Viv Meets the Smiths

GENEVIEVE

Viv finally sits down for the first time. If Charley has taken a chair she will sit across from her, moving her chair closer, and if she hasn't viv will sit on the floor next to the table. "So, it seems like your mom is having a really hard time. Is it okay if we talk about that before we talk about your dreams, Jane?"

"JANE"

Charley studies Viv's face for a moment, then says, "She is just worried about me. She thinks I'm disturbed... Father, doesn't know we are here. But that is a secret."

GENEVIEVE

"Are there a lot of secrets at your house, Jane?"

"JANE"

"No."

GENEVIEVE

Viv doesn't look at all like she believes either of the things you've said, but she lets it go.

"Alright Jane, let's talk a little bit more about those dreams of yours. I know you said you don't remember much. Being a man, a car, a fire, the pharos... Is that right? Is there anything more I should know? What do you do when you wake up after you have one of your dreams?"

"JANE"

"I dreamt I was in a cell alone; it was dark and made of iron bars and stone; it was old and forgotten. I couldn't see but heard a fellow prisoner we started to entertain ourselves with a song." Charley closes her eyes, remembering, and sings " Louie, Louie" to the chorus of "Wully Bully."

"We went back and forth, 'Louie, Louie' and then the voice shouted instead of 'Watch it now! Watch it now!' like in the real song; it said, 'Rocket now! Rocket it now!' Then again, we went back and forth. I called 'Louie,' and suddenly, the voice was behind me and sounded deep and menacing; it growled 'Louie.' That's when I woke up! And I felt like I was on fire! Since then, I dream of rockets, explosions, and flames. And when I'm not dreaming. When I'm not sleeping, it's as tho, the dream continues. I remember people calling me Jack and being old and other things."

GENEVIEVE

And how does having these memories make you feel, Jane?

"JANE"

"At first, it was scary. Really, scary. But, as I've gotten used to it. It sometimes. I sometimes feel powerful."

GENEVIEVE

Viv smiles "how so?"

"JANE"

"By being more than ah. Well... I know I'm more than just me. And we... People are stronger together. Also, knowing things I shouldn't is sometimes fun. But my parents. It scares them." At this point, Charley has by, and large just settled into the therapy session, but the real end to this talk isn't completely forgotten. So, she awkwardly adds, "It's like being an alien from another planet or believing in multiple realities, like Star Trek or something. And who really believes that!?"

Then under her breath in a sullen tone, "And I'm not even allowed to watch Star Trek."

GENEVIEVE

Viv winks. "Do you get sick of people telling you how smart you are?"

Then she continues, "You know, here in America it might seem like nobody believes it, but all over the world there are millions of people – like in Buddhists in India and China and many tribal cultures all over the world, who take these ideas very seriously. They're some of the oldest ideas humans have ever thought to think. I love that you said 'people are stronger together' I like to think all these lives and memories are pulled together like an echo of each other's stories across space and time, working together and helping each other, and each time I remember a new one I am calling more of me to me." Her eye contact intensifies a little bit, but it is still gentle, "That is to say, I do. I am someone who really believes it."

"Let me worry about what we're going to do about your mom and how she's reacting... let's you and I work on your past life 'problem' before I ask her to come back in so I can talk to her" And with that, unless Charley has more to say, Viv is going to talk to her about soul retrieval and meditation and dream symbolism.

"JANE"

At this moment, Charley is mesmerized. Viv is saying all the right things. Complete acceptance from others has been a foreign feeling, even from the members of URIEL, from Archie.

"MRS. SMITH"

Jocasta will wait patiently, post-meditation, in the sitting room until Genevieve is ready for her. She powerfully suppresses the urge to smoke a cigarette.

GENEVIEVE

Someone retrieves Jo and brings her back to the room where Viv is sitting and jotting things on a clipboard. She looks up.

"Mrs. Smith, so glad to see you again. Please, take a seat." A brief pause while she's writing before she covers the form and sets the clipboard down. "How are you doing?"

"MRS. SMITH"

Jocasta sits down and smiles. "I'm well," she says. "A little nervous."

GENEVIEVE

"Have you been to therapy before? I know our methods here are... I'll say cutting edge, but you might say unconventional."

"MRS. SMITH"

"Not personally, no," she says. "I studied a bit of psychology in college, but I've never been in therapy. The Institute was highly recommended, though. We obviously want what's best for our daughter. She's a special child."

GENEVIEVE

Viv smiles again. "We'll get to you and Jane in a minute; right now I'd like to focus on getting to know you better. What did you major in at college?"

"MRS. SMITH"

"Archaeology. I focused on Mesopotamian studies."

GENEVIEVE

"Fascinating! Did you ever work in the field? Do you work outside the home presently?"

