CHAPTER
15 - AFTERMATH pt 4
* *
*
This chapter is Rated: EVERYONE
At first I couldn't play the piano.
I went over to sit down but a big male orderly came to me and literally lifted me off the seat by my elbows, my legs in mid-air and said no, it was only for people who could play music.
I told him that I can play music. An assistant from the main office stepped out and said, sure, let him try. And so I did, I played some of the music my Guardian taught me years ago. And it was good.
So I was invited to play every evening, which encouraged my opinion about staying. But then I realized I wouldn't have access to BBSs (system prior to Internet). Still ...
I was getting ready for bed but my doctor, clearly he had to be, he was the same one that argued with my Dad earlier, knocked on my door and came in without waiting for an invitation.
"Yessir ?" I said.
He closed the door behind me and sat on the side of the bed beside me and put his hand on the covers where my bare knee would be. I tugged Susan tighter to me, a little frightened.
"David," he began, "Have you given some serious thought to what I offered you earlier ?"
"About staying ?" I asked.
"Yes, that and, the fact you'll always be welcome here. I - we've - grown rather fond of you - and we'll miss you if you go. Professionally I think you won't get any greater help than here, I'd like to - help you - settle in - but the decision is yours."
And he stood up suddenly, agitated, "The decision is NOT your Father's ! If you want to stay he can't say anything about that, so this truly is up to you."
He turned to regard me, "I have the paperwork prepared when you're ready. Just come to me in my office. You really are very welcome to stay here."
And with that he opened up my door and left closing it quietly behind him, with a loud metallic click.
I looked to Susan. Sometimes you had to look for a minute without blinking your eyes. Just then I saw her crinkle her eyes and they took on a beautiful depth like crystals and she spoke in that sweet little girl's voice I was so familiar with, "David. You can't stay here."
"Why ?" I asked her.
Susan continued, stirring in my covers, "If you stay, you'll never see life. Life hurts, it hurts everyone, but part of that pain is to see and to know things you never knew before. You wouldn't want to be stop seeing that, would you ?"
"No, Susan." I said. And nodded, but I so - wanted - some kind of structure in my life, and I cried for the absence of it, all these years it seems.
She reached over with her paw and touched my face where it was wet with tears, "Listen to me, David. I know what's best for you. Always come to me for advice when you need it, and I'm here for you."
I was going to say something in reply but suddenly my door clicked metal again. Someone was entering ! In a flash I was under the covers and jammed Susan under there too. I didn't want her talking to me while I had a visitor cause that was always a secret private thing with me in the past.
It was a nurse I hadn't seen before and she had a little Dixie cup of water and a pill on a little plastic tray.
"What ?" I asked.
She explained, "Your doctor put you on a new medication. You have to take it every night now while he cares for you."
"Do I have to ?" I asked.
I found rather quickly she had no patience, "Yes you have to !" she said raising her voice, "Or do you want me to put in rectally ?"
"Rectal ... rectum ... ahhm - up my - butt ?" I said carefully.
She nodded and gave me a wicked smile placing the little white pill before my eyes while patting her hand on the side of my covers where my hips were. She meant it !
I swallowed hard, "No ma'am !" I said and took the pill from her fingertips and swallowed it and then drank the water.
"Lemme see." she said and I knew what she wanted. I opened my mouth.
"Tongue up." she said. Apparently some patients really did try not to take their meds while they were here.
I raised up my tongue. I swallowed it like I was supposed to.
"That's fine. Are you comfortable ?"
I nodded and leaned back in bed. Then she started to strap me in like my first day but I protested, "Hey !"
She let go of the straps and looked at me. I scrounched Susan up out of the covers and closer against my face to show I really wasn't a dangerous fellow. To emphasize I wiggled her arm up at her.
"Hello !" I heard Susan say cheerfully up to her which totally surprised me.
I was a little upset, she was only supposed to talk to me ! "Susan ! You promised to only talk to me ! Remember ?"
The nurse opened her mouth to say something but then closed it again while giving me a really quizzical look. Finally she poufed out a sigh, "Fine, whatever." and left. My door was on a heavy spring so it closed again with a loud metallic click. Probably locked.
And then Susan's eyes got shiny and plastic and she stopped moving. She was done talking for the night, and that was enough for me.
The next day it was a real effort to get out of bed when I was called for breakfast. I was really groggy and when I walked I was unsteady having to lean against the walls. Fortunately, unlike the floor below where everyone wanted to know about you and how they could take advantage of you, no-one here did that and I was left alone.
My doctor was right there to help me and kept me from falling down. I said I was dizzy and he said that I was just getting used to the medicine he prescribed for me, but it will help with the disturbing voices in my head.
"But they doesn't disturb me." I countered back.
"But you ARE hearing them, right ? - her - your doll - Susan." he confirmed.
"Well, yeah." I said, "But she's always supportive and gives me good advice."
He nodded, "Nonetheless if you are hearing her talking to you, then you are not well and definitely not fit enough to leave here, do you understand ? It's for your own good."
I nodded back and went through most of the day with him making sure I didn't fall down.
I also noticed the other doctors were especially nice to me, I guess to butter me up and coaxing me into staying. The Dr even showed me where I could have my 'conjugal' visits with Rose and I could have my privacy with her.
