Entwined (3 page)

Dr. Franks raised his bushy eyebrows. "Of course, but I want to hear firsthand. Please continue."

Franks observed how the baron looked to Helen Masters, as if for approval or reassurance.

"In my estimation, this present attack has been coming on for weeks. Helen suggested this would be the best time for you to see her. Vebekka agreed because of Sasha."

"If I can help your wife, would you agree to let her stay in my clinic for as long as is needed?"

"If you can help her, I will agree to anything you suggest. I cannot subject my children and myself to any more torment. I have had enough."

The doctor could see a muscle twitching at the side of the baron's mouth.

"Do you regret marrying your wife?"

"That is an impossible question. I have four beautiful children; of course I do not regret marrying her. But my sons, my daughters must know if this illness is hereditary. If my wife is to be institutionalized it will affect each and every one of us. You are my last hope."

"Would you please describe the very first time you noticed your wife behave in an irrational manner."

The baron remained silent for at least half a minute, then sighed. "She was four months pregnant with my first son, she was very beautiful, and being pregnant made her even more so. She took great care of herself, and seemed content. We both were. We were very much in love, exceptionally close, idyllically happy. One night I woke up, and she was not beside me. I went to look for her. I found her in the kitchen; there was food everywhere, she was stuffing her mouth. She must have been doing it for quite some time because there was vomit on the floor. Her face was rigid, she was like a stranger. It was awful."

Franks held up his hand. They could hear laughter from the next room. Helen stood up, as if to go into the reception area, but Franks waved her back to her seat.

"Maja is with her. She is very adept at relaxing patients. It seems she has succeeded!"

♦ ♦ ♦

Vebekka was telling Maja about her days as a model: the gossip and backbiting. She was very entertaining, and the more she relaxed the more animated she became. She stood up to demonstrate how she had first been taught to cat-walk. She arched her back, pushed her hips forward, and paraded up and down.

"You know how many models have back trouble? I mean can you imagine any sane person walking in this way?"

She swiveled on her heels, then glided to the sofa and sat down.

"The gowns were spectacular, and it was amusing to see which celebrity bought which design. Can you imagine the fun, seeing those superb creations on frumpy, rotund women!"

Maja was entertained, it was difficult not to be, but she also detected a strange wariness in Vebekka. Her eyes frequently strayed to the closed door, then she would fall silent, sometimes in mid-sentence, before quickly recovering and launching into a different story. Maja did not attempt to steer Vebekka into discussing how she felt, knowing it would either happen naturally or not at all. But as experienced as she was, she was still taken by surprise when Vebekka suddenly gripped her wrist.

"What are they doing in there? Why are they taking so long?"

Maja made no move to withdraw her hand.

"He's talking about me, isn't he? Of course, stupid question, stupid question…"

She released her hold.

"Dr. Franks needs to know so much about you," Maja said kindly.

"Why doesn't he ask me?"

"He will, but your husband will probably speak more freely without you there."

Vebekka nodded. "Yes, yes, that's true, poor Louis. I am all right now. This is a waste of time, you know…"

Maja looked at her watch. She got up and went toward a glass panel between the rooms. She was going to pull the blind up to see if one of the kitchen helpers was there to make some coffee, but, as her hand reached for the string, she froze.

"
Don't
…please don't. I don't want to see through the glass."

Maja turned to Vebekka. The baroness was hunched in her seat, staring straight ahead. Before Maja could say anything, the baron came in alone, gray with fatigue.

"I'm to take you home, darling."

Maja watched Vebekka closely, and saw the relief when she learned she would not have to see the doctor. She kissed Maja warmly as she left.

Dr. Franks walked into the reception area.

"Well, Maja, what do you think?"

"I think she is a very disturbed woman. She is very entertaining, very sharp and witty, but I think she is also…"

"Dangerous?" he inquired. Maja touched her wrist, remembering Vebekka's strong grip. She nodded. "Yes…very!"

Dr. Franks returned to his study, where Helen was still waiting. He shut the door, and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Maja agrees with you."

He poured Helen a glass of sherry.