"MRS. SMITH"

"Oh, no, I'm strictly at home with Jane. I did spend some time overseas when I was studying, though. My husband travels a good deal as well, and sometimes he'll take Jane and I with him."

GENEVIEVE

"I see! What does he do for work, and where have you and Jane been when traveling with him?"

"MRS. SMITH"

"He's a defense contractor. Sometimes his work takes him overseas – Britain, South Africa, West Germany, South Vietnam. Our allies. I'm afraid that, well, this is embarrassing, but I can't say too much about it. Some of his work is ... confidential."

GENEVIEVE

"I completely understand. Are you close, considering how much he travels? Are all your needs for emotional intimacy being met? Is it challenging to, essentially, be a single mother so much of the time?"

"MRS. SMITH"

"I have to say, it has been a bit difficult lately. He's not around much, and because of the nature of his work, there are a lot of things he experiences that he can't talk about. We're doing fine financially, but ... with his job and Jane's needs, it sometimes doesn't feel like a real family."

GENEVIEVE

A look of deep sympathy. "How long would you say this has been your experience?"

"MRS. SMITH"

"Over the past few years, maybe? Certainly since Jane began to develop her ... since she started to have these memories, or visions ... whatever they are. She's so capable and smart, and it ... can lull you into thinking she's so much older than she is. I think even she feels that way sometimes. I mean, don't get me wrong, I believe in the work he does. I just think we've all come to feel that the work comes first and everything else has to sort itself out."

Jocasta pauses and tightens up her body language a bit. "Goodness! I worry I'm making it sound like John is a bad father. That's certainly not the case! He just has ... demanding expectations. I think it's what helped Jane become so bright. But, of course, she has needs beyond just that."

GENEVIEVE

"I assure you, Mary, I'm not here to judge anyone. My sole purpose is to help you and your family feel happier and function more cohesively. I believe we are all doing the best we can with the circumstances we are dealt and it is only by consciously increasing our skills that we can come to do better, and here you are, taking the first step to do so! I think that's huge. What do you mean when you say 'demanding expectations'?"

"MARY"

"Well, education is very important to both of us, and when Jane was very young, she showed a lot of signs of being a gifted child. So John and I agreed to enroll her in special classes, to develop her talents from a very early age. And it's yielded excellent results for the most part -- I'm sure you could tell just from talking to her. But she learns so much, so quickly, and John is encouraged by that to move her on to the next thing, and that's created a situation where I worry that she doesn't have the time to just be a child." She pauses and fixes on Genevieve in a way she hasn't before. "Maybe that's not even what she wants. It's so hard to tell. With ... parenting, it's so difficult to know if you're doing the right thing, and we might not know right away if we made the best decision. And then I wonder, am I trying to give Jane what she wants, when I'm not sure what she wants? People can do things that they think they're doing for you, and they're really doing it for themselves."

She loosens her gaze again. "Sorry, I feel like I'm rambling. But do you know what I'm getting at?"

GENEVIEVE

"When we don't share our thoughts or feelings for a long time it can feel like a lot when we finally get to express them, when we hear them out loud as we try to order them for others, but I assure you you aren't rambling. And yes. Jane is quite clearly an exceptionally gifted child, with profound sensitivities and intuition. I noticed right when you walked in the two of you have a unique relationship for a child so young, you give her a lot of autonomy and even leadership, like you hold equal power in the dynamic."

"I appreciate how challenging, and stressful that must be for you, even before the dreams."

"MARY"

"That's part of my concern. She's so capable and strong, it's easy for me to treat her as a peer, as and adult. And I think she deserves our respect. But as simple as it is to forget she's a child ... she is."

GENEVIEVE

"Yes!" A little bit of delight creeps into Viv's therapeutic presence.

"A child capable, perhaps, of stewarding her own autopoiesis, if your life can create more space for that with her ... You see, she does seem to crave what children crave – attention, unconditional love, a consistent environment where she can feel secure attachment and safe holding. But she craves those things at a higher octave. This is why, with children like Jane it's so important not to treat them as little adults, nor the way you might treat their same-age peers. We must meet Jane as an individual, exactly where she is. We must help her to learn to play on her own terms so that she can feel free to be a little girl, and a prodigy, and whatever else she needs, all at once."

"MARY"

"Thank you. I've ... it's never been articulated to me quite that way, and it's very helpful. I know your time is valuable, I don't want to keep you for long ... but have you worked with other children like our Jane? You seem to have a real gift for it."

GENEVIEVE

"I've worked with gifted children and with children with past life memories. She's an outlier though, so young and so aware! Let's discuss the terms of our next meeting and your homework before the next meeting then, shall we?"

"MARY"

"Of course. And ... thank you again."

