Trust

Mid afternoon, I left for about 3 hours for my Sunday workout at the gym. I returned home a little sore; I really pushed myself again. When I entered the house, Annie was in the kitchen preparing baked halibut. I retrieved the camera, took it to the home office, put my gym clothes in the laundry, and came into the kitchen to see Annie.

"How was your workout?" she asked.

"I'm a little sore, but it felt good," I responded. I looked closely at Annie: she seemed somewhat withdrawn.

"When's dinner. I'm starving after that workout!"

"Ten minutes. Go set the table!" she commanded.

We ate dinner in silence.

"Are you talking with your friends tonight?" I asked, breaking the silence as we finished eating. Annie usually talked with several of her long-distance friends on Sunday evenings.

"Yes," she responded without looking at me.

I got up, cleared the table, and began cleaning the kitchen. Annie moved into the living room, in her special chair with a headset and the phone, and she called her first friend. When I finished in the kitchen, I retreated to the home office, as usual, and closed the door.

I downloaded the video on the camera and repeated the same process as before. I found the telephone call: it was short, about 3 or 4 minutes. I saved the edited video file to the hard drive, my flash drive and my cell phone. Then I listened to Annie's side of the telephone call:

"Bill, I am so pissed! You won't believe what that asshole has done!

"Yeah, but he planned a vacation at the same time as our January fuck fest! He called my mom, set the whole thing up with her! That asshole!

"We have to figure something out. I need your cock inside me. I need you to fuck me so much that I'm sore for a week. God, I miss you fucking me!"

"Well, we have 6 or 7 weeks to plan something. Maybe I'll dump him off at my mom's place, and they can spend two weeks together while we fuck ourselves silly.

"I really don't know how much longer I can live with Clueless Carl. I would have dumped him years ago, but he has a great retirement with the state, and I want to get my hands on that!

"Ha, Ha! You bet. He won't know what hit him when I just walk out the door with half of his retirement and medical benefits!"

I stopped listening and just sat a stared at the computer screen for the longest time.

My inner engineer was troubled. It's as if there were two Annies: Good Annie and Evil Annie. So which one is the real Annie? I had collected as much information as I could, and now it was time to create a plan.

I spent the next hour and a half developing a plan and writing a checklist while Annie was talking with her friends. The check list included all the necessary actions for tomorrow morning. The doctor's visit tomorrow morning would be the stage, I decided: I would let my inner engineer go through the logical steps with Annie in front of the doctor. I had to have a witness; that was an essential element. And I would find out who the real Annie is!

Chapter 9: Execute the Plan, Part 1

The alarm jerked me out of a sound sleep. I reset the alarm one hour later for Annie. Getting up Monday morning at the usual time was part of the plan. I would have an extra hour before we left for the doctor's office. Annie would be getting ready while I made phone calls in the home office.

I savored my morning rituals: checking the outside temperature, stretching exercises, shower, breakfast, and dressing. Nothing would be the same after this morning. Nothing.

When the alarm sounded again, I entered the bedroom to be sure Annie was up.

"Hey, sleepyhead! Time to get up!" I announced.

"Nooooo. It's too early!" she responded.

"Doctor's appointment this morning, remember?" I reminded her.

"Oh, yeah. Just a few more minutes, okay?"

"We have a nine o'clock appointment in town. You have to get up and get ready now. Otherwise we will be late!"

"Oh, okay. I will," she said pulling the comforter over her head.

I pulled the comforter back.

"Okay, okay. I'm getting up now. Satisfied?" she growled.

"Yes, thank you!" I chuckled as I watched her shuffle into the bathroom.

"I'm going to be in the office making phone calls," I said through the bathroom door. "I'll meet you in the kitchen in forty-five minutes."

I closed the office door, sat down and looked at the clock. A quarter to eight. "Frank will be in his office now," I thought to myself.

Frank had been our attorney for twenty-two years, and he had become our good friend. In the winter he came in to work early and left early. The next step in the plan: I dialed his number.

"Hi, Frank? It's Carl."

"Yes. I am doing great - just had my annual physical. Say, I need you to do something for me, and I need it done today, by early afternoon, if possible."

I explained the papers I wanted him to draw up for me.

"Yes, I know. If she chooses to fight it, you can't represent us both. What I want you to do is represent me, and line up a good attorney in town for her."

