CopyrightΒ© January, 2011 by Mendon Fishers
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My name is Vivian Cunningham-White and I'm not crazy.
I have been in this mental institution for almost ten years but I don't belong here. Right now it is early morning, my meds from yesterday have worn off and I'm lying here in my bed pretending to be a sleep. I hope if I stay quiet no one will notice that I'm awake and almost normal. That way they won't give me another pill and put me back in the dark.
Almost normal? That's what I feel like now. My mind is a little fuzzy but I can actually think. I can feel the hard mattress under me, the cheap cotton bra and panties I am given to wear, the shapeless one piece dress I am forced to wear all the time. And best of all I can remember. I remember my life before.
I close my eyes and listen to the early morning sounds of this institution. The sounds of the other women sleeping, the sounds that the insane make at night, and somewhere behind some locked door, a sundowner is howling in the dark. Sundowner is the term that the attendants label those poor souls whose brain activity is so limited that they howl at the moon when the sun goes down. It is not a nice term, but it fits them to a tee.
I'm not exactly sure when I started to become aware of my surroundings. But one night I woke up and had to use the bathroom. Usually I just went, right in my bed because I was so drugged, I just didn't know the difference. But this one morning, I got up and used the toilet in the corner. Somewhere there was going to be a very happy orderly later that day because she had no mess from me to clean up.
I have been remembering more and more every day but I can't let any of the nurses or attendants know this. If they find out, my meds will be increased and I will fade back into oblivion. I have been able to figure out that this is a state run institution by what I can see or hear going on around me. The help only does the minimum necessary to keep their jobs. The rooms and equipment are poorly maintained or needing replacement. The state hides the mental patients away to prevent upsetting "the normals."
I wonder why I am here. I remember being a Senior VP in a large corporation. I was making serious money in my job. I was married and my husband worked for the federal government. We lived on a small farm outside of a large western NY State City with our two children. My husband was a stay at home Dad, working with all his computers in his office. Me, I was picked up by chauffer every morning and driven to the Company Headquarters and returned home at night. I was climbing the corporate ladder and ignoring everything and everyone else. I had become a self-centered bitch.
I can remember now how everything started. I was single and working for a local tool and die company. It was a small company owned privately by a Mr. Franklin Potter. He was the founder and a very kind gentleman. When I started with the company Mr. Potter was in his 60's and still working every day. He was in his office by 7:00 am and still there at 7:00pm. All the employees love him because of his treatment of them. If anyone called him "Mr. Potter", they got a dressing down.
"My name is Frank! My father was Mr. Potter and he's dead now," was usually how the dressing down began. When he finished, he smiled and said, "Please?"
I was hired as a front office employee. My job was to be a secretary, personal assistant, switchboard operator, gofer and basically a "Girl Friday" for all the men working in the front office. It was a small company and everyone pitched in.
I met my husband Phil at a Starbucks near where I worked. Physically he was exactly the type of man I was drawn to. He was 6' tall and around 200 pounds. He wasn't a bit fat, but looked as if he had a hard body under his suit. As far as the rest of the package was concerned, he had dirty blond hair, a pleasant smile and the softest brown eyes I had ever seen. When our eyes met the first time, I felt as if I was looking into soul of a small puppy. His eyes appeared to want to worship me. I think I fell a little bit in love with him then.
I didn't actually stalk him, but I started showing up at Starbuck's daily. I soon figured out his Starbucks schedule and I was right next to him in line. That graduated to sharing a table, then meeting for lunch and finally, after a couple of months, a real date. It's not that Phil was shy, he would do anything I asked. It's just that he never took the initiative. I had to ask him for anything I wanted. But to his credit, if I asked, he immediately did it for me. He never complained or reneged.
I just assumed that he would soon know my likes and dislikes and I wouldn't need to ask. I was a selfish bitch. I wanted it my way and only my way.
It took about six months before I had to make the first move. Now I wasn't a virgin or anything, I was a "nice" girl. But Phil was driving me nuts! He would walk me to my apartment door, kiss me until my knees were weak, and then LEAVE!
I knew he was feeling something because I could feel his excitement pressing against me while we kissed. But damn it, he wouldn't make the necessary moves. Batteries for my electronic lover were become a major part of my budget!
One night I was just too horny. When we got back to my apartment I dragged him by that lump in his pants through the door and right into my bedroom. I'd like to say that the first time was great, but I'd be lying. The first time got the job done, by the time, (well actually the next three times) that night were over, I found out that Phil really knew his way around a girl's body. I was one happy girl.
My apartment lease ran out four months later, and I moved into Phil's small house. We started our life together.
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The door to my small room opened and a female attendant entered. "Ok honey, it's time to get up, take your meds and get cleaned up."
I slowly stood up as if I was still medicated. She had me strip naked and start walking to the shower room. The medication cart was at the shower room door and she handed me a small paper cup with my two pills in it. I put the pills in my mouth as she watched. When she turned to put the water on, I spit the pills into my hand. Once in the shower I opened my hand and let the pills wash down the drain.
She washed me down not seeing the pills fall.
I was starting my way out of my drug induced stupor. A fleeting thought crossed my mind, "What if I need these pills to stay alive." But then I really didn't care if I lived or died. I just wanted my mind back.
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My next memory to return was after about 10 years of married life. I had two children, twins a boy and a girl. Phil and I had a nice house in the country. It sat on 20 acres of rolling hills. We had a pool and a small horse barn with two horses. We had no close neighbors. Phil was a stay at home Dad. He still did something for the government. I never actually paid much attention to his work. All I knew was that it was for an intelligence agency like the CIA or NSA or something. My job was a lot more important, or so I thought.
I should have suspected something because every once in a while a man would appear at our front door asking for Phil. The man would be carrying a briefcase that was chained to his wrist.
As the time passed, Mr. Potter sold the business. He had two children but they had no interest running a small firm. So our little tool and die company was absorbed by a larger out of state company. None of the original employees lost their jobs. To be exact, our front office soon was home to some more important people for our new parent company. The business thrived and my duties increased. The merger of this business happened three more times in that ten year span. Each time I got more responsibilities, but I was traveling at least two or three weeks a month toward the end.