"Tell me about the violence, have you witnessed it?"

"Yes, she becomes very disoriented, very angry, verbally and physically. She is quite frightening. Although she loses control, and claims to have no recall, I believe she has. She knows what she did to Sasha, but denies it."

Franks asked Helen to elaborate on the destruction of the dolls, and listened intently as she described what the baron had told her.

"He said he had run in response to Sasha's screams. To his horror he had found that his wife had taken every doll belonging to the child, smashed their faces, and torn off their arms. Then she had stacked them, and set fire to them. The house could have caught fire, but she just stood, watching the toys burning, forcing her daughter to watch with her. Sasha was terrified; Vebekka held her by her hair, forcing her to watch the dolls melt. The baron heard her saying 'Watch the babies, Sasha, watch the baby dolls!' He had to release his daughter from Vebekka's grip."

Franks interrupted. "Did she give a reason for her actions?" Helen shook her head. "I spoke with Sasha, and asked her to tell me about the incident. She kept repeating that her mama looked strange. Oh, yes, I remember something else. Sasha said Vebekka screamed for her father, said she called out, 'Papa.' While holding Sasha by the hair, she repeated: 'He is my papa, not yours, my papa. Papa loves me.' I asked the baron about this, and he said that the baroness did not allow any of the children to call him Papa. When I asked her about it, she said only that she didn't like them using 'Papa,' and when I pressed her, she had no answer."

''The baron said she attempted to take her own life last night, is this true?"

Helen shrugged. "She cut herself. I don't think she would have killed herself. She wants attention, screams for attention all the time…she is a great attention seeker."

"What about the violence to her husband? I noticed he had a nasty bite mark on his right hand."

Helen drained her sherry glass.

"When she is irrational, she will attack anyone who is close to her. He happened to be there. I guess she mistrusts everyone during these episodes, including her children. But I find it interesting that she did not attack her daughter, just her toys. Yet her daughter was close by…"

"What about the other children?"

Helen referred to her notes. "Some of these attacks have occurred in their presence. When she is in her so-called irrational state, she bites, kicks, punches…but she has not to my knowledge taken a weapon, a knife, or anything like that!"

"What does she say when she is in this condition?"

Helen flicked through her notes. "Back in 1982 she was to be given sodium pentothal, the truth drug, but she refused it. I sent you the transcript."

Franks opened his file and leafed through.

Helen continued. "She believes someone is taking over her mind, just as she believes that anyone in a white coat, doctor or nurse, is going to hurt her. She has a terror of injections. She has refused shock treatment and, until now, objected to any form of hypnotherapy."

"What do you think has made her change her mind?"

"She knows she is becoming more dangerous, has even told me she fears she will kill someone…I have gone as far as I can. I hope you can help her."

"I never give up hope. But first things first, my dear Helen, we must eat. I am starving and there's a nice little restaurant close by. We can continue our discussion over lunch."

Hilda had helped Vebekka dress for dinner, and was delighted by her exuberance. Louis, however, was tired and not in good spirits. He could hear his wife on the telephone to Sasha; Vebekka's resilience was astonishing, unnerving. She was telling Sasha about their plane journey, about Berlin, as if they were on a vacation. The call completed, she danced over to the dinner table and began lifting with relish the silver lids from the tureens. She ate little, just sat with her chin cupped in her hands, watching his every mouthful. She reached over and stroked his hand gently.

"I'm sorry for all the trouble I cause you, my darling."

He smiled, as she poured a glass of wine for him. She was forbidden any alcohol. He took his glass and raised it to her. In the candlelight her amber eyes were as bright as a cat's. Looking at her now made him feel deeply, horribly sad…This was the Vebekka he had fallen in love with, the young girl he had showered with gifts and flowers until she had succumbed to his charms. She had been crazy, fun-loving, madcap, and willful. She was still all those things, but now, the craziness, the madness, was a hideous constant torment.

"What are you thinking about, Louis?"

"How beautiful you look! You remind me of when we first met."

The next moment she was on his knee, kissing him frantically.

