Extracted
By Karen Singer
Doctor Christopher Faucet shook Agatha Marsh’s hand, then
he turned and shook Stephen’s hand. As
he did, he continued sizing the boy up.
A big one. So big that he
probably played football. What surprised
him at that moment though was how uncomfortable the boy seemed to feel about
shaking his hand. As if he was
unfamiliar with the simple action. And
did he get a sense of…meekness from the boy?
He couldn’t be sure.
He turned to Mrs. Marsh.
“He’s plenty old enough that I can talk to him by himself. Do you have a problem with that, or do you
feel that you need to be there?”
“Old enough? Huh!”
Agatha grunted. “If only that were
true. Tell you what. Why don’t you talk to him for a bit and see
what you think, then call me in and we can discuss it together.”
The doctor was dubious.
“I’m not sure I can divulge much of what we discuss,” he warned her.
“Oh, that’s fine!” Agatha replied. “But something tells me we’ll have plenty to
discuss, no matter what.”
Curious now, the doctor nodded his agreement. “Come on Stephen. Let’s go into my office for a little while
and talk about whatever is bothering you.”
Nancy looked at the woman who was supposed to be her
mother, then followed the doctor into his office. The doctor closed the door and motioned
toward one of the chairs in the room for her to sit in. He grabbed his notepad and pen from his desk
and sat across from her.
“Stephen,” the doctor said. “Does anyone call you Steve?”
“Neither one is my name.
I’m not Stephen…or Steve.”
The doctor raised his eyebrows. “Oh?”
“My name is Nancy.
Nancy Stiller. And I’m not this
huge monster of a guy. I’m a twelve year
old girl. My father is Michel Stiller,
the congressman from New York. And I’m
stuck in this stupid ugly ogre’s body…and I just want to be me again!”
The doctor was shocked.
Multiple personalities? That was
unusual, but he’d worked with several of them before. “I see,” he said as he took further note of
the person in front of him. Hm…he didn’t
exactly sit like a boy as old as he probably was. “Nancy,” he said. “Is that what you want me to call you?”
“Despite this stupid body I’ve got now, that’s my name,”
Nancy replied. “That’s who I am.”
“Okay,” the doctor replied, trying to figure out where to
go from here. There was one thing the
boy had said that was a bit different for someone with multiple personalities,
he had said he wanted to be me again and in the wrong body. Someone with his condition usually believed
they were in the right body. This one
didn’t seem to see things that way.
Still, there was nothing this could be except a multiple personality
problem.
“Nancy,” he said, addressing the current dominant
personality. “When did you first come to
the surface and…come into being? Do you
remember that?”
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” Nancy
replied. “I’ve been me, Nancy, all my
life. Just not in this body. I had a really nice, pretty body before. And I have no idea how I got into this one,
or even here to…they said this was Philadelphia.”
“That’s right,” the doctor told her. “What’s confusing me about you a little
though is that you said you had a different body before, and that’s a bit out
of character for most people who have multiple personalities like you.”
Nancy was surprised.
She wasn’t exactly sure what multiple personalities meant, but she knew
that she was just her and nobody else.
“I’m not sure what that means,” she told him, “but there’s only one
person in this body. Me! Nobody else.”
The doctor considered that, then said, “You simply may
not be aware of any others, but I can assure you, there has to be. One of them being the real Stephen Marsh.”
“Trust me, there isn’t.
Don’t you think I’ve tried hard to find any sign of him in my head? I can’t!
I don’t know him. He’s a complete
stranger, and he’s not in here with me.
Trust me.”
“Oh, I do,” the doctor replied. “I just don’t believe that’s actually the
case. In the meantime, tell me a little
about yourself. Who exactly is Nancy?”
“Huh? I’m not sure
what you want to know. I’m me. I’ve always been me. It’s just for the last few days that I’ve had
this stupid boy’s body.”
“And how did do you think you got that body?”
Nancy was getting frustrated. “I don’t know!” she yelled angrily. “How many times do I have to tell you? Ever since I was kidnapped and woke up in the
hospital, everything has been all weird!”
“Easy Nancy,” the doctor told her. “No need to get upset.”