GENEVIEVE

"As you've said yourself, Jane quite special, it can be hard to tell what she needs or even what she might want. She may not even know! I want you and Jane to create a block of time every day where Jane can explore herself outside of the confines of her education and any standards or expectations. This will be play time, but you mustn't put any expectations on it for it to look a certain way. Indulge her whims, whether she wants to make art, get outside in nature, do sports, even study something not related to her school lessons. Or ... "

She pauses and pulls a book out that she had tucked into the chair behind her "explore her past life experiences and memories." She hands the book to Jo.

"Which brings me to the next part of the homework. I don't think it's necessary for you to believe that Jane has transmigration memories- and to be honest I think she'd know if you were to pretend to believe something you didn't. However, I do think it's necessary that you take her seriously even if you are skeptical of her experience. To that end I'd like for you to read this book with the most open frame of mind available to you, and to talk with Jane with curiosity, instead of worry, about what she's experiencing."

Viv pulls a schedule planner off the clipboard and flips it open. "I'd like to see you next week if that is possible? You said John would be able to join us?"

"MARY"

"Yes, of course. I'll do as you suggest, and we'll see you again...soon." As she reaches out to take the book, Jocasta removes her glove and will try to quickly brush Genevieve's hand, as well as holding the book with her bare hand.

GENEVIEVE

Genevieve mentally notes how weird that is, to take off your gloves for the first time at the end of a session ... What would Fritz Perls say about it? It also doesn't escape her that Mary quickly turned the conversation to Jane any time she tried to get her to talk about herself too much. That's not uncommon for mothers, but it felt more avoidant than that. More than once she had thought to dive in deeper and ask more probing personal questions but she doesn't want to scare Mary away, because Jane needs help working through everything she is dealing with and this strange, authoritarian, traditional family that doesn't always fell like a real family... And Mary might need help too.

Looking at her schedule "ope, my apologies, I've got space Thursday or Friday next week but the rest of my schedule is booked up. I have more availability the following week. "

As soon as Mrs. Smith makes eye contact again with Genevieve during this handshake, the Stevenson book in her left hand, Mrs. Smith faints dead away.

GENEVIEVE

Genevieve will do her best to help Jocasta land safely in her faint before going to the far door and pressing a discreet button on the upper side of the door frame designed to summon orderlies in the event someone has a violent episode. She then heads back over to Jo and checks her breathing and pulse.

Her pulse is steady but rapid, her breathing is fine, Viv checks Mrs. Smith's eyes and they are in sudden, spontaneous REM. Very unusual. She might be having some kind of cerebral event.

Out in the cafeteria, as Marshall is finishing his cig and Charley her ice cream, they see a couple of orderlies hustling down the hallway towards the encounter rooms.

"MARY"

Genevieve sees Mrs. Smith comes out of the ... trance? In a little under 20 seconds, pretty much right after the orderlies arrive at the encounter room door.

The orderlies look to Genevieve for instruction, as it seems Mrs. Smith is conscious and awake and aware again.

"MARY"

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry. Is Dr. Redgrave here? Can you ask him to call my physician, Dr. Ransom? I was to let him know if I had any reactions to the medication he put me on," she stammers, her voice quavering.

Mrs. Smith shakes her head, a bit short of breath, and starts making little climbing gestures with her fingers while lightly humming "There Is a Mountain" by Donovan.

GENEVIEVE

Affirming Mary is fit to stand I help her to her feet. Nod to the orderlies to retrieve Doctor Redgrave and ask, "My goodness, are you okay? Is your mountain a mountain again?"

The orderlies come out to the cafeteria and rush to Dr. Redgrave. "Sir? Your patient needs you. She says she needs you to contact her physician, Dr.... Ransom?"

MARSHALL

“Jane, stay here.” Marshall points to an orderly. “Stay with her.” Marshall will head off to see what’s up.

Upon arrival: “What happened?”

"MARY"

Mrs. Smith still seems a little fuzzy, but clearer than before. "Marshall, I'm so terribly sorry. I think I may have had a reaction to my new meds. Should we head back, or should we call Dr. R? I definitely don't think I should drive myself."

MARSHALL

“Of course!” Marshall goes to take her elbow. “I have Jane with an orderly. Let’s get you to the front desk so you can call Dr. Ransom while I gather Jane and send David to get the driver.”

Then a flash of a wolf’s smile at Genevieve: “Viv, so nice to meet you. Radical work you’re doing here — we’ll have to have you up at the Mission sometime.” He won’t pause to let her stop him from escorting Jo out.

GENEVIEVE

"Thank you Doctor Redgrave, Mrs. Smith, feel better, tell Jane thank you as well and I look forward to seeing you both again!" Viv sort of hurriedly offers as they shuffle out the door. She sits down and picks up her clipboard and starts writing.