Effie

Chapter Thirteen

Mr. Richmond walked into the dark office of Dr. Cohouln. He rubbed his hands together and rubbed them on his arms. Dr. Cohouln's office was always cold and dark. He would think that the Doctor's office would be a cheery place to come to, but he was wrong. He stood in the doorway waiting for Dr. Cohouln to notice his presence.

Finally, Dr. Cohouln looked up. He smiled at Mr. Richmond and motioned for him to take a seat. "What did you want to talk about, Mr. Richmond?"

He sat down and clasped his hands together and placed them in his lap. He sat stiffly in the chair as if waiting to jump and run any minute. "I wanted to talk about my daughter again."

Dr. Cohouln placed what he had been working on down and leaned forward. "What's going on?"

Mr. Richmond took a deep breath and let out, "She came to us two days ago and told us that she can s-see dead people. Dr. Cohouln, I know that that's not normal, but how can we get through this. I don't believe that she can really see them. I think she is - she is going crazy. I shouldn't even be thinking of this! She's my daughter! But after the wreck, my little girl hasn't been the same." He lowered his head and closed his eyes.

Dr. Cohouln waited until he was sure that Mr. Richmond was done. He folded his hands on top of his desk and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry to hear about this, Mr. Richmond, but these things happen to young people. They hit their head in an accident and sometimes they might never go back to their original state."

"But I want my wonderful, little princess back," Mr. Richmond choked on his words.

"I know," Dr. Cohouln nodded sadly. "There is nothing more that I could do for her." Mr. Richmond started to object when Dr. Cohouln cut him off, "I'm sorry, but that's the truth. I've seen this happen so many times and I tried to warn you, but you and your wife wouldn't listen to me. I would advise you to send-"

"No!" Mr. Richmond stood up quickly. "I will not send my daughter - my only daughter - to an asylum. Something might be going on with her head, but that doesn't mean that I can send her there! I'm not and you won't talk me into it!"

Dr. Cohouln stood up. "Sit down, Mr. Richmond. I know that you don't want to give your daughter up, but I'm telling you that's the only option." Dr. Cohouln - with the many years of practice - remained calm in talking to Mr. Richmond.

"What do you mean 'no other option?'" Mr. Richmond's face was red. He didn't know what to do and he sure didn't want to send his daughter off somewhere that he didn't feel safe going himself. Yes, he thought his daughter was going crazy, but he could figure out how to control her craziness. He could do it. He could keep her from the asylum. "I'm going to figure out how to keep my daughter sane with or without your help, Dr. Cohouln." He turned to leave when he looked back and stared at him. "You know how to reach me when you come to a conclusion."

"Mr. Richmond, I can assure you that you won't want your daughter once you realize what she'll do." Dr. Cohouln sat back down and sighed. "Her head's not right. That means that she won't do normal things. She won't be your same daughter again."

Mr. Richmond's hand was on the door handle, but he never moved. Instead, he stared at the floor and thought about what Dr. Cohouln said. He was right. She wouldn't be the same again, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't love her any less.

Dr. Cohouln rummaged through a drawer before pulling out a card and walking over to Mr. Richmond. He handed the card out and motioned for him to take it. "I know you love her, Mr. Richmond, but think of her. She'll be miserable at home. Take this card and think about it. Once you made your decision, come back and let me know, or go to this address."

Mr. Richmond looked down at the card in his hand and reached forward and grabbed it.