“Wouldn’t you if nobody believed you?”
“Perhaps,” the doctor replied. “But we’re here to explore some of these
issues and figure out what exactly is upsetting you.”
“Well that’s one of them!” Nancy declared, still fuming.
“I see,” the doctor replied. “Again, tell me something about
yourself. How well do you remember your
family.”
“You mean those people here in Philadelphia? Like that woman who thinks she’s my
mother? Trust me, I don’t know them at
all. Not one bit. My family all live in New York. We’ve got a big house near New York City.”
“New York,” the doctor said, noting that it wasn’t the
first time she had mentioned that.
Earlier she had said her father was a congressman from New York. “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“I’ve got one sister,” Nancy told him. “Emily.
She’s sixteen and my best friend.”
“Your best friend?
I would think you would have other friends, perhaps more your age.”
Nancy sighed.
“I’ve got a few from school, but I don’t get to see them outside of
school that much because of Daddy’s job.
And Emily and I go to a private school where there’s lots of security
and it’s hard to do much with the other kids outside of school. Sometimes Mom lets some of them come over so
we can play, or she lets me go to their house, but it’s not really that often.”
The doctor was a bit surprised at that bit of
detail. Still, this was a big kid. He wasn’t sure how old, but old enough to put
together a fantasy like this. “Do you
know your mother’s name?”
Nancy sighed frustratedly. “Of course.
Wanda. My mom’s name is
Wanda. Wanda Stiller.”
“Does she have a job?
Does she work?”
“No. She helps
Daddy with his campaign stuff and fundraising.
She’s always doing stuff for him.
They have a lot of fancy dinners for all his contributors and political
friends, and for some of the things going on.”
“Do you like those dinners?”
“I don’t usually go.
Rarely in fact. That’s just for
the grownups. It’s all boring politics
anyway. Emily and I eat in the kitchen
most of the time.”
“Do you feel left out because your parents are having a
nice dinner somewhere else?”
“Are you kidding?
Like I said, politics is boring!”
“What do you do when you’re not eating in the kitchen?”
he asked.
“We’ve got a big area in the basement where we hang
out. We’ve got a pool table down there
and a big TV and I’ve got this great area set up for my dancing.”
That bit surprised the doctor. “Dancing?”
“Ballet. I’ve been
taking it since I was six. Daddy had
some mirrors and a small dance floor put in for me, and it’s even got a ballet
barre for me to work with.”
Doctor Faucet thought it might be more than a bit strange
that a big boy like this should know anything about ballet. Not that there was exactly much detail. But how many kids like him would know what a
ballet barre was?
“So you like ballet?”
“I love it,” Nancy told him.
“What else do you like?”
“Shopping with Mom.
Clothes. I used to play with
dolls a lot, but I’ve kind of outgrown them now. Emily has been helping teach me about makeup
lately, even though Mom won’t let me wear hardly any.”
“Your sister.”
“I told you that.”
“Yes,” Doctor Faucet replied. “You said she was your best friend.”
“She is. But…”
“But what?”
“I’m kind of worried?”
“About your sister?”
“Kind of.”
“Why?”
“Because she’s sixteen now and Mom said she’s going to
let her start dating. If she goes out on
dates, where’s that going to leave me?
We hang out together all the time.”
The doctor noticed the concern, but was it enough to act
as some kind of trigger for the personality disorder? He didn’t think so, even if the true concern
involved Stephen and perhaps one of his friends or another family member. Did Stephen feel abandoned?
“Nancy,” he said.
“Tell me about Stephen. What do
you think of him?”
“I don’t know anything about him, except he’s a smelly
slob!”
“A slob? Why do
you say that?”
“Because…his mother, the one out there, made me pick up
his room when she brought me home from the hospital yesterday. Talk about gross! You never smelled anyplace so bad in your
life!”
“But she made you pick it up.”
“She said that even if I was Nancy, which I am, since it
was still my room, then I could pick it up.
You couldn’t even walk in there!
And he had not just dirty clothes all over the place, but all these
weight things too…everywhere! And don’t
get me started on his bathroom.
