Six on Sunday - Six paragraphs from THE RENTAL 2, a sci-fi/contemporary fantasy romance
1. “No, not possess,” Childs
corrected him. “Think of it more like going along for the ride. From what I
gathered, Megan would live vicariously through the rental. Everything the rental
sees, she’ll see. Everything the rental eats, she’ll taste it, although she
won’t physically be eating it herself. Everything the rental hears, smells,
touches… Listen, go talk to this woman and hear what she has to say. I’m not
telling you it’s the end-all and be-all for Megan, but it’s an opportunity for your
wife to actually feel alive again. To live life again, even though it’s not
actually her own.” The doctor bit his lower lip, then added, “I wouldn’t be
bringing this up unless I felt it could help your wife. You and I both know
we’ve reached the end of our rope when it comes to treatments.” He tapped his
temple. “Remember, Mr. Kolt. She’s still awake and cognizant up here, but she’s
a virtual prisoner inside her own body. A body that doesn’t respond to her
commands or stimuli, or anyone else’s. I dread to think what she’s mentally
going through, being mentally active but physically unable to do anything. All
I’m saying is listen to this Mosher woman and see if it’s something that you
think would benefit Megan. At this point, what have you got to lose?”
2. Jory chuckled. “Yes, I do.” She didn’t ask if Megan liked
them. She realized talk about the woman was quickly becoming a taboo subject
for the both of them. She guessed it was because he needed time and space, and
the ability to live his life without his wife’s shadow hanging over him every
second of every day, like it had for the past six years. For her, it was
because of the emotional pain she felt whenever the woman was brought up.
3. “Jory,
I want to apologize for my behavior earlier.” He didn’t mention a specific
incident, but she understood what he meant. “I’m going to be honest with you.
It’s been a while since I’ve been out of the house. Thank you for the ride to
the lake. I enjoy your company, and I’m not ready for today to be over with
yet. Besides, I still have a little time before I need to go to the hospice. If
you don’t mind, would you like to come inside for a while? I have ginger ale
and beer.”
4. Turner
hung his head. “I didn’t intend to. I wasn’t planning on it. But she…Jory’s
been like a breath of fresh air. When I initially went to meet her at that
restaurant, I just wanted to be certain she was worthy of being Megan’s second
body. Know what I mean? I wanted to be sure I hadn’t agreed to Megan being
subjected to some kind of perverse lifestyle or situation.” He shook his head.
“Instead, I ended up being the perversion.”
5. A
corner of the doctor’s mouth turned up, then quicky vanished. “You said you
were going to cut off your relationship with the Jory woman. Congratulations.
That must feel like a kick in the stomach. But I have to tell you something,
Mr. Kolt. These past few days, ever since that rental entered that little
walled-off life of yours, you’ve been different. Your attitude, everything about
you changed. You actually looked happy for the first time in years. At first I
attributed it to the rental agency and the effect the implant was having on
your wife. That’s what I thought, at first, and then it hit me.” Childs lifted
a finger for emphasis. “It wasn’t so much the rental’s effect on Megan. It was that
Jory woman’s effect on you. It was like she found a way to tunnel inside and
lead you out of your self-imposed solitary confinement, back into the sunlight.
Think what you may, Mr. Kolt, but six years is a long time to mourn for your
wife.”
6. “I’m
in love with Turner Kolt.” She had to say it aloud or else her conscience would
try to talk her out of it. “The best thing I can do is cut all ties to him.
Now, not later.” She nodded as the hero on the screen jumped into a car and
laid rubber getting away from the bad guys. “Admit it, Jory. As soon as you’d
called Janet and told her you wanted to cancel your contract with the Kolts,
you felt like a huge weight had been lifted off your shoulders, didn’t you?”
She nodded to herself, then heaved a big sigh. “Too bad it wasn’t enough to get
rid of emotional hold he has on you, too.”
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