"That will work? Okay, good. Yes, I'm sure. It has to happen this way, Frank. It's the best path for everyone. Take care. See you later today. I'll call and keep you posted. Bye."

At eight I called the doctor's office, and asked to talk to the doctor. He wasn't available right then, but I asked the nurse to have him call me back in the next half hour. I played solitaire on the computer to divert my mind. Twenty minutes later, he called.

"Hi, this is Carl Stevens. Yes, good morning."

"Yes, I am bringing Annie in this morning. But this is a delicate matter for her. I'm afraid that if I told her I had VD that she wouldn't come in. So, I told her that I had a urinary tract infection."

"Yes, that's right. This is what I suggest: examine Annie, draw blood for the tests, then, bring her into the conference room. Yes, the one with the TV. I'll be in there waiting for you both. Don't tell her about the VD. Wait until we are all together. I have a video on my cell phone that will explain everything."

"Yes, sorry for all the drama. Also, ask your nurse not to mention it to her either when we come in. Thanks, doctor. I appreciate your help. Yes, it is an unfortunate situation. At least we can get the medical issues addressed, okay?"

I hung up, shut the computer off and walked into the kitchen. Annie was just finishing breakfast. "Minus twenty-eight this morning," I said to her. "Probably a little colder in town."

"I am so glad our house is well insulated and warm," she responded as she finished her cereal. She put her bowl and spoon in the dishwasher, and rubbed her temples.

"Another headache?" I asked.

"Yeah. Seems like I have one everyday now."

"Maybe you can mention it to the doctor this morning," I offered.

"Good idea. I will."

Chapter 10: Execute the Plan, Part 2

The drive into Fairbanks was uneventful and quiet. Annie's headache was still bothering her. We pulled into the parking lot and entered the doctor's office. I signed in with the nurse, then, I sat down with Annie in the small waiting room.

"You always have to wait to see the doctor," I said to Annie, "even if you are on time."

"It's an unwritten medical rule," Annie responded.

Ten minutes later, the nurse took Annie into the examination room. When she returned, she escorted me to the conference room. I took the video cable out of my coat pocket, turned on the flat panel television, and connected my smart phone. I tested the connection and ran a test video from the phone. Everything worked, as I had hoped.

I sat down and waited.

Twenty-five minutes later, Annie and the doctor entered the conference room.

"I'll let you know in a few days when the blood test results come back," the doctor said to Annie as he sat down.

"That was not much fun," Annie offered as she sat down next to me.

"What's that?" she said pointing to the smart phone and video cable.

"Just wait," I responded.

"Annie," the doctor began, "I'm afraid that Carl brought you here this morning with a false story. Carl does not have a urinary tract infection. He has VD; actually he has two different forms of VD."

"Carl! What did you do?" a surprised Annie glared at me.

I just kept looking at the doctor.

"Annie," the doctor continued, "Carl contracted his VD about four or five weeks ago. From my examination of you today, it would appear that you have VD as well, but you acquired your infection about six to eight weeks ago. You were infected first, then, you infected Carl."

"What! That's impossible!" Annie protested. "I've been faithful to Carl!"

"These forms of VD are only acquired by direct sexual contact, Annie," said the doctor. "The good news is that with antibiotics and sexual abstinence during treatment, the VD can be completely eliminated without any long-term problems. The nurse has called in your prescription. I want you both to come back in two weeks for another exam and blood test, okay? And we need a list of all of your sexual partners for the past 6 months -- it's a State law."

"This is bullshit!" Annie screamed at the doctor, as she stood up. "How did I get VD, if I was faithful to Carl?"

"Annie, watch this," I calmly said.

I turned on the television and activated a short video clip from my smart phone.

"I recorded this Friday morning in our house, Annie," I explained. "It's a conversation with Bill Pike."

"You spied on me?"

I nodded and began the video clip with Annie's "eight-inch cock" dirty talk with Bill. I looked over at the doctor, and I saw he was slight embarrassed by Annie's explicit sexual telephone call.

"You asshole!" Annie screamed. "You're going to ruin everything. You're just jealous of Bill, and you're trying to get back at me. Well, it won't work, asshole."

I stopped the video playback, and looked at Annie. Evil Annie was now here in the conference room.

