My one regret in life is that I am not someone else. - Woody Allen
More Therapy - Chapter 3
I never realized how slowly Dr. Crowe walked until the day she led me blindfolded and naked down the public hallway to the bathroom. It wasn’t really that far from her office. I had made the same trip many times over the past 7 weeks that I had been seeing her. But the pace she was leading me with was maddening. I swear, she wanted to drag this out on purpose.
I heard voices of people talking, but as they approached us, I suppose the site of me walking past them without any clothes on distracted them because they got quiet as we approached. Once we were past them, I heard them whispering about me. I might have felt some embarrassment from it if I wasn’t concentrating so hard on not urinating down my leg.
Finally, we stopped. She knocked. While we were waiting for a response, I instinctively started shifting my weight from my left leg to my right and back. I have no idea how that helps keep the pee in, but it does. After a moment, I heard Dr. Crowe slip the key into the lock and then open the door. She helped me inside and guided me onto the seat.
As soon as I sat down, pee began rushing out of me.
“I’ll leave you to it.” She said.
I didn’t really know how to respond to that, but fortunately she wasn’t waiting for one, as I heard the door open and close. She had stepped out to give me a small amount of privacy.
After the pee stopped, I stayed on the toilet for a bit longer. This was crazy. I had just walked down the hall of her medical building; in front of strangers no less! And I was completely nude. No, not completely, I was blindfolded and had on socks and shoes. Otherwise I was completely naked. What was crazier was the fact that I wasn’t scared or embarrassed about it.
Maybe if I could have seen the strangers, or if she wasn’t guiding me along telling me it was safe… but even still. Last year, I needed to be hypnotized just to sit in a room and be naked. Now, without any other prompting except for her asking for it, here I was.
I don’t really know how long I sat there, but eventually I decided that I needed to head back. Our lunch time was almost over, and neither of us had finished eating. Plus, when I got back maybe she would give me my swimsuit back and I could stop worrying about my dreams.
I found the flusher and pressed it. I tried to wash my hands, but there was no paper towels. Normally I could wipe them on my clothing, but I was naked. Instead, I just opened the door and called out for Dr. Crowe.
“Hello? Dr. Crowe?” I said cautiously. There was no answer.
“I’m done. We can go back.” I said a little louder. Still no answer.
“Dr. Crowe? This isn’t funny. Please help me get back to the office.” I said, fear setting in. Had she really left me here along like this?
I listened, but I couldn’t hear anybody nearby. Slowly, I stepped out of the restroom. I took a couple of steps toward her office and heard the *CLICK* as the bathroom door shut behind me.
I gently slid my hand along the wall as I walked. This helped to keep me walking in a straight line, plus I could count the doors as I walked. I knew that Dr. Crowe’s office was the fifth office on the left from the bathroom.
One. I thought to myself as I passed the first door. I took a few more steps. Two. I walked a little faster. Three. Then I stopped when I heard people talking.
“Did you remember to pick up dog food?” came a man’s voice.
“Oh, shit!” came another voice, it sounded like a teenage boy.
“Watch your mouth! Just yes or no is fine.” Scolded the older voice.
“No, look!” exclaimed the boy. I realized that they could both see me. Turning around, I sprinted back toward the bathroom. I felt the door and reached around until I could find the doorknob. It wouldn’t turn. Oh fuck, I forgot that you need the key to get in. Where was Dr. Crowe?
I ran further down the hall. I knew there was a corner coming up and somewhere down there was a broom closet. I tried door after door. Most of them led to other waiting rooms, and when I opened them I could hear people gasp at the sight of me. I quickly closed the door and went to the next.
Finally, after the third or fourth door, I smelled the musty sent of the mop bucket mixed with the acrid smell of cleaning agents. I stepped into the room and closed the door behind me.
I heard the two people walking down the hall talking about me. I could hear them getting closer. The older one, I figured was the father, was still scolding his son for swearing. But the boy insisted that it was the appropriate response for seeing a naked girl wandering around the halls. The father laughed, but didn’t officially agree.
After a minute or two, they had passed by and I couldn’t hear them anymore. I listened for a bit longer before I tried again. Stepping out of the broom closet, I turned back the way I came. Now my problem was that I had lost track of how many doors it was to get to Dr. Crowe’s office. If I could find the bathroom again, it would help, but I didn’t know how far I had actually run. I knew that there was a corner I turned around, so I walked until I felt the wall in front of me.
