“Nick, I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to do. There’s no one I can turn to. You’re a hypnotist. That’s perfect. I will do whatever you want.”
“I’ll do it,” Mi, said from the table. “Come on. Let’s eat. These are the best wraps you’ll find from a food-truck. The best.”
I walked to the table, joining Mi, and Nick laughed. “You’re going to hypnotize someone? How do you propose doing that?”
“I’ve seen you do it lots of times. I’ll try. Okay, Gabby?”
“Okay,” I said while trying to sound excited. I didn’t want Mi to try. I wanted Nick to do it. I knew Nick could do it.
Amusingly, Nick pulled Mi’s chair out and sat. I took the vacant chair, lifting the lid from my plastic container expecting to see some sort of greasy, meat infested wrap. To my approval there was no meat. Broccoli, cabbage, carrots, and tiny bites of celery. A side of noodles, and potatoes cut into thin strips.
“Where is the other twin?” Nick asked.
I may have shown the sass in my tone. I meant to. “Seriously? We just spent an hour together in your office. You already asked me that, and I already told you. I don’t know.”
Nick chewed the food in his mouth before replying. “I didn’t mean it like that. I meant before. Where was she before?”
“Oh, sorry. She was in Michigan. That’s where she went. I stayed in Florida.”
Mi tossed in her own facts, not waiting to swallow the food in her mouth. “But she’s really the other twin. She traded places with her when they were eleven.”
“I thought I kicked you out of my house,” Nick said, eyes narrowed to his meddling girlfriend.
“My name’s on the lease. You want another drink, Gabby?” Mi asked as her chair scuffed across the floor.
“Oh, let me get it. You sit. You’ve done enough,” I insisted, using my own manipulative psychology. I didn’t want Mi taking care of the drinks. She sucked.
“Ah, thank you. I’m not used to having someone do nice things for me.”
“Shut up and eat your nice thing that I just went and got for you,” Nick insisted while Mi laughed and thanked him.
I mixed three drinks while deciphering their relationship. Constant bickering, but in a fun way. Nick was very eccentric, I could never tell when he was trying to be funny or when he was just plain weird. Mi could though. Then again, she was probably just as odd.
I carried three drinks to the table and dove right back in. “My husband showed me the footage of me meeting my sister at the bank. We were hugging, and then we got into my car, leaving hers there.”
“Where’s the car? Maybe we can find some clues in it,” Mi suggested, once again talking around the food in her mouth.
“That’s a great idea,” I exclaimed.
Nick was right quick to put her in her place. “No, you’re not doing anything. You’re staying out of this.”
Mi sipped her drink, looking at me. “Mmmm, this is way better than mine, and you’re not the boss of me. Besides, I’m on vacation for a whole week. What else am I going to do?”
“You’re going to clean this place up. That’s what you’re going to do, remember?”
I laughed while internally agreeing that their condo could use a good scrubbing and then it hit me. “Mi, I’ll help you clean and organize. I’m an expert at it. If you help me, I’ll help you. Do you have a car? I’m pretty sure Paxton said it was impounded.”
“No, no, and no. Mi’s not getting in the middle of this. You need to go away. Look, I’ll make a deal with you. One time, I’ll try to hypnotize you once, that’s it. The day you wrecked and nothing more. Got it?”
“Yes, yes I got it. Thank you, thank you, thank you,” I said as if a great deal of heavy weight lifted from my shoulders. Finally. I was going to find out what happened that day.
“And I will help you find the car tomorrow,” Mi offered over the brim of her cup.
“No you won’t, Mi. That’s why I said one time and that’s it. We’re done with this. You’re not going to run around the city searching for clues.”
“Oh, and what about the parents? Did you talk to them? We should find out what they know about your sister. Do you think she went back to Michigan?”
“I never thought about that. Maybe Izzy wasn’t with me at all. Maybe I dropped her off somewhere, but no. Lane told me they were trying to get in contact with them.”
“I’m not here. Just ignore me,” Nick pouted while biting into his veggie wrap. Mi totally ignored him, jumped up, and grabbed a notebook.
“We need a plan. First we’ll do some research and see if we can find out if Izzy was even in the car with you.”
Nick’s body relaxed to the back of his chair with defeat. I knew at that moment I at least had Mi’s help, and I would take it. With great appreciation, I would take it. “Why would her car be impounded in Florida if she wasn’t in the car? That makes zero sense. You suck at being a detective. You better stick to delivering babies.”
“Ah, good point, but we still need to find them. Do you know what part of Michigan?” Mi questioned while she slurped noodles through her lips, and scribbled notes on notebook paper.
“Ah, Mi, you deliver babies? That’s so cool.” Mi didn’t really look like a doctor. Then again, neither did Nick.
“Yeah, yeah. What part of Michigan?”
“This is coming from a dream, but Lane told me it was true. Evidently I told him about it before I forgot who I was. Anyway, I remember the name Walker, and I remember his name was Brant, but I’m not sure about hers’, and I don’t know what part of Michigan. When can you do it, Nick, when can you hypnotize me?” I pushed away half my food and sipped on my drink, feeling full enough, and needing the drink way more than food.
“I’ll try to do it tomorrow. I have a slow morning, busy afternoon.”
“I can’t come to your office. I don’t trust Lane right now. Can’t you do it here?”
“Sure he can. He’s an expert.”
“Mi, shut the hell up.”
“Well you can.”
“But I’m not going to,” Nick said in a high pitch tone, wearing yet another frown, his head shaking back and forth dramatically. “I’ll walk over to your hotel, before work.”
Mi totally ignored all of Nick’s reasoning. Brushed over it like he never even spoke. “She’s not going there. Didn’t you hear anything at all? Take your blinders off for three seconds. I think you should get a good night’s sleep first. I feel like you’re too stressed. You can sleep in my Zen room. I’ll put some ambient music on and turn on the water fountain. That should help you relax.”
“She’s not staying here. Oh, my God, Mi. Stop it.”
“Yes she is, and you stop it. You’re not being a very nice host.”
“I’m not her host. You’re not her host. She’s not staying. She has a room right across the road. Now, if you’re finished with your food, I’ll walk you over there.”
“I’m not going back in that room. If you don’t let me stay here, I’ll find a shelter or something. I’m not giving that bastard the satisfaction.”
Thank God for my short Korean friend. “You’re staying here. We have an extra bedroom.”
“I give up. Come on King, let’s go for a walk.”
With that, Nick took his little dog with the big name and left us alone. Mi and I talked more about a plan the following day and then she showed me to my room. Trying to hide my expression was hard. I felt like I had just walked into the Dalai Lama’s bedroom. A fountain ran the length of the wall right by a bamboo covered window, a platform bed stood maybe two feet from the floor, and there were some sort of terracotta pots everywhere in every shape and color, all filled with different stones.
“Mi, did you make these? They’re beautiful,” I said as my fingers slid around the rim of a bright red pot. White daisies with yellow centers and pine colored stems were painted along the bottom, all different heights. The rust-tinted rocks inside the little pot were different, like nothing I’d ever seen before. Little specks of gold sparkled when I held it to the light.
“I made that one after going to a Christmas party with Nick. One of the girls was mean to me. The flowers are all different shapes and sizes, but they’re all the same. Not one is better than the other. I call it diverse. The stones are Green Goldstone, it’s an emotional healer, helps stabilize your emotions after someone hurts your feelings. Those girls don’t really matter, ya know? This is the room I go to when I forget where I come from, when I need to unwind, and remember that I’m never alone. Do you meditate?”