Doctor Carlo and Brandon - 8. More Marlow Appointments, and Life Settles Down

Karl brought Calvin and Barry in for their appointments a week after the funerals. Having child patients, we had a separate room with toys and books appropriate for all ages. It was in sight of the nurse I shared with a few other doctors. Barry played in there while I spoke to Cal. Karl remained in my office with us.

"How do you like living with your uncle?"

"I like it, I guess. I don't have a choice, right?"

"Not really, but what other choice would you prefer?"

"Being with Mommy. But that's not really a choice."

"No, I'm sorry, that isn't. Aside from missing your mother, is there anything you don't like about living with him?"

Cal looked at Karl.

"It's okay Cal, if there's something, I want to know, so I can fix it."

"It's nothing bad. I guess because we were staying with Grandpa, I was sharing a room with Becky. I have my own room now, but I get lonely."

I continued, "Would you rather share a room now?"

"Yes. I like Barry a lot. I think, it would be fun."

Now facing Karl, "The state requires a foster child to have a room available for just him, but there's enough flexibility for the parent or parents, so they don't have to use it if the child prefers other arrangements. Would you be alright with letting them share, Karl?"

Karl looked a little uncomfortable, "Yes, but there's a reason, I haven't done that."

"What reason?"

"Can I tell you between appointments? It's embarrassing for Barry."

"Okay. Maybe when we talk to Barry, we can see if he'd be okay telling Cal. You may be surprised."

"That's fair."

"Is there anything else about living with your uncle that makes you uncomfortable?"

"No. I'm pretty happy otherwise."

After a few more minutes together, I concluded that Cal was adjusting as well as could be expected. Then I took him to the playroom, told Barry I'd be back for him in a minute, and went back to ask Karl what the reason was.

"Barry occasionally wets the bed. I wouldn't want him to be more embarrassed about it than he already is."

"Does young Karl know this?"

"Yes. He teased Barry about it a couple times before I convinced him not to."

I didn't like the sound of that, "How exactly did you convince him?"

He read my concern, "Nothing physical. I threatened taking away his electronics for two months if he did it again."

"Ah, severe enough to send the message, but not harmful in any way."

"Right."

I left to bring Barry in.

"Hello Barry. How are you feeling about Aunt Janet, your grandfather, and cousin dying?"

"I get sad about it lots of times. More about Grandpa, but I miss the others too."

"Does Calvin living with you change that in any way?"

"I guess, I miss my aunt more because he's around, but since we lived in South Carolina before, I didn't see them so much. So it's not as bad. Is that wrong?"

"No. You miss loved ones more or less, depending on the closeness of the relationship. If you had relatives in California that you almost never saw, you'd hardly miss them at all."

"I guess, you're right."

"I am. Trust me. I studied very long to be able to sit in this chair and tell my patients things they might not know about themselves yet and be a little smarty-pants about it at times”, I followed that with a wink. “Don’t worry about how much or how little you miss anyone. There are no rules. Everybody is different. Did you see your grandfather often before you started staying with him?"

"He spent the weekend with us every couple of months. We'd visit him maybe twice a year."

I looked at Karl for confirmation, he nodded. I then took the long route to get to the bed-wetting.

"I remember your old house was kind of small. Was it crowded when Grandpa was there?"

"Yeah, I had to sleep with my brother Karl when Grandpa was over."

"How did that go?"

"Um, okay lately."

"Why just lately?"

"The first couple times in the house, he teased me."

"Why was that?"

"Do I have to answer?"

"No, not if you don't want to. I can understand you not wanting to tell on him to your father."

"Dad knows why. It's um, barrising."

"Do you mean embarrassing?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I'm not allowed to tell anybody anything that we talk about. Doctors have to keep their patient's secrets."

"Okay. In the partment, we shared a room but had separate beds. After we moved, when Grandpa visited, I slept with Karl in his big bed. I don't do it all the time, but sometimes I have accidents. Karl teased me about it until Daddy made him stop."

"Calvin shared a room with Becky before. If he wanted to share your room because he was lonely, would that be okay?"

"I only have a small bed. Where would he sleep?"

"I think your father would get you a bigger bed, or maybe even bunk beds."

"Maybe bunk beds would be better. I wouldn't want to have an accident in the same bed. He might tease me too."

"I'm sure, your father wouldn't let him. And if he knew in advance, he wouldn't be surprised the first time."

"It wouldn't be easy telling him."

"Your father and I could help. We're all here together now."

"And you'd tell him, he can't tease me?"

