tired of him telling me he no longer recognized me. Sick of—
    The store alarm beeped as I stepped over the threshold, piercing my mental tirade. It certainly didn’t shut Will up, though.
    â€œDid you—or whoever is living in you—steal something?” he yelled at me.
    I turned on him with such anger. “Get off my shit, Will. There isn’t anyone in me. Maybe it’s you. Or maybe I should just be alone. I’m warning you, Will. Don’t push me. I don’t shoplift.”
    I closed in on him as this thing inside of me emerged. I could tell she was defending me from him, but she also was shoving me aside, coming forward in an uncontrollable rage. I couldn’t stop her.
    â€œDon’t you ever push her around.” I kept at him, poking against his chest, this massive six-foot-two bodybuilder with a chest like a rock. I had no trouble backing him up. But the strength was not mine. “Who the fuck needs you?”
    With the small shred of me that was left, I knew that if he started to react negatively, it would get dangerous for both of us. Somehow, my beloved man sensed the same thing. He gently pulled me into him as he whispered in my ear. “It’s okay. You’re okay, Jackie. I love you. Just listen to my voice. Don’t let go of yourself . . .”
    He took my hand and softly said that he was going to take me home. I felt tears running down my cheeks as our hands locked tightly. “Please don’t let this take me,” I managed to say.
    â€œNever.” He started to lead me home. “You’re mine forever, Jackie.”
    As we walked down the peaceful leafy side streets, the other woman inside me began to relax. I could feel her slowly start to slip aside, as though Will’s tender heart and whatever meager strength I had left had been able to subdue her for the moment. Maybe she’d felt our love for each other and had run away. Maybe she’d seen something she’d never had for herself. Maybe she had some unfinished business . . .
    These thoughts rattled around in my head as we walked the few blocks home. I went inside and sat down on the couch. I knew I owed him an explanation, but I didn’t have one.
    â€œI know it isn’t easy for you,” he said as he sat beside me, his tone clearly communicating that it wasn’t easy for him, either. “I don’t know where you go. You don’t answer your phone. I feel like I’m dealing with a stranger sometimes. Tell me, Jackie, if you’re working on something.”
    â€œSomething is happening to me,” I said slowly. “I look in the mirror and see this woman standing beside me. She lives in me. She follows me . . . I’m scared that one day we are going to switch places. I’ll be lost in her dimension, and she’ll be living my life with my family . . .”
    Had my work done this to me? I had kept all of my clients throughout this whole