"Annie," I said softly, "what do you have planned for dinner tonight?"

I watched as Good Annie struggled to emerge.

"We, uh, we, uh," she tried to speak, "spaghetti and moose meatballs. Would you like that?"

Good Annie was back. She was rubbing her temples again. I restarted the video, and Evil Annie instantly returned.

"Fuck you, Asshole!" she shouted as she stood up. "I'm leaving you for Bill, and I'm taking you for everything you have. I'd never stay with a wimp like you!"

"Annie," I said quietly, "who is your favorite dog at the shelter?"

"Well, uh, uh," she struggled to respond, "Jackie. Jackie is my favorite at the shelter. God, my head hurts!"

Annie sat down, elbows on the conference table, hands in her head. "Make it stop, please, please!"

Then she passed out.

Chapter 10: Execute the Plan, Part 3

I caught her before she fell to the floor. The doctor yelled at the nurse to call 911, then, he came around the table and helped me lay her on the floor. He checked her pulse.

"She's stable, but we need to get her to the hospital right now," he said.

"Good," I responded. "I've suspected some type of medical problem for about a week."

"Any ideas what could be causing it?" he asked

"Something to do with the headaches, I think," I responded. "Also something psychological, since there seems to be a split personality, as you saw."

"Yes, a compartmentalized personality was definitely present."

"My attorney will be coming by your office early this afternoon," I explained. "He will be filing a medical Power of Attorney concerning Annie on my behalf in court, and he will be asking you to sign an affidavit recommending this action. Can you do that?"

"Certainly, but why go to all that effort?" he asked.

"Because the "Evil Annie" personality will fight medical investigation and treatment," I explained.

The paramedics arrived, and they rescued Annie from the conference room floor and gently placed her in the ambulance. I followed it to the hospital.

They wanted me to stay away from Annie because she was flipping personalities every two hours or so, and the "Evil Annie" would get enraged if she saw me. So I stayed away.

It took three days to complete the examinations and tests. Then I was summoned to a meeting with the hospital neurologist, a psychiatrist, and my doctor.

"Hi Carl," my doctor began. "We need to discuss Annie's condition with you and give you our recommendations."

"I understand. Go ahead."

"Annie is having minor brain seizures every few hours. They are getting closer together and more severe in the three days she has been in the hospital."

"What's causing them?" I asked.

"We don't know," replied the neurologist. "We don't have the equipment in Fairbanks to investigate further."

"If we don't get them under control, she won't last long, Carl," my doctor added.

"How much time does she have?"

"We don't really know. Not long," my doctor responded.

"What about the split personality," I asked.

"I found two well developed compartmentalized personalities," explained the psychiatrist. "The minor personality was created about five years ago after she had an affair. To the main personality, the affair was completely unacceptable, so she walled off the affair in her mind and created the minor personality."

"Is there any connection between the seizures and the split personalities?" I asked.

The psychiatrist and neurologist glanced at each other, but said nothing.

"We suspect that the seizures are weakening the dominant personality, allowing the minor personality to emerge more often," my doctor explained. "We also suspect that the seizures may have precipitated the creation of the minor split personality."

"You see, Mr. Stevens," the neurologist stated, "the brain scans indicated that your wife may have been having seizures for the past five or six years. When they started they were infrequent and small. If we had detected the seizures five years ago, medicine was available to keep them from worsening."

"But the timeframe fits for the origination of the minor personality," the psychiatrist added.

I paused in my questions to let this information sink in.

"Okay. So what do we do now?" I asked.

"If she has any chance at all, it will be in a Seattle hospital that has the resources to deal with cases like Annie's," my doctor said.

"When do we leave?"

"The air ambulance leaves in three hours. Go home and pack for you and Annie, and be at the airport in two hours. I know that doesn't give you much time," my doctor explained.

"I'm already packed."

Chapter 11: Best Laid Plans

Everything was all set up. I just needed to make the calls: a neighbor to watch the house, medical leave at work, phone tree for our friends. I made it to the airport with time to spare.

The pilot said it would be a four hour flight. They brought Annie on board sedated. The nurse said she would probably sleep the entire flight.

After we were at cruising altitude, I tried to sleep. I couldn't. I kept getting up every twenty minutes or so to check on Annie. She was sleeping.