I nodded to Karl.

"Yes. He'd know, he would get punished."

"And I could explain to him that you don't do it on purpose."

"Okay. I think, I'd like sharing my room if he's lonely, and the accidents wouldn't be a problem."

"Okay, I'll go get him, and we can talk about it."

"Okay."

I brought Calvin back in and started the conversation.

"Cal, remember you said, you'd like to share a room with Barry?"

"Yeah. Can I?"

"We need to talk about something first."

"Okay."

I leaned down, so I was at his eye-level, "Sometimes young boys have a little bit of a problem overnight."

"Like not being able to sleep?"

"No. It's not something, they like telling other people about. Some people can be mean about it."

"Okay."

"You wouldn't be mean to Barry if he did something you didn't like, right?"

He forcefully shook his head, "No, never. I wouldn't want to get sent away."

"Your uncle would never send you away."

"Okay. But I still wouldn't be mean."

"So, Barry sometimes has a problem overnight. He doesn't always wake up on time when he needs to pee. You wouldn't tease him about that, would you?"

"No. It hasn't yet at Uncle Karl's, but that happens to me sometimes too. Why would I tease him about something I do too? Mommy said, it wasn't my fault and I'd, um, grow out of it."

"Thanks for sharing that. And your mommy was right. I'm sure that means a lot to Barry. I think your uncle will let you boys sleep together."

Karl added, "With some rules about bedtimes."

"Mommy told Becky and me, we had to quiet down by a certain time. Rules like that?"

"Exactly."

"That'd be okay."

"Good. Barry, would you follow those rules too?"

"Yes. We had to be quiet after we went to bed in the partment."

"It's apartment. You want to sound smart, right?"

"Yes. A-part-ment."

"Great. Okay, does anybody have any questions before you go home?"

Nobody did. We said goodbye after agreeing to touch base in a couple weeks. Karl, on the other hand, came by again the next day. It was starting to feel like high school again. With regard to seeing Karl more often, anyway.

Showing him in, "Hello again, Karl. Long time no see."

Thinking for a moment, "Yeah, like what, a hundred thousand seconds?"

"That does make it sound longer."

We sat down, and Karl opened the discussion, "You were really good with the boys yesterday."

"Thanks. Obviously, I try to treat them like more like adults than babies."

"They both told me, they felt better after the sessions."

I smiled, "Two more satisfied customers!"

Karl's demeanor changed from happy-go-lucky to concerned, "Want to try for three out of three?"

"Of course. What's on your mind?"

"Probably not a surprise; Stephanie."

"Alright, exactly what about her?"

"I just can't believe how she turned against me so quick. And thinking, I made up the deaths? I just can't figure it out."

"I know, you took her back in after her second divorce, what was her attitude like at first?"

"I don't know. I guess, I'd say ‘distant’. We hadn't made love, but then I wasn't really expecting that to happen quickly. But even just quiet times together, she'd be off somewhere else, apparently lost in her own mind."

"Did you ask her if something was bothering her?"

"A few times, not enough for that to become bothersome. I don't think, anyway."

"And what was generally her response?"

"She'd say, it was nothing, but then I'd see her at times, just sitting in the living room, staring into space."

"Any particular comments she may have made to inadvertently drop clues?"

He thought for a few moments, "I can't be sure, but she'd sometimes mumble things to herself. I could never really make out anything, except for something that didn't make sense. I thought, I heard 'army' a couple times."

"Army. That does seem odd. It may have been something else that sounded like that if she was mumbling."

"I guess. I never really thought about it."

"Try to picture one of those times in your mind. Close your eyes. Breathe slowly. Just picture her sitting in the living room. Her lips are moving but very little sound is coming out. Imagine yourself getting closer. You're watching her lips, listening intently. Hold your breath for a moment, so the only sound you hear is her voice."

I waited a few moments, watching him breathe, then hold his breath. After about a minute, his eyes popped open.

"Argy. She was saying Argy."

"What might that mean?"

"The asshole's name was Argyle."

I kept my immediate thought to myself, 'no wonder he's an asshole.' "So, perhaps she was still hung up on him."

"Yeah, she must have been. Sofia, the nanny, said she'd go out a lot after I left for an appointment. Maybe she was visiting him?"

"It's possible. He could have been trying to poison her against you, hoping she'd come see him more. Did she ever talk about him with you?"

"Nope. Never a word. If she had, 'Argy' would have made sense."

"How about asking how her day was, had she gone anywhere, done anything?"