"I'm still your favorite baby, I haven't changed. Please, please take me to bed, carry me into the bedroom, the way you used to, please Louis, let's pretend this is a honeymoon."

He lifted her from his knee. "Eat, finish your dinner."

Pouting, she returned to her side of the table. She picked at her food, nibbling on the green beans as she watched him. She slurped some lemonade, trying to amuse him with coy, sweet smiles, smiles that had won him over so many times. Louis wondered how long it would be before she turned on him. He could no longer tell how long the bad spells lasted; all he knew was that this sweet creature would turn, if not tonight, a month, a week, or a year from now into a vicious, violent monster.

Her eyes narrowed, but she smiled. "Take me home, Louis, please, I'm all right now, it's over. I know I have said this to you before, but this time I know it's over. The darkness is gone. I felt it lift in the waiting room at Dr. Franks's. And Sasha misses me, she needs me to be with her."

He drained his wineglass, patted his lips with his napkin. She brought him a cigar, clipped the end for him, and struck the match. "Please, Louis, take me home, we can be together, a family. I really am fine now…"

He grabbed her wrist and held it tightly. "No, no we stay here, we stay until Dr. Franks has seen you, that's what we came for."

She made no attempt to free herself and he released his hold.

"Bekka, please don't do this to me, please don't…Maybe you feel fine now, but it could change, in the car, on the plane. Please give it a try, if not for yourself, if not for me, do it for Sasha!"

Vebekka wrapped him in her arms. "I would never hurt my baby, please believe me. Just say you will take me home, I don't want to stay here."

Louis pushed her away. "Sasha is afraid of you!"

Vebekka recoiled as if he had slapped her. "She is not, I just talked to her on the phone; she is not afraid of me."

Louis spun around. "You don't even know what you do to her! You will stay here, you will go to Dr. Franks. I'll make you see this through."

She cocked her head to one side and smirked.

"Then you will leave me? That's why I'm here, you want to get rid of me. I will never divorce you, Louis, not for any of your women, I will never release you. You are mine."

The baron ignored her, turning toward Anne Marie's room. "I'm going to bed, I suggest you do the same…Anne!…Anne!"

Anne Marie appeared.

"The baroness is retiring—will you see to her needs?"

Vebekka swiped at the dishes on the table. "I don't want any pills, I don't want that ugly little bitch- near me! I won't be locked in my room."

The baron looked hard at his wife. Her act was coming apart already. He walked into his room and slammed the door.

Vebekka turned on Anne Marie. "I don't need anything, especially from you. Go to your room, you plain, ugly bitch…go on, get out of my sight—get those short squat legs moving…you smell! In fact you
stink
…your body is putrid!"

Anne Marie paused at the door to look back to the baroness.

"At least my daughter isn't terrified of me." She shut the door quietly.

♦ ♦ ♦

The baroness's bedroom was lit by a bedside light. Vebekka threw herself onto the bed, then sat up panic-stricken. Where was her jewelry box? her makeup box?…Finding the boxes comforted her. She carried them to the bed. Then, she gleefully began to make up her face.

♦ ♦ ♦

Louis's eyes were closed, but he was not asleep; he knew she was in the room. He felt the covers on his right side lift. He sighed, raised his arm, and she nestled against him. Slowly he turned to look at her.

It took all his willpower not to push her away. Her face was hideously streaked, like a clown's. He tried to keep his voice steady. "What's that over your face, Bekka? What are you doing?"

"Your clown, don't you remember? When we were in New York that time? How we laughed at the little midget, the little clown…"

She slid off the bed and fell to her knees, bouncing up and down, pulling at her face grotesquely. He sat up, looked at the clock, then back at his wife. She jumped up on the bed, rolled on top of him, giggling and tickling him until he held her tightly.

"It's one o'clock in the morning, I'm exhausted, this is crazy."

She looked downcast. "Under the circumstances, I don't think this is a very funny thing to say!"

He sighed. It was as if she were balanced on a high wire; if he said the wrong word, made the wrong move, she would fall. He could contain himself no longer; his body shook as he wept.