The Specialist

Bonnie listened as the phone went to voicemail at Dr. Iris's office. She looked at the clock over her shoulder. It was just after 8:30am, and Dr. Iris's office doesn't open until 9:00am. She ended the call, and dialed the number for this shiny new Dr. Schriver to see what the hell this was supposed to be about.

"Good morning, Dr. Schriver's office." it was the same voice that had left the voicemail a few minutes ago.

"Morning, this is Bonnie, you just left a voicemail for me about a referral from Dr. Iris's office. I just had a few questions, if you don't mind." Bonnie was white-knuckling the counter top as she spoke.

"Well of course, Bonnie, was it? Just let me pull up the paperwork, please hold for one moment." 

Before Bonnie could respond, the sound of cisco hold music took over the line.

"Sure, no problem, I'll hold." she yelled back at the hold music, agitation growing with every second she waited. Then the music stopped. She could hear a muffled voice, someone covering the receiver with their hand.

"Hello, Bonnie?" asked the voice, "I apologize for the wait, I had misplaced your file for a moment, but I have it now. Were you looking to book an appointment with Dr. Schriver? I have your referral documents."

Bonnie frowned. "Well, I was hoping you might be able to tell me why I was referred to this... Dr. Schriver in the first place. I did not discuss referral with Dr. Iris to any other therapists, so I have absolutely no idea what this is all about. Could you provide me that context, um, honey, what was your name again?"

"Megan. My name is Megan. I can certainly try to find the answer for you, please hold."

"No, don't—" Bonnie heard the cisco hold music take over the line again. She sighed, resigning herself to waiting. As she waited, she wandered around the kitchen making herself a pot of coffee.

"Hello, Bonnie? Thank you for holding. We received referral paperwork from Dr. Iris for a transfer of care to Dr. Schriver, who specializes in your condition."

Bonnie's eyes widened. Her heart began to race. "Condition? What condition?" Bonnie stammered, not understanding what Megan was trying to say.

"Dissociative Identity Disorder, Ma'am. You were diagnosed by Dr. Iris, and he mentioned in the paperwork that he has been having issues dealing with your alter, and he spoke with your alter about this. Has he not spoken with you about the transfer? That's highly unusual." Megan trailed off.

"Wait, you must have me confused with someone else. I do not have—what did you call it? Disassociation Disorder? No, there must be some mistake." Bonnie huffed, feeling annoyed that such a mix up could even happen in the first place.

"Dissociative Identity Disorder, Ma'am. And yes, the paperwork that was sent over specifies that this referral is for both Bonnie and Margo, who I assume is your alter?"

"Please. stop calling me Ma'am. Bonnie is fine. But I still have no idea what you're talking about, who is Margo? What is an 'Alter'?" Bonnie tapped her fingers vigorously on the counter as she watched the coffee percolate.

"I'm so sorry for the mix up, Ma'a—I mean, Bonnie. I suggest you reach out to Dr. Iris's office for further clarification. Would you like to book an appointment in the meantime?" Megan's voice was flustered, but she kept it professional.

"No, I do not want to book an appointment with a doctor that I probably don't even need! This whole thing is ridiculous. I will be contacting Dr. Iris. believe me. Please do not contact me again."

Bonnie slammed her cell phone onto the counter. Sometimes she missed the good old days of land lines, when you could slam the receiver down to get your point across. These days everything is just a button or knob, nothing has any versatility anymore.

Bonnie had roughly 20 minutes to kill before she could contact Dr. Iris to get this straightened out. Maybe a nice hot shower would help ease some of the tension she was feeling. She stripped off the wet pajamas she was still wearing, stepping into the steaming shower. She let the hot water run over her sore, aching body. Her feet were so caked with mud and blood, the water collecting at the bottom of the shower was turning a sickly reddish brown before disappearing down the drain. Bonnie closed her eyes and focused on the water. It was getting hotter by the second. The steam rose up around her, as the water temperature reached molten lava. It was so steamy that Bonnie couldn't see anything. She felt blindly for the shower knobs to try and turn off the water, but her hands just couldn't find them. The water kept getting hotter, and Bonnie could feel her skin beginning to burn. She had to get out of this shower now, before her skin melted clean off. She stumbled, grasping the shower curtain for balance. As she grabbed blindly, she lost her footing. Bonnie and the shower curtain tumbled down into the bottom of the tub, where she lay motionless for a few moments.

She opened her eyes to hear her phone ringing on the bathroom counter. Steadying herself on the wall of the shower, she gingerly stood and turned off the water. Stepping out onto the bath mat, she grabbed the phone off the counter and put it to her ear.

"Go for Margo."