"I did. Her answer was either 'no, nothing,' or 'just out driving around,' 'shopping.' Things like that."

"Well, you're probably never going to find out for sure why she did what she did, unless she comes back. Based on the goodbye note, I wouldn't count on that happening anytime soon. But you have a viable trigger, Argyle. Grab hold of that, and keep telling yourself, she was talking to him and he convinced her, you were the bad guy."

"I'll give it a try. Like you said, it's something I can key-in on."

We ended the session, with the usual, 'See you in a month, call me if you need to.' He didn't need to.

Life quieted down for the Gordon-Marini and Marlow families. With Karl now in the area, we decided to throw a Halloween party for the kids. Halloween itself was a Wednesday, so the kids pretty much got double; the party being held the Saturday before. We went pretty close to going overboard. The DJ we considered would definitely have made it reach that threshold. With a large backyard, and the weather expected to be warm and sunny, each of the kids attending was allowed to invite one friend, so an outside party was definitely the way to go. Billy and Carla, Petey and Anne DeMarco, Karl's three and Mason came up for the weekend as well with his family. Including friends for the local kids, there were sixteen children between seven and thirteen years old. A variety of costumes were worn, most being related to the latest kids, tween, and teen movie characters.

A surprise visitor also graced us with his presence. There was recently another remake of 'The Invisible Man' on streaming services. It had to be the tenth version by this time, and all of the children were stumped as to who the guy was, wrapped in bandages. Derek and Erik thought, he was a mummy until the theme was explained to them. Why they thought, a mummy would be dressed in Dockers and a polo shirt, nobody knew. The magician/balloon artist was hired, so he wasn't a mystery. The invisible man also only whispered, so nobody would recognize his voice until the unveiling before dinner. Since it was quite warm, Jason Gordon didn't stay wrapped in bandages any longer than was necessary to frustrate the kids. Once the bandages were removed from his face, there were at least four children very happy to see their grandfather. He was a substitute grandfather for Karl's kids as well, so three more were a little happy.

By seven PM, darkness was arriving, and all of the friends and their parents started leaving. The extended family, including Karl's and Mason's families, all stayed a little longer. Mason and his family were driving back the next day and had no deadline. They did leave early enough to get the twins to bed at the Hotel at a reasonable time. Everyone had a good time. We were happy we decided to get everybody together. It definitely wouldn't be the last time we hosted a party for the family. Thanksgiving was only weeks away.

Thanksgiving was preceded by a call from Karl to Carlo's office almost two weeks after the party. As I previously suspected, young Karl now needed to talk. There wasn't much on the questionnaire because Karl wouldn't tell his father exactly what was bothering him. Fortunately, I had an opening the following Monday, just late enough to get young Karl there on time.

Young Karl walked into my office alone. I usually talk to kids first with a parent present, but since I already knew them both, we agreed to let young Karl come in alone.

"Hi Karl. Would you like a drink?"

"No, I'm good. Thanks."

"So, what's on your mind?"

"You don't have to tell my dad what we talk about, do you?"

"I can't. Only if it's something that could cause you physical harm."

"That's good. I'm sure, I'll tell him at some point. I'm just not sure right away is the way to go."

"Well, let's hear what it is and we'll take it from there."

"Okay. Well, I saw Mom the other day, Friday."

"That's when your dad called about the appointment."

"Right. I was out of breath, sweaty, and crying when I got home from school."

"I take it you didn't just see her."

"No. She was waiting outside the school when it let out. Before I got to my bus, she grabbed me and said, I was to come with her. Luckily, she didn't grab me tightly. I was able to break away and run. But I couldn't go back to the school to get on my bus without her seeing me again; so I had to run home. Well, some running, some walking."

"Do you think, she meant you to come with her just to talk?"

"No. I'm pretty sure she meant to take me away. When I ran past her car, it looked like it was loaded with all her stuff."

"And why didn't you want to tell your father?"

"I didn't want him to get mad at me. Maybe I was supposed to go with her."

"I doubt that. If there was some ruling giving her visitation rights, I'm sure, your dad would have told you. Nor would she have felt the need to snatch you from somewhere instead of picking you up at your house."

"I guess. I don't know."

"I do. We have to tell him. What if she tries the same thing with Barry? Do you think, he'd be able to get away as easily?"

He gasped, loudly, "Oh, shit. I didn't think about that. But it would be harder for her to get close enough. At his school, they gather inside and go out to the bus when it's right outside the door. There are guards there too. They don't have guns, though."

"Why would they have guards?"

