Put on The Red Dress

Veronica Eberly woke up in a hospital bed in Santa Barbara with broken bones and a bad concussion. The nurse said she had been hit in a crosswalk by a drunk driver and had undergone surgery to reduce the pressure on her brain. Veronica remembered nothing of the ordeal—or her past. A few days later, the hospital's young social worker, Kevin Lawrence, interviews her and uses her driver's license to find out where she came from so he can search for emergency contacts. Kevin shows her a photo ID from a mental health clinic in Pomona, California he found in her wallet. He is surprised to learn that Veronica, at age twenty-three, has been a practicing clinical psychologist for two years. Veronica said she had resigned her position after disagreeing with the clinic manager about the use of antidepressants and anti-anxiety meds for young patients. She came to Santa Barbara to contemplate her future then decided to stay and look for work. She was on her way to her first interview when the hit-and-run occurred. Six weeks later, after regaining her mobility at a short-stay convalescent hospital, Veronica is offered a position at the Babcock Family Clinic. The clinic manager, Henry Babcock, a psychiatrist, agrees with her "no drugs/talk therapy/physical activities" approach and welcomes her to the practice. But first, she needs to return to Pomona to pack up her belongings. As she fills the moving boxes, she finds three, thigh-length red dresses, a purple and red-streaked wig, spike heels, high black boots, and skimpy red lingerie—and has no idea where they came from or why she would buy such revealing outfits. She also discovers jewelry and receipts for the dresses and lingerie in the drawer of her bedside table which jog her memory. But other finds are a mystery to her. What did she do in her free time during those two months she looked for work in L. A. and failed? With the help of Dr. Wilkins, a Santa Barbara hypnotherapist, Veronica is able to retrieve a number of memories previously lost to her. The session reveals she did some odd things, totally out of character. Aided by Dr. Wilkins, Veronica discovers why. She makes another appointment to suss out what she knows about her parents—and last, to confirm the name and location of her aunt who became her legal guardian when she was five years old. What did her aunt tell Veronica about her background and her father's death when she visits her in Los Angeles? And after Kevin's untimely death, how did Darwin Seager, a former Navy Lieutenant and now assistant manager of the swim club Veronica joined, help to uncover the mystery of her mother's disappearance? Veronica's struggle to recall what she had forgotten results in both success and tragic disappointment, tests her ability to weather grief, and opens her heart to love again.