Next, I felt along the wall for anything that I might be able to use to determine where I was. I could feel the doorway. There was a corkboard with a few flyers pinned to it. Since I didn’t feel that when I was walking to Dr. Crowe’s office the first time, she knew that she had not yet passed the bathroom.
Suddenly, I felt a diamond shape plaque on the wall next to one of the doors. I concentrated on picturing what Dr. Crowe’s door looked like. Had I remembered seeing a plaque like this next to the door?
I rubbed my hand across the surface of the plaque. There were some indentations in it. A curve, a line and something that has multiple lines. Slowly, I traced the indentations. The first one was a 2. Next was a 1. The third one was a 4. Dr. Crowe was in suite 205.
I walked to the next door. I found the plaque. Tracing the lines revealed that it was 213. The next two doors had no plaques on them. I was getting closer. I heard people coming, but this time, I decided I was not going to risk getting lost again. The next door was 210. Had I missed something?
I heard a little girl yell, “Mommy! She’s naked!” I froze.
“Hush.” Said the mom. I heard them coming closer. I pressed myself against the wall so I wasn’t too exposed. Just the same, the woman went out of her way to brush against me and whisper the word, “Freak” as she passed.
My heart was beating out of my chest by the time I could no longer hears their footsteps. Moving on, I found 209. I kept going. One by one. I finally reached 205. I had completely lost track of time. I knocked on the door, hoping that Dr. Crowe would answer it and apologize for abandoning me. No answer. Was this really the right office? I knocked again. Nothing. Where was she?
I heard more people coming. It sounded like a group of men. I was afraid of what they might do to me. I couldn’t see them, and I was thinking of how easily that woman rubbed up against me. If the guys wanted to get a free feel of my body, I wouldn’t be able to stop them. I pounded on the door. The guys were getting closer.
One of the guys whistled at me. The others hooted and one even commented on my round ass. I felt so desperate to be back inside the office. I could hear that the guys were almost on top of me. I reached down and turned on the doorknob that I knew was locked. It turned! I pushed open the door and ran in.
I was so scared, I tried running to where I though the door to Dr. Crowe’s office was. When my hand felt wood, I quickly found the doorknob and walked into her office. “Dr. Crowe, you left me!” I screamed, tears running down my eyes from fear.
“Annie, I’m with a patient.” She said firmly. “Please take a seat in the waiting room until I am done.”
“I… but.” I sputtered.
“Now!” She demanded.
I backed out of her office and made my way to one of the chairs. Suddenly, I heard a girl giggle. A woman said, “Shhh” and the little girl became quiet.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize people were here. Is this seat taken?” I asked.
“It is dear. The sofa is empty. Do you need help locating it?” She asked.
“No, thank you.” I said softly. I walked around the coffee table and took a seat on the sofa.
After a minute, I felt someone sit on the couch next to me. “Hi! I’m Jenny.” A young girl’s voice said. Jenny sounded like she was 10 or 11 years old.
“Hi, I’m Annie.” I said politely. “It’s nice to meet you, Jenny.”
“Why are you naked?” Jenny asked, eagerly.
“Jenny! Don’t be rude.” Her mom corrected.
“It’s okay.” I said. “This is… ah, part of my therapy.”
“Mommy, do I have to get naked too?” Jenny asked.
“No you do not. And do not ask that again.” Her mom told her firmly. “Now get over here and stop bothering this nice lady.”
“It’s no bother. I rather like thinking about something other than… well, something other than my therapy.” I said.
I didn’t feel Jenny move, so I assumed she was still sitting next to me. After a few more minutes she asked, “Can you read to me?”
Clearly she wasn’t talking to me, so I didn’t answer. Then she tapped my on the arm and asked again.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t read to you today.” I told her.
“Is it because of your blindfold?” She asked.
I nodded.
“I’ll help.” I could feel her tiny fingers try to take hold of the blindfold.
I pulled back. “Please don’t.” I said. “I’ll get… weird if that isn’t there.”
“I see.” Jenny said sadly. Then, “Can I read to you instead?”
“I’d like that.” I told her.
I heard Jenny rustling around in a canvas bag. I guessed that she had brought her own book. “Do you like Nancy Drew?” She asked.
“Yea, well… I used to when I was young like you.” I said.
