Tentyrian Legacy (9 page)

Gloria looked satisfied. Raad would have to
appeal to the father if he had any hopes of doing what was best for
this girl. He’d appeal to his wallet.

“Mr. Parker,” Raad barked. Walter looked
startled at being addressed so harshly. He had been deep in thought
about his current case. This appointment, like all the others
Gloria ever scheduled, was an inconvenience to him.

“I want to be frank with you,” Raad
continued. “The cost of keeping Arianna at Silver Hill will run you
at least $250,000. The tutors here I’m confident are not up to par
with what Arianna needs. That will cost you an extra $25,000, at
least. Plus tack on another $30,000 for her room and board fees,
you are looking at spending around $300,000 this year just to keep
your daughter five miles from your home when I am telling you she
does not pose a threat to herself or others. Does that math make
sense to you?”

Walter tapped his fingers together as he
thought about it. He’d told Gloria to handle the situation, and
clearly she hadn’t. She assured him that all the doctors
recommended Arianna stay at Silver Hill, that she would be safer,
that they could make some additional strides in treating her
schizophrenia. But what he was hearing was that the expense, which
certainly wasn’t minimal, was needless. Gloria could be so
incompetent sometimes. They obviously didn’t need to keep Arianna
here. The other downside to having her at Silver Hill was that he’d
have to visit.

“Then it is settled,” said Walter. “Arianna
will come back home. Dr. Raad, you may examine Arianna further and
conduct the tests you need. Please work with Dr. Wilson and my wife
to schedule them accordingly. If you can find a better solution to
the medication she is on, great. If not, you tried.”

“But Walter,” protested Gloria, “this is not
what we discussed!” Walter gave her a piercing look and replied,
“It’s not, but you are not being practical. And I’m not wasting
money on something that is senseless. We will pay for whatever
tests and treatments that result from Dr. Raad’s analyses. But
$300,000 to keep her here for no reason is not going to happen. End
of story, Gloria. Even I have my limits. Now, I need to get back to
the office.” Walter was done with the conversation. He stood up,
kissed his wife on the cheek, and shook the doctors’ hands.

Gloria was clearly embarrassed by Walter’s
abrupt departure. But she would have to do as Walter mandated. He
controlled the purse strings.

“So when should I bring Arianna back?” asked
Gloria dejectedly. “I can come to you,” said Dr. Raad. “My first
session with her will be informal, just a conversation, really.
Does next Thursday work, let’s say 2:00 p.m.?”

“Yes. I’ll have my housekeeper contact you
with directions to the house.”

“Mrs. Parker, I’ll discuss the costs with Dr.
Raad and get back to you and your husband,” said Dr. Wilson, whose
face was beet red. There was still an opportunity to make money
from this, but Dr. Raad was on thin ice. Wilson was going to have a
word with the board immediately.

“I’ll go collect Arianna then,” replied
Gloria flatly.

Raad privately marveled at her reaction. What
kind of mother was this woman who would happily pass her child off
to an institution just because she didn’t want to be bothered
anymore? He’d certainly seen his fair share of child neglect
growing up in a slum of Iran. But these people were wealthy. What
was their excuse?

From what Raad read in Ari’s file and from
what he found out from the other patients and nurses, Ari was
polite and quiet. She rarely spoke, which wasn’t a surprise with
all the medication she was now taking. But she never demonstrated
violent or hysterical tendencies. She was kind to the other
patients. And she was also borderline genius. This was definitely
going to be an interesting case study . . .

After their good-byes, Gloria found Ari
outside by the fountain. When she was told she was going home, Ari
was elated. She would get to see Beau, sleep in her own bed, and
even eat Irena’s gluten-free pancakes. But the reaction she shared
with her mother was one of impassivity. She would hate her forever.
Ari didn’t know what convinced her parents to let her go home, but
God was she thankful.

“Although you are going home, Arianna, you
will still need to undergo additional tests and treatment once a
week,” said Gloria snidely. “You have your first appointment on
Thursday with a doctor. And you are to behave yourself and do as
you are told. We don’t want the police to pay us another visit now,
do we?”

“No, we wouldn’t want that,” Ari responded
tersely.

They were soon speeding home in Gloria’s
Jaguar. The trees whipped past them in a blur of branches just
sprouting with the first signs of green. Ari couldn’t wait to get
in the bath and slip under the water. When she was little, Irena
would let her bring a snorkel in the soaking tub so she could stay
under for hours. With all the noise in her head, she just might
want to go looking for that snorkel. The important thing was that
she came out of Silver Hill with her mind intact; she could
certainly handle a few more tests and another doctor.

Five days later, Dr. Raad arrived at the
Parker estate. His Honda Civic felt out of place as it crawled past
the imposing gates and up the gravel drive. The housekeeper, who
looked like a sixty-year-old line-backer, directed Raad to the
book-lined library. Curled up in a chair by the expansive windows,
Ari was deep in concentration as she read an SAT prep book.

She was the picture of youth on the cusp of
full bloom. Raad was not one to remark on a woman’s looks, much
less a girl’s, at least not since his wife died nine years ago. But
even he noted that Arianna Parker was stunning. Her face reminded
him of a carefully crafted sculpture. Her pale skin was like
alabaster as she held herself in an unconsciously graceful pose.
She had a natural pink flush to her makeup-free cheeks, and her
chestnut hair hung loosely around her shoulders. What complexities
did this young Aphrodite have hidden away in her mind, Raad
wondered.

“Excuse me, Arianna. I’m Dr. Raad.” The black
Lab at her feet eyed him lazily and, after determining he wasn’t a
threat, went back to his nap. Raad was at first taken aback by the
girl’s sharp gaze that snapped in his direction at the
interruption, but she quickly gave him a shy smile and stood to
shake his hand.