In the room there was a large table, a pillow on it, and a sleeping roll tied up to the side. He said, "You can - meet - with Rose in here, and do - what you feel you need to. Just knock on the door when you're done."
"I'll then ask you a few important questions about her visit each time and what you've done. I want to know more about you. I understand it's important for you to be with Rose and we can work that into your treatment plan, okay ? You have to trust me, David."
I looked and there was a huge mirror on one wall that had a dark look to it, like it was thicker than a regular mirror. I realized immediately it was a one-way mirror and likely I would be under observation in the room and that gave me a weird tight feeling in my chest. Especially if we did some of the things ... that I couldn't talk about.
If he saw what me and her did I'd NEVER leave, I was certain of it !
I nodded, but I didn't have the heart to tell him that me and Susan already decided to go with Dad.
And when I did leave, my Dr was nowhere in sight. Dad took advantage of this showing up as a fill-in doctor, all dressed professionally with "Dr. James W." written on a nametag that looked similar to the people who worked at the hospital.
And then Dad had me dress in my regular clothes saying we were going for a, "night out." It was difficult for both him and me as I was so doped up on the medications the Dr had me on.
Dad then had a wheelchair for me and filled my suitcase with my toothbrush and stuff in it. Then he slid it in behind the carry pouch of the wheelchair. Then I sat in the wheelchair with Susan in my lap.
Dad wasted no time and traveling past patients, doctors, and nurses, my own Dr was still not in sight. Dad pushed the wheelchair to the elevator quickly and showed each person paperwork he had prepared for me. He was really gonna get me out of here !
In a way it was sort of exciting, like when Mom kidnapped me and my sister years ago. We were running around homeless and jumping through water fountains at malls and generally making a nuisance of ourselves until the police caught us and she went to court.
Finally we were at a locked door and there was a very serious looking receptionist. Dad handed her his clipboard with paperwork. She spent almost a minute looking it over. What if Dad got caught trying to kidnap me from the hospital ? Would he have to go to jail for pretending to be staff ?
She finally handed it back, "Everything seems in order. Okay, doctor."
Then she leaned over her desk to address me, "David, you have a good time and you be good now. Be back in bed before we lock up ! We close the door here at 9pm sharp ! Don't forget."
I turned to look at Dad with a panicked expression on my face but he gave me a reassuring look like he knew what he was doing. I turned back to face the receptionist and nodded while saying in my nicest voice, "Yes ma'am."
"Have a good evening." she said graciously to my Dad. Dad nodded back at her.
She nodded in return and hit the buzzer and we were gonna leave the hospital finally !
Once outside, Dad beelined the wheelchair straight to his LeMans car. He's got this really neat '66 LeMans car that he always gets offers for. Anyways, I got out of the wheelchair and Dad opened the door for me and I sat in the front seat in the passenger's side. My eyes were burning though because it was so bright out here and likely that was from the medication I was on.
Dad didn't even bother to return the wheelchair and yanking my suitcase from the back, he tipped the wheelchair on its side on the pavement while throwing my carry case in the trunk.
He kept looking over his shoulder to see if anyone was following us. Apparently he might've lied or something about the paperwork he gave her. I worried about that cause Dad was such an honest guy all the time.
Seeing no-one was there, he tore off his nametag without bothering to unpin it first, tearing his nice shirt and then threw it on the pavement, rather angrily, I thought, as it plackled against the ground, and then we screeched out of the parking lot throwing up little pebbles in the process and I think running over the nametag if the truth be known.
We first stopped at a gas station so I could get a snack, whatever I wanted. I grabbed another biggo Snicker's and a NEHI Grape Soda. Then Dad and me went in the bathroom to fix up my hair a bit cause it was a terrible mess since I was started on the Dr's meds.
I told Dad the sunlight hurt my eyes and he nodded. There was a pair for sale at the gas station along with some umbrellas and those disposable raincoats. He bought the sunglasses for me. I took off my regular glasses and handed them to Dad and put on the sunglasses.
And then we were off to Michelle's and we all went out to eat at Denny's to celebrate and I had REAL COFFEE to wake me up, not that cheap stuff decaffeinated crap from the hospital, which was a definite treat as in the ward no patient was permitted to have caffeinated coffee, and that left me rather sleepy in the day.
A few days later Dad had me sign a bunch of other stuff saying that I fully agreed with my Dad's decision to leave the hospital, AGAINST my doctor's advice and that I WASN'T going to take the medication he prescribed for me because Dad said it was bad for me, some kind of psychotropic tranquilizer, and that was the last I saw of my Dr and the ward !
Thus ends my account of being in the mental ward. Now we enter a shaky but interesting territory, pure FICTION, what happened the day BEFORE the bomb scare, where ultimately, I marry Nancy.
Now, they way I had this written is it just jumps straight into it, but I'm gonna merge this next part with the chapter following, so the NEXT chapter after this will be fictional and maybe a bit bigger than you are used to, but it will rewrite my final day, and - I will also work in some elements from past school in here.
END
OF CHAPTER 16
prev chapter
![[send message]](https://www.writerscafe.org/images/mail.png){kind=small}
![[befriend]](https://www.writerscafe.org/images/friend.png){kind=small}
Share This
Email
Facebook
Twitter
Read Request
My Library
Flag Writing
