Vol. II. Issue. III September 2011 - The Criterion: An International ...

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www.the-criterion.com The Criterion: An International Journal in English ISSN 0976-8165 * On the way to the hospital, Mary Jane sits in the back seat, her husband Ray in the passenger side front, Gene in the driver’s seat. Gene says, “So y’all are both on the patch now? How’s ‘at going?” She knows he’s just trying to make conversation, but the question itself makes her want to smoke more than ever, makes her want to shove an entire pack of cigarettes in her mouth and light it aflame, and then she would like to light Gene aflame for good measure. The patch has been playing tricks on her brain. For about three days, Mary Jane had been convinced she'd won a million dollars from a scratch off game at Taco Bell. Ray believed her when she came home and told him about it. Then she thought she had lost the ticket or French fry box or whatever it was with the prize on it, and then she realized a couple of days later it had all been a patch-induced hallucination. Fortunately they had decided to keep the whole thing under their shirts until the winnings were confirmed. * Vera looks up from the jigsaw puzzle just in time to make eye contact with Gene as he approaches the nurses' station, her sister and brother-in-law in tow. She doesn't want to talk to them. One of the too bubbly nurses comes bounding over to the table. Before the nurse can make her overly bubbly announcement, Vera says she knows. Waves them over. Hugs. Not tender ones. Shoulder pats. They see her as delicate now. There are four chairs around the card table so they all sit. They ask her what she's working on. Jigsaw puzzle. Duh. And don't ask what it's of. The box is right in front of you. Mary Jane says, "What's it of?" Vera pushes the box in her direction. It's flowers. Mental patients are supposed to like flowers she guesses. We find them calming. She assures them that she feels okay and the staff is taking good care of her. That's all they want to know. Nothing is resolved. No sort of resolution is attempted. She knows they are thinking she is safe here and maybe she'll get better this time. Vera is just biding her time until they let her go home. On the other hand, she hopes they do keep her here a while. It is quiet mostly, and it's very clean. Vol. II. Issue. III 266 September 2011
www.the-criterion.com The Criterion: An International Journal in English ISSN 0976-8165 * Ms. Rogers, I am shocked and incensed at the story I saw tonight when I got home about this new sales tax they want to start charging. For schools? Yeah, right. That money goes right in the pockets of you know who. My brother-in-law has a large gun collection. I have a mind to borrow one of those guns and tote it right down to the capital building. Thank you very much, Mary Jane Grosnick P.S. I saw you coming out of the Publix this afternoon, and I didn't quite realize what I was doing at the time, but I sort of followed you to your neighborhood. Local news anchors must not get paid as much as I would think. Was that your daughter with you? She's lovely. * Vera looks for those last couple of pieces of the jigsaw. They must be under the table somewhere. She gets down on her knees, combs through the gray-blue low pile with her fingers. Her hair falls down into her face. She can't see anything anyway. She gives up. An urge to just lie down there on the floor comes over her, but she resists. How can she be so exhausted when all she has done for three weeks is sleep, go to therapy, and work on this jigsaw puzzle? When she returns to her plastic chair, Mary Jane says, "We're the only normal ones here, aren't we?" Vera doesn't answer. Vol. II. Issue. III 267 September 2011
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