She and I had a secret, but I didn’t know what it was.

The second feeling was of responsibility. I could feel slight tension in my shoulders and I knew I had made a commitment, possibly a lifetime agreement. With that feeling was another . . . a feeling of secu­rity.

I would serve Her and she would care for me.

With these feelings came a new freedom. I could relax. I had only to carry out my assigned tasks. I felt lighter and freer than I ever had. Life would be easier from now on. I would be told where to go and when. I had no urgencies, no worries. I had an important mission, and as a Chosen One, I was here at Lewis’s for a purpose. I would be told when to leave.

Lewis would be home tomorrow.

I poured more lavender skin softener into the bath and began to scrub and shave.

I would be leaving Lewis. But not quite yet.

LEWIS GREGORY: “I got home about four in the afternoon and she was asleep in the bedroom. At first I thought she was drunk, or drugged or something. I couldn’t wake her up. I shook her and slapped her a little bit, gently, you know, not hard or anything. I really started to get scared. She was barely breathing. When I put a cold washcloth on her forehead, her eyelids flickered a little bit, and I got a few sounds out of her. I checked the medicine cabinets, and the kitchen, and couldn’t find anything she could have eaten, or taken, that would do this to her, so I just kind of waited. I brought my suitcase in and sat down and watched her. And slowly she woke up. She just woke up. Jeez, I’ve seen heavy sleepers before, but . . .

“By five-­thirty, she was pretty aware, and by dinnertime she was active and nervous. It was strange. It was like watching something . . . regenerate. A flick­er of the eyelids, and then slow, groggy movement, and finally awareness. It was strange. Reptilian, I guess you’d say.

“I was tired from driving, and by nine, I was ready to go to bed. She said she wasn’t, and stayed up all night watching television, I think. Anyway, in the early morning hours, I felt her crawl into bed with me. When the alarm went off at six-­thirty, I tried to wake her up, I was . . . you know . . . glad to see her, but she was out again.

“I’d never seen anyone sleep like that before. She didn’t sleep like that before I left for California. I had time to get used to it, though, because it never changed. Up all night watching television, asleep all day long. She slept right through Christmas Day. New Year’s, too. I’d be up half the night just trying to be with her . . . I got so run down, I almost got fired.