"I don't know for sure. I went there for a while last year, after we moved here. When I asked other kids about it, some of them thought there were a couple attempts to kidnap some rich kid."

"Still, it's possible she could talk to the staff and let them know she's taking Barry home, or to a doctor's, anything, and they'd let her. Just because your dad gave them the information when he enrolled both of you, it's possible someone wouldn't remember that and let her take one or both of you."

"Maybe. But I'm not sure, she'd want to take Barry."

"Why not?"

"She got angry with him every time he… Uh oh, I don't think, I should say."

"Was it when he wets the bed?"

"Yeah. You know about that?"

"I have spoken with him a few times already, here in the office. I know, you already knew that because of the teasing your dad told me about."

He lowered his eyes to the floor, "Yeah. I was stupid. But I stopped. I even apologized to Barry."

"What did she do when she got angry with him?"

"She'd make him take the sheets off the bed, which was hard for him to do, and bring them to the laundry room."

"That doesn't sound so bad."

"It's not like she let him get dressed and carry them in a laundry basket. He had to do it naked. And …"

I waited a beat to see if he continued, "And what else?"

"Anything that was wet, he had to use his mouth to hold them while he carried them, one at a time, to the laundry room."

"Okay. That would definitely take it out of the 'not so bad' category and changes it to awful. Did she ever do that to you?"

"Only twice when I was a lot younger, maybe five or six? Afterward I hid a plastic garbage bag in my room with a roll of paper towels. In case I did it again, it wouldn't mess the sheets. I'd hide my underpants until I could take them into the bathroom and rinse them out. After a day or so, they went into my hamper. But I only had to do that a few times. I was able to stop after a little while."

“How did you feel about that?”

“I hated it, and I hated her. I hated her more when she made Barry do it.”

"When it happened to Barry, why didn't you tell him, he could do that too?"

"I did, but he forgot a lot. And then when Mom left, Dad never got too upset about it. Except the first time it happened with Barry after she left. Dad caught him taking his things to the laundry room like that. He got really mad at Mom when Barry told him that's how she made him do it. He still brings them to the laundry room himself, but I'm allowed to help him strip the bed and there's a basket in his room to carry them in."

Stephanie was definitely a piece of work. I had to wonder what other irresponsible things Karl, or the kids had to deal with.

"To keep you and Barry safe, we need to tell your dad, so he can inform the schools about what she tried to do. Will you do that?"

"I… I guess. But can you tell him?"

"Yes, if you want me to, but you have to at least start."

"Okay."

With that, I brought Karl into my office.

"Karl and I need to talk to you about what upset him Friday. He's still upset about it, so just listen. Don't get angry. He'll go as far as he's comfortable and I'll pick it up if he needs me to."

"I'm not going to get angry at him."

"That's fine, but you'll still want to control your anger, even if it's not directed at him."

"Who woul…"

I held up my hand, halting Karl, "Just listen first, okay?"

"I got it. Go ahead Karl."

"I was upset when I got home from school on Friday because I saw Mom."

Karl nodded, indicating, he should go on.

"She… she tried to…" He looked at me.

I continued for the boy, "She tried to force him to go with her. He said, it looked like all her stuff was in the car. He wasn't sure if you would get angry at him if he was supposed to go with her."

Karl grit his teeth for the first part of that, but his expression softened at the end. I nodded, indicating, he could speak.

"I wouldn't have gotten angry with you, Karl. Her, maybe. But not you. And if there was some arrangement made for her to be able to see you, we'd have talked about it before it happened."

"That's what Doctor Carlo said. But I didn't know."

"Well, you will if that ever happens. But after a stunt like that, she may not get another opportunity. The schools will be reminded, and the police will know as well."

"You'd have her arrested?"

"I don't know if I could do that, since there probably weren't any witnesses. She may get a warning, but I'll definitely look into getting a restraining order against her."

"So, like, she won't be allowed to come near me?"

"Right. Oh, shit."

I was just as shocked as young Karl was, "Oh, shit, what?"

"Sofia would be there alone with Barry, if Stephanie…"

"Call her. Make sure, Barry's home. If something happened, we'll call the police now."

Karl and I waited impatiently while his father called home. I knew when he relaxed that Barry was home; but I knew, Karl would need confirmation. It came when Karl told her, "Keep him there. If Stephanie shows up, don't let her in."

Karl felt it best that he needed to start the ball rolling on a restraining order immediately. I couldn't argue. I told him to call for another appointment if young Karl felt like he needed one.

Next up - "Holidays, New Year's and Other Resolutions"