“It’s nice to meet you, Arianna. Studying for
the SATs?” asked Raad.

“Yes, I’m taking them in a month,” she
answered softly.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been in school,
but aren’t you a few years early?”

“Well, I’ve never been to school—in the
traditional sense—so I wouldn’t really know.”

“Well congratulations then.”

“Thank you. Would you like to sit here in the
library or would you prefer to go somewhere else? My mother said
that you would likely just be asking me questions today.”

“Here is fine,” he said as they settled into
leather wing chairs facing each other. He didn’t take out a pen or
notepad, which surprised Ari. “I do want to ask you some questions,
but I mostly want to have a conversation to get to know each other
better. I thought we could start by me telling you about myself and
then vice versa?” Ari gave a curt nod in agreement.

To Ari, Dr. Raad looked nonthreatening. He
was slightly disheveled, with a wrinkled button-down under a wool
V-neck sweater covered with animal hair. His shoes were scuffed, as
if they were his favorite and only pair.

“I’m a neurologist, but I also have a degree
in psychiatry,” he said comfortably. “I used to have a practice in
the City, but I’ve since given it up and I’m now living in
Connecticut and working at Silver Hill. I didn’t have the pleasure
of meeting you in person during your stay there, but I came across
your case. I’m interested in helping you explore some alternative
treatments and taking another look at your diagnosis.” No reaction
registered on Ari’s face. She truly believed no one could help
her.

“I’ve only been at Silver Hill a few weeks,
and I was expecting to encounter patients of the garden variety.
But . . . you on the other hand are unique,” said Raad.

“Unique? That is an interesting way to put
it,” said Ari as she pulled the sleeves of her cashmere sweater
partially over her hands so she had something to hold on to.

“I’m renting a cottage on the Silvermine
River. It has a beautiful garden and view, and it’s great for
reading and writing. My dog, Luna, loves it, but she keeps bringing
dead squirrels home. I don’t have the heart to get mad, she is so
proud,” Raad laughed. Ari gently brushed her foot over Beau’s coat
and gave her dog a smile that conveyed nothing short of adoration.
At least they had something in common.

“I live alone with Luna. My wife died several
years ago, but the two of us get along all right,” Raad said
pleasantly. But underneath the tone that conveyed a surprising
positivity, he was still very much a broken man.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” she sympathized.
While Ari felt sad for his loss, she reminded herself to keep her
guard up. She’d encountered enough doctors to know that they often
tried to build a feigned connection only to get her to trust them.
As far she knew, Raad could very well have a wife, children, and
cats waiting for him at home.

“Why don’t you tell me about yourself,
Arianna?” he asked. She looked at him squarely and said nothing for
a while. He could tell the gears were turning.

“Dr. Raad, I don’t mean to be rude, but we
can skip the pleasantries. I’ve always been a cooperative patient.
Understanding my likes and dislikes and my feelings isn’t going to
make a difference,” replied Ari.

“You’re direct, I’ll give you that,” Raad
said. “But we are going to be spending time together, so I at least
think we should try to be friends.”

“The only way to have a friend is to be one,”
she said pointedly.

“I see you like Ralph Waldo Emerson. I’ve
read your report, Arianna, and know you are exceptionally smart. I
promise you, I will never insult your intelligence and not respect
your wishes. I will also never ask you to try a treatment that you
don’t want to. All I ask is that you show up for our appointments.
If something makes you uncomfortable, you say the word and we’ll
stop.”

This was the first time a doctor spoke to her
like an adult. Before this, she had never been given options when
it came to doctors and her condition. Yet this man was giving her a
choice.

“Okay,” she said hesitantly. She’d cooperate
and show up for their appointments. But she still wasn’t going to
lay all of her cards out on the table. Several silent minutes
ticked by.

“Where are you applying to college?” Raad
asked. “Yale,” she responded confidently.

“And . . . ?”

“That’s it. Nowhere else.”

“So I guess you aren’t hedging your bets
then?”

“No.”

“As I told you before, I won’t insult your
intelligence. But can I ask an obvious question?”

“Sure.”

“You’ve never attended school and you are
fifteen. Do you think you are capable of living on your own?”

She began to chew on her bottom lip and
diverted her gaze out the window. He could tell he hit a nerve.

“I’ll be sixteen when I go, if I get in. I
don’t know how it will all work out. But I have to try,” she said
firmly.

“Do your parents know?”

“That I’m applying? Not yet. But I’ve just
completed my GED. Yale is one of the best schools in the country.
It’s my father’s alma mater. Plus it’s only an hour away. When I
get in, they won’t have a choice but to let me go,” she said
passionately.

Oh, they’ll have a choice all right, thought
Raad. He rubbed the stubble on his chin and didn’t say anything.
The likelihood her parents would understand or accept Ari attending
college was slim to none. Plus, she was still a minor. They, or at
least her mother, believed she was a danger to herself and others.
They’d likely want to avoid any potential embarrassment at all
costs.

“I know you probably think this is stupid,
but I can do this,” she said, sensing his skepticism. “I really
can’t live here any longer. I know what my parents think of me. My
mother can’t stand to be around me.” He didn’t refute what was
likely true. “Okay, let’s say you go. How do you think you’ll feel
around the other students? You’ll have roommates and classes with
many people. And you’ll have to go to the dining hall at some
point.”

She reached down to stroke Beau’s neck. “If I
concentrate enough and breathe, it’s not unbearable, you know,” she
said defensively.

“Tell me more about that. What exactly do you
do to shut out the voices you hear?” Ari flushed. “There is nothing
to be embarrassed about, Arianna. You hear voices. It’s a fact. I
just want to figure out why and what I can do to help.”