Andrea did the driving to Dot's office and it took about 45 minutes or so to get there. Most of the drive we just listened to music and sat with our own thoughts. All of us were nervous for our own reasons, me more than normal. That damn buzzing was back.
We got to Dot's just before 10:00. It definitely did not look like any office building I've ever seen. It was residence! A damn big one, too! Bigger than my house!
Seeing my confusion, Andrea said, "Dot works out of her home now. Most of what she does nowadays she can do remotely, so this gives us quite a bit of privacy to talk 100% freely with her. Plus I already clued her in to our family situation, just not all of the details."
As we were walking up the sidewalk, the door opened and a matronly looking woman casually dressed stood in the doorway. She was very tall, somewhat heavyset, with a very short blond hair. As we got closer she came towards us and you could see her smile.
Dot said, "Andie!!! It's been ages!!! Give me some sugar!"
Before Andrea could say anything, Dot pulled her in and gave her a huge bear hug. Andrea grunted as Dot lifted her off the ground.
"Dot, please! Put me down, you're embarrassing me!"
Both mom and I were chuckling at Andrea's predicament.
Putting her down, Dot said, "Oh chill. You were always way too uptight for your own good sometimes. So you must be Jimmy and Danielle!"
I spoke up and said, "Yes we are, thank you for seeing me. And, actually, I think I'd prefer to be called James now, if you don't mind."
"James it is then! And it's not a problem at all! I'd do anything for Andie. More if she'd let me," she winked.
Andrea coughed and said, "Don't you think we need to get inside and get started? I'm sure you're quite busy, Dot."
"Hm? Not at all, but you're right. We need to act professionally now. Well, follow me! Say, Andie, your ass is looking good! Working out?"
The groan Andrea let out was very noticeable, as were the laughs that mom and I let loose.
Once inside we followed Dot towards the back of the house and into a very large laboratory. I was in awe. I certainly wasn't expecting anything like this!
I guess the shock showed on my face, because Dot said, "You like it, James? This is my playground!"
All I could do was nod. As I looked around, the lab was filled with all sorts of medical equipment. I could see an adjacent office, as well as large room with an odd looking machine in it.
Seeing me looking at the machine, Dot said, "You like my baby? She's not cheap, let tell ya! But well worth the millions spent. There aren't too many people who have their own positron emission tomography facility at home!"
I said, "What? That's yours??? I thought only hospitals had these!"
Chuckling she said, "Nope, I got one, too. I get paid really well for what I do! And having my own means I can keep my research under my own roof. No pharmaceutical companies mucking things up for me!"
Andrea spoke up and said, "Now, Dot, Groeth was very generous in what they paid you. Obviously."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah.... But they though they owned my ass. Fuck 'em."
Shaking her head, Andrea said, "Can we please focus?"
Finally Dani said, "YES! I'm worried about my son and Andrea said you might be able to help."
Dot turned serious and said, "Yes, you're right. I can catch up with Andie while we wait. James please sit down. Now I'm sure Andie told you what I need to do here, but I'll go over it anyway. First I'm going to inject you with radiotracer. It's going to take at least 60 minutes to start working, but we'll give it 90 minutes to make sure. Then I'll get you settled into my baby. The scan could take up to 40 minutes. It's very important to remain still during the test. I want to make sure I get a very good picture of your brain. So let's begin, shall we?"
And with that, she gave me the shot.
2 and half hours later, all four of us were in front of a huge computer screen. On one side was the MRI Andrea had done, on the other was my PET scan. All I could see was my brain, but both doctors were in deep discussion about what they saw. Both mom and I looked at one another. She shrugged her shoulders.
Finally Dot said, "Well, James, your brain is definitely unique! I'm excited to really see what you can do!"
I said, "What I can do??"
"Yes! Have you been having any weird feelings lately? Senses of what's going to happen or just an overwhelming bad feeling? I mean, something really, really strong."
I thought a moment and then I realized I had a really bad feeling about my dad and what he might be trying to do. That dawning realization showed on my face I saw Dot smile broadly.
She said, "I told you, Andie! I knew it! Congratulations! You have ESP!"
Andrea quickly said, "Now hold on! It's not quite that simple! You MAY have something happening, but it's not like that! Your brain has obviously increased areas of growth that are a bit abnormal, but nothing dangerous. However, they're areas of the brain where people assume ESP MIGHT be generated from! You're not going to become some psychic or any such bullshit. For example, Einstein's brain had abnormally sized areas as well, the parietal lobe for one, but he didn't have ESP! He was just incredibly smart."
"Oh, Andie, you're a buzz kill. Ok, so you MIGHT have something, James, but in all honesty neither of us really know. It's just a guess. MY guess is you're going to be able to sense things before they happen. How you sense them... I have no fucking idea. I might be wrong, but everything leads to that guess of mine."
"Thank you, Dot, but I think you're skipping over far too much! Mast.. um, Jim.... JAMES, the change in your eye color and your passing out is very concerning, but both of us feel that you're not in any danger. Dot is going to lend me her portable EEG machine so I can measure your brain activity the next few nights. For now, all we can do is assume what your brain is doing. But based on your reaction, something has happened, right?"
Taking a deep breath and exhaling, I told them all about the fight and my feeling that I was going to get hit, as well as what I was sensing about my dad. I sensed something wrong the moment I saw him for no good reason that I could think of, and I was still feeling it.
Everyone grew silent, then Dani said, "Oh, honey, I'm so scared."
Andrea said, "Dani, trust me please, James will be fine. I know you have every right to be mad at me right now because I may have done this to him, but both Dot and I know what he was given was inherently safe. Yes, he's that one in a billion where he grew much larger than anticipated, but we suspected there might be positive changes to the brain as well. Mainly in terms of increased IQ. His IQ did increase, but apparently his brain changed slightly as well. There are no tumors or masses, so he's fine. Now we need to figure out how his brain works."
Dani started to tear up a bit and finally hugged Andrea. I could hear her tell Andrea thank you.
We all talked the next few minutes before Andrea collected the EEG machine from Dot.
As we walked to the door, Dot said, "Now, Andie, don't be a stranger! We need to meet up for a drink soon!"
They hugged one another and Andrea kissed her on the cheek. They whispered to one another before I saw Dot start laughing! As Andrea turned to leave, Dot smacked her the ass. Andrea turned to Dot, but you could tell she sort of liked it. Shaking her head, Andrea walked to the car with a small smile on her face.
Once in the car, I asked Andrea, "So.... how long were you lovers?"
The shock on her face was priceless, but she knew that I knew.
Sighing she said, "A few months. You probably guessed, but she's gay. She was my first bisexual experience and I had a wonderful time, but it was interfering with our work. So ultimately I had to put a stop to it. She understood, but we both always wondered 'what if?', you know?"
All I could do was nod my head.
She said, "But enough of that, let's head home."