Disgusting. Thank God Mom out
there said she’d have one of the maids clean it this morning instead of
me. I hope she’s done by the time we get
home.”
The doctor considered that. “Steve…Nancy…. Would you mind if I invite your mother in now
so I can talk a bit with her?”
“Fine with me,” Nancy told him. “You’re not going to be able to help me
anyway. You don’t even believe me.”
“I didn’t say I didn’t believe you.”
“Do you think I can’t tell? Get a grip!
I’m twelve, not five!” She got up
from her seat. “I’ll send her in. And she’s not my mother. Not my real mother anyway. My real mother is in New York!” With that, she walked out.
Two minutes later, Agatha Marsh walked in and took the
seat in front of the psychiatrist. “What
did you think?” she asked.
“There are some things there that surprised me.”
“Imagine how we feel,” Agatha told him.
‘Yes,” the doctor replied. “Obviously your son has some kind of multiple
personality disorder, even though there are more than a few elements that I
noticed that seem to be…unique to cases like this. But…”
“He doesn’t have multiple personality disorder!” Agatha
told him firmly. “I know that for a
fact. Multiple personalities means more
than one person, and trust me, there’s only one person living in that body, and
it’s not my son!”
The doctor shook his head. “As I was about to say, as with all mental
disorders, each one is unique and different.
It really is quite amazing how advanced his fantasy life seems to
be. So much odd detail that I would
never have expected. But as far as I
know, there can be no other reason for his behavior, except for some type of
multiple personality disorder. There’s
Stephen, who doesn’t seem to be able to manifest himself at all right now, most
likely being completely blocked out by the current Nancy persona, and then
there’s Nancy, the alternate personality, who has manifested due to some kind
of major trauma we have yet to identify.
Perhaps, and most likely, something to do with when he was abducted. We just need to look for it.”
Agatha shook her head.
“I still don’t believe it.”
“It’s the best explanation I can offer,” the doctor told
her. “I’m sorry to say, that in your
son’s case, I believe we should consider having sessions here several times a
week. I barely scratched the surface
with him today, but he’s given me a lot to think about. Hopefully, next time, I can get closer to
identifying what underlying symptoms may be bothering him.”
Agatha shook her head again. “Fine!” she said. “I’ll make another appointment for him in a
couple of days. But I still think you’re
wrong. It’s not any kind of multiple
personality problem.”
“That’s all it can be,” the doctor told her. “I’m sorry.”
“Me too!” Agatha said as she stood up and walked out.
---
§§§§§§§§§§ ---
In her New York office, Doctor Isabella Montcliff picked
up her phone and dialed a number that she had been given. The phone rang a few times then was answered.
“Wanda Stiller.”
“Mrs. Stiller?” the doctor replied. “This is Doctor Montcliff.”
“What can I do for you doctor?” Wanda asked.
“Is there any way you can come into my office today? As soon as possible. I really need to talk with you.”
Wanda was frustrated.
“Today? Uh!” she grunted. She considered her options. “Look, Doctor, I just can’t see how I can
possibly get there today. I’ve got so
much going on today it’s ridiculous.”
“Perhaps later this afternoon?” the doctor suggested.
“Not a chance.
Sorry. I’ve got a dinner party
tonight that I’m hosting. The best I can
do for you is tomorrow sometime.
But…wait, I was right. I just
checked and we already scheduled Nancy’s next meeting with you for tomorrow,
and I’m supposed to see you first, just before that. I’m sorry, but those appointments are the
best I can do right now. Since we spent
so much time in the hospital with Nancy, everything is piling up on me, and
I’ve got to get things taken care of.”
“I understand,” the doctor replied.
“What was the problem?” Wanda asked.
“Something I discovered.”
“With Nancy?”
“Yes and no.”
“What’s that mean?”
“I think it might be better to discuss it in person,
especially because of the security you’re demanding.”
“Yes,” Wanda agreed.
“We really have to be careful, especially now.”
“I’ll just have to discuss it with you tomorrow,” the
doctor told her.
“Great.
Thanks. Anything else?”
“No. Thank you
Mrs. Stiller. Good luck with your party
tonight.”
“Thanks. This
one’s for some of our biggest supporters.”
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