“It’s called ‘The Ghost Cat’” She told me excitedly. “I just got it today!”
Jenny began reading about a family who lived in New York who had had a cat that died. Nancy Drew was helping to investigate why their dead cat was still coming around the house. It killed mice and left them on the front step, just like it always had. There were paw prints on the hood of the car and a nose print on the window. Just like it always did. They never saw the cat, but clearly it was still here.
Nancy discovered that it their cat had secretly had kittens before it died, and one of them was still coming around like its mommy had always done. It wasn’t a hard mystery to solve, but Jenny was so excited to take that journey that I didn’t spoil the ending when I figured it out with a few pages left to go.
While Jenny was reading, I heard another patient, Mr. Kilpatrick, if I remembered from organizing the charts this morning. He signed in and took a seat next to Jenny’s mom. Soon, the door opened and Dr. Crowe came out with Jenny’s dad. I got up but she asked me to wait until she was done with Mr. Kilpatrick.
Jenny and her parents left, and I was alone in the waiting room again. I needed to pee again. Why had I drank so much water? Well, I got up and went over to the reception desk. I knew that the key to the bathroom was hanging on a hook next to the desk. I used the same method to find the bathroom as I had to find the office. 5 doors from where I started, I felt. It was one of the rooms that had no plaque next to it.
I managed to get the key into the lock, but when I turned it, the door wouldn’t budge. I tried again and heard a male voice say “Occupied”.
I didn’t know what to do. Part of me wanted to go back and wait in her office, but I really had to pee. I decided to stand a few feet away from the door and wait for him to come out. When the door opened, I heard him gasp and after a second say, “Annie?”
The voice sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it. I didn’t want to be rude, but I really needed to go. I pulled the door open a little further and slipped behind. I felt his shirt rub across my chest as I passed. He was a little shorter than me. “Sorry, I really need to pee.” I said.
I never heard the door close as I sat down and relieved myself. My past self would have been mortified, but here I was, already naked walking down the hall. Him watching me pee wasn’t worse than that.
“I haven’t seen you much since… well, you were naked then too.” He blurted out. “What happened? Does that girl still think you are her dog?”
“Josh?” I asked.
“Yes, from your neighborhood. Sorry, but why are you blindfolded?” He asked.
“It’s a long story. My, um, therapist has me doing this.” I said slowly.
“I understand. My mom’s therapist has her doing weird things too. Well, it was good seeing you again. Maybe we can hang out some time when you aren’t in therapy.” Josh suggested.
After I finished, I asked Josh to walk me back to suite 205. Mr. Kilpatrick was just finishing his session when we got back. “Thanks Josh. I’ll let you know if I am up to hanging out.”
Once Mr. Kilpatrick left, I was allowed back into Dr. Crowe’s office. She guided me to the chair I normally sat in during our sessions. “How are you feeling, Annie?” She asked.
“Okay, I guess. I think I was a little scared at first, but I have never been blind before, so that was hard.” I said.
“How about not wearing clothes? How are you feeling about that?” She added.
“I don’t know. I mean, it’s not like I didn’t run all over the city like this last year. I guess, compared to the blind part, being naked isn’t so bad.” I confessed.
“Do you still need your bathing suit?” She asked.
“I suppose not.” I said, softly. I was sad about that. I think I wanted to need my bathing suit. I certainly felt more confident in it. But… did I really need it? No. I did want to get dressed so I could get this blindfold off.
“Okay, let me help you get dressed.” She offered. And she did. In a few minutes I was zipping up my jeans and buttoning up my shirt. Only when I was finished did Dr. Crowe allow me to remove the blindfold. I looked down at my attire. Everything was back to normal. The only difference from this morning was that I wasn’t panicking about Tuesday.
“Since you no longer need this,” Dr. Crowe said, holding out my bathing suit, “you may have it back.”
Of course I took it. I still needed to take a shower once in a while, and I wasn’t going to be doing that blindfolded.
“I think this is a good place for us to start stretching you, Annie.” She told me.
“What do you mean by ‘stretching’ me?” I asked.
“You need to be challenged in order to grow. I have some ideas for Tuesday, perhaps I will work with you naked from here on out as well.” She told me.
I wanted to argue that point, but somehow my being naked for the past 2 hours did make me feel better. Why do all of my therapists have me get naked?