I made Kady an appointment to see Sierra's therapist, Dr. Bill. I figured that with her history of abuse and neglect (and make no mistake, she was abused and neglected), she needed to talk to someone about it.
Bassy and Madison's daughter walked into the room and owned it. Seriously. She sat in there and faced the therapists, her hands and legs primly crossed. She's the daughter and granddaughter of performers on both sides of her family. If she is not a consummate performer, then I don't know what is.
"Good morning, Kaydence," Dr. Bill greeted her as he walked in.
But Dr. Bill, through his years of experience with adolescent clients, eased her in. "Before I begin, I read through your record and through the court papers, and I want to say, I am so, so sorry for what happened to you."
"What happened to you should not have happened to any child, and you've seen things that no child should ever see. It changed who you are and who you've become. You did not deserve it and it was not your fault in any way."
Dr. Bill's comforting words seemed to be what Kaydence needed to hear, because she warmed up to him after that.
Remember I told you guys that she was actually looking forward to spilling her beans on the couch? Well, unlike when my daughter Sierra went in there and basically gave Dr. Bill a staredown for an hour, it was, drop the mic, Kaydence is motoring a mile a minute, everybody shut up.
Let's face it, the girl could talk your head off if you let her. Especially if it's about something she's interested in.
Dr. Bill wasn't alone, either. He'd brought a friend of his with him, celebrity new-age counselor and head of Bridgeport's department of children and family services, Ayanna Coopersmith. She specializes in abuse cases, particularly in abuse cases involving the children of celebrities - and Kady is definitely the child of celebrities.
So after Kaydence finished talking to him, and he took copious notes, he decided to bring in Ms. Coopersmith.
Kaydence was initially suspicious of Ms. Coopersmith, too, but eventually she warmed up to her. One thing about Kaydence, and I think this is a by-product of what happened to her, is that she is suspicious of strangers, but eventually after they prove that she can trust them, she warms up to them.
"Is there anything you'd like to talk to me about, Kaydence?" Ms. Coopersmith began, raising her eyebrows.
Kaydence looked at Ms. Coopersmith and didn't say anything.
"Dr. Bill has briefed me on your history, you were born in Starlight Shores, your parents are the actor Sebastian "Bassy" Plumb and the vocal legend Madison Avenue. Your parents were very busy with their showbiz lives, so you spent a good deal of your childhood alone. Your mother said to your face that she did not want you. They argued constantly throughout your childhood, and they split just after your sixth birthday. They were in court for the better part of a year wrangling over custody of you, which was won by your father, who himself proved to be quite unstable especially with money. For the last couple of years, before his surprise wedding to Cherise Hall, you, Kaydence, attempted to handle his financial matters. Then, your father after basically being broke, having mostly blown through his entire fortune, got a role on an internet TV show, and you were sent to live with your aunt, Savannah Plumb Cheesman, where you have been for the most part ever since. Do I have the story correct?"
Kaydence nodded.
"That's some story, Kaydence. That's some story for such a young girl. Have I left anything out?"
Kaydence shook her head no.
"Enough about your history. According to your records, you seem to be very bright. You held down an acting job, you had many extracurricular activities in high school, drama club, music club, debate club, newspaper club, and you still managed to make straight A's. You're in college after scoring a 2045 out of a possible 2400 on the university aptitude test. You became the youngest recipient of the university's prestigious honors scholarship. Have you declared a major yet?"
"No, I haven't."
"Your aunt tells me that you like to write. She tells me about this imaginary world you created, very elaborate, I'm told."
When Kaydence started talking about her utopia, she started smiling. "It's a beautiful place," she began, "with pastel skies, rainbows, a special dew that emanates from life-size flowers, and the bluest, cleanest water you'll ever see or drink. Absolutely no pollution whatsoever. The dew makes your skin change colors for a few hours. And everyone walks around hugging each other, so very friendly and happy. It takes place in a dimension a hundred years into the future, so a lot of the residents are actually technically advanced robots that have a lot of different functions."
As Kaydence continued articulating her vision of a technological utopia, with her alter ego Astra Blythe as its ruler, Dr. Coopersmith listened with decided interest. She realized, as I had, that she was not dealing with an ordinary girl. She would be extraordinary even if she wasn't who she is.
What she didn't tell Dr. Coopersmith was that she'd already taken the steps to try to make her 'special place' tangible and real, that she'd already sought the services of one Emit Relevart and gone time-traveling. I'm not sure this experienced therapist would be able to believe that one.
"When did you start creating this place in your mind?" Dr. Coopersmith asked.
"I think I was five," Kaydence replied.
"So right around the time your parents were splitting up. Basically it was a means of escape for you. Sometimes when traumatic things happen to kids, they cope by escaping into fantasy. This sounds exactly like what's happened here. It sounds like what you have is called a paracosm, an elaborate, detailed fantasy world that you began creating as a child and you've continued to add to over the years. Have you been writing about this place?"
Kaydence admitted that yes, she had begun a novel and was planning a series of novels based on her utopia.
"How far are you into writing it?"
"I'm almost done with the first book," she replied proudly.
When she'd finished talking with Kaydence, she raved to me about how bright, poised, and articulate she is - but she also said that it was evident to her that Kaydence - a consummate actress - was masking her pain through work and accomplishment.
Apparently she's inherited my brother's chameleon-like talent.
"I'd like to see her again next week," Ms. Coopersmith said.
