he waited at the kitchen table for
her return from an appointment
he used to take herdidnt mind
waiting in the antechamberhad his fabric briefcase books paper clipboard pens
inside it he could keep himself entertained
she asked him to stop taking her
there
Stop
Yes. Please.
Why
Because Im asking you.
No no theres something more to it
There isn’t. I’m asking you.
We said when we began dating we
wouldnt lie to each other
Youre
lying to me I can feel it
Why
meekly she cleared her throat The doctor asked. He’s uncomfortable with you
sitting outside his office, in such close proximity to him.
He knows you do not like him.
Because hes not doing his job
How does
he know that
she looked at the ground at her
feet
You told him
I told him.
When you talk with your
psychiatrist youre supposed to be talking about your depression not me
You
cant represent me If he has a question he can ask me
He doesn’t like you.
I don care
Which should matter to you Hes
supposed to be caring forhelping you however has timewere paying for to express an
opinion or opinions about me
He believes you exacerbate my
depression . .
. . Quick solution divorce
Im out of your hair but
more importantly out of his Are you kiddin
me under his breath Full of
shit Ive told you a contractorYOU hires a
subcontractor the subcontractor isnt doing the job or cant do the job the
contractor fires him an finds another
Youre two years in with this guy an growing more depressed an are now
OCD obsessive compulsive which you didnt exhibit in almost twenty years of
marriage until Now
Now
Please don’t be this way. I need
him.
he left work Thursdays a halfhour early his boss was displeasedDonbe Yaint
payin me the timethas my loss to be home
shower begin dinner sip a beer read while waiting for her to come home
How did your
appointment go
I don’t want to talk about it.
she didnt want to talk about it for
the fiveanahalf months he quit taking her in
Can I get you a Pepsi
Please she couldnt drinkshouldnt drink alcohol on
the medications
he knew the next step it was a dance
shed set her purse on the table then walk up the hall to the bedroom go
into her dresser look for her brightorange plastic pill organiser
shed come out emptyhanded
accuse him of moving it
she took her morning pills before
he went to work
he watched where she absentmindedly
set it down
never in the same place
early on he asked Can I help thought Give you a hintwas
terribly tempted to play Youre getting warmer warmer aww getting colder but it
wasnt a game wasnt something to trifle with
he got up and fetched it
You put it there!
No I did not Youll recall our agreement
to be honest
she wouldnt reply
shed take it
from him take a chair at the table and from her purse take out prescriptions then a baggie of other coloured pills
the pill organiser was a 7day 3-times-a-day
moistureproof large compartments travel container
it killed him
when the baggies began Whats with the baggie I don recognise those pills
Are you going through my pills?
No I pickup prescriptions for you
Oh. Yes.
Whas with the baggie
Doctor gave them to me to
samplethey’re free samples, aren’t costing me . .
. . Us arent costing us
Costing us anything.
You check with our pharmacist
to make sure theyre kosher to take with your other medications their drug interaction
The doctor wouldn’t . .
. . The doctor is a psychiatrist not a pharmacist
He knows.
He know he could kill you
JESUS you’re a beast . .
. . Who loves you Who doesnt want to see you harmed
Can you please trust me?
I trust you
I don trust him
Has it ever occurred to youto him tha your depression drugs youre taking thaya might be treatment resistant I don know
if thas a thing though you seem resistant your depression plateaued but is perceptively slipping You havent had a spike of wellness in a long
time choosing
his word carefully Youve been chaotic
From the outside lookin in babe
I love
you
Why do you love me?
he went around behind her took a
knee put his arms around her whispered in her ear Youre
my girl Im hopelessly in love with you Ive
been hopelessly in love with you since I had the courage to tell you I was an I
was in love with you for a while before I said I was
We
fit so well together
he stood put his hands on
her shoulders
she
halfturned in the chair lookedup at him tears in her eyes
You
know I love you.
I know you do
Well beat this Well beat it together
1430, Thursday,
16 3. 23
2141, Saturday,
24 6. 23
she diedconvulsed to death in the
hospital from a drug she hadnt a prescription for
her Doctor said he didnt keep that drug in his office
She must have
got it off the street.