About three hours into the flight, I went to check on Annie. The nurse caught my eye.

"She's heavily sedated, you know," she reminded me.

"Yeah, I know," I said. "I just want to look in on her, that's all."

The nurse just smiled at me and went back to reading.

I looked down on Annie. She was sleeping peacefully. I was far from peaceful in my heart, and questions kept going around and around in my mind.

Then her eyes fluttered, then opened. She looked at me and tried to speak. I bent down to get close to her.

"Carl, I remember everything now," she whispered clutching my hand. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," I said soothingly. "Just rest. We're going to get you better."

"Carl, don't leave me," she cried softly. "I love you. Please, please don't leave me."

"I'm here, Annie," I affirmed. "I'm right here, and I'm not leaving. I love you."

We looked into each other's eyes and we both began to cry.

Then her eyes closed, her hand went limp and she went back to sleep. I walked slowly back to my seat. My heart ached, and I began to cry as I sat down. After a few minutes, I blew my nose and reclined back in my seat to rest. I fell asleep.

I was suddenly awakened by a loud alarm. The nurse was back with Annie working on her. After ten minutes she told me that Annie was gone, probably a massive seizure. There was nothing she could do. She was very sorry.

I began to cry again. I just sat and cried.

Chapter 12: Loose Ends

The next two days in Seattle were extremely busy. I must have signed my name fifty times. Insurance forms, permission to perform an autopsy, medical release forms, and many, many others. I hired a probate attorney and gave her power of attorney to finish the process.

Annie's body would be cremated after the medical investigations were complete, and the ashes sent to our church in Fairbanks for a memorial service. I called the phone tree and asked that the news of Annie's death be spread among our friends.

Then, I took a flight to Oakland. As soon as I arrived, I called Carol Pike at work.

"Carol? Hi, this is Carl Stevens," I began. "I'm in the Bay Area for a few days, and I was wondering if I could drop by tonight and visit with you and Bill?"

"Oh, not long. Just a short visit with you two so we can catch up. We haven't seen each other for, what, over five years? Sure. Yes, seven is perfect. See you then."

I rented a car, then drove to one of the airport hotels and checked into a room for one night. I took a nap and rested. I ate dinner around four-thirty, then braved rush hour traffic for the ninety minute drive to North Berkeley.

I parked in front of their house and sat in the car to compose myself. I was five minutes early. I had no idea what I was going to say or do. I just knew that I had to see Bill and Carol.

Carol answered the door with a pleasant smile and escorted me to the living room. We exchanged greetings as we walked. A carafe of coffee, cups and a tray of cookies were on the living room coffee table. I sat in an overstuffed chair, and Carol sat on the couch facing me.

Bill was finishing work in his home office and would join us shortly. Carol and I chatted about the weather and mutual friends for about fifteen minutes until Bill joined us. I stood and shook his hand as he entered the room, then he sat next to Carol on the couch.

"I'd like to thank you for seeing me on such short notice," I began. "I know you both lead busy lives.

"About two weeks ago I had my annual physical, and the doctor had bad news. I had two types of venereal disease, and I had contracted that VD from Annie."

Carol looked shocked, but Bill was stone-faced. I calmly continued.

"It turns out," I revealed, "that Bill and Annie have had an affair over the past five years anytime Annie visited the Bay Area. We believe that Annie was infected by Bill.

"Both of you," I suggested, "need to be checked immediately for VD and begin treatment. My doctor has turned over Bill's name to the California Health Board."

"You bastard!" Carol shouted at Bill as she began to hit him. "You've been screwing Annie?"

"Hey, stop that," Bill yelled at Carol. "Stop hitting me!"

Bill stood up and moved towards me to get away from Carol. Carol followed him, continuing to curse him and hit him on the shoulders and back. As he approached my chair, I rose to standing.

"I can't help it," Bill sneered at me, "that Annie likes big cocks. You just can't satisfy her, wimp."

I hit him.

I didn't think about it, I just reacted and shoved my fist into his solar plexus. Bill doubled over and groaned. Carol continued her assault, pushing him to the front door.

"Get the fuck out of here, you asshole!" she shouted. "And don't come back for at least two hours. You hear me?"

Bill moved out the front door, still partially doubled over. He didn't say a word as he lurched down the front walk to the street. Carol returned to me in the living room. I was still standing.