manhood up. Allison was very familiar with helping men through their mid-life crises.
More times than not, she would write a prescription for the little blue pill and entertain the clients with flattering conversation, in order to build their confidence once again. Honestly, this was really the extent of her treatment plan and it seemed to work.
Most of her male patients seemed thrilled with her counseling techniques. Allison’s bubbly disposition added a rainbow of hope to her client s’ complex and grey worlds. Her big toothsome smile and over-the-top compliments went a long way with men fifty years of age and older.
For whatever reason, this particular patient crashed into the conclusion of suicide . It was beyond Allison’s comprehension.
Prior to the incident, and from the outside looking in, Mr. Patterson appeared to be on his was to recovery. According to his grandiose claims, coupled with a dose of his happy blue pill his manly equipment had the power of a V-8 engine and could shift lanes with his eyes closed. Surely, this alone gave him a good reason to live out his life.
In the absence of Allison having any experience in a life-or-death situation, her knee-jerk instinct was to go to his rescue when she received his distraught phone call.
Allison arrived at Mr. Patterson’s home with no regard to what she may be facing behind closed doors. Before she involved the authorities, it was her intention to triage the severity of his condition. She had a propensity to protect her patients in case of a false alarm.
She turned the wheel of her car hard into the driveway, slammed her car into park, jