"You introduced me to Edward, not the other way around!" - She protested - "I met you at the clinic, remember? Lording it over everyone, as usual." - She laughed bitterly and I shot her a warning glance, afraid that she might provoke Isabel into violent action - "Anyways, you were wearing precisely what you have on today, down to the tiniest detail. Even the brooch is the same, if I can tell." And so it went. All three were able to fend off Isabel's fiendish challenges with accurate responses. Finally, evidently exhausted, she conceded defeat: "Though my heart informs me differently, my head prevails and I am forced to accept that you are my true family. I hereby offer you the prostrate apologies that I have promised to make before." - She sprang abruptly from her seat - "And now, I am tired, I must sleep." - She ignored her husband's clumsy attempt to kiss her on the cheek and, not bidding farewell or good night to any of us, she exited the room in an apparent huff. /*4. Post-Mortem*/ "What did you make of what you have just witnessed?" Isabel snuck into the guest bedroom and settled into an overstuffed armchair at a penumbral corner. She was still wearing the same dress, though her jewelry was gone. I watched her reflection in my makeup mirror, as I was removing the war paint from my face, clad in my two-part, lilac-strewn pajamas. I felt naked and embarrassed and violated. "They did pretty well." - I hedged my answer, not sure where she might be leading. "They did rather too well." - She triumphantly proclaimed, her eyes shining. "What do you mean by that?" - I enquired, my curiosity genuinely awakened. "Pray, tell me, what was I wearing when we first met?" I couldn't conjure the image, no matter how hard I tried. "I am not sure." - I finally admitted defeat "What was the color of the curtains in your mother's kitchen?" "White, with machine embroidered strawberries or raspberries or something of the sort." "What was the first horror movie that you have seen?" "I can't be expected to remember that!" - I exclaimed. "Of course you can't, dear. No one can. You'd be lucky to get one response out of three correct, you know." - She agreed - "This is the point I am trying to make. Didn't you find my family's omniscience and total recall a trifle overdone? Didn't you ask yourself for a minute how come they are all blessed with such supreme, marvelous memories?" She sounded distant and heartbroken as she said: "I have changed my will, you know. They couldn't fool me with their slick off-the-cuff ready-made know-it-all responses! It's all yours now. Sleep well, my true friend and, henceforth, my only heir!." She glided over and kissed me on the cheek, once, like a butterfly alighting. ***** I was woken up by a wet kiss planted on my lips by Isabel's husband. "What do you think you are doing?" - I hissed and withdrew to the top of the bed - "If you don't leave the room this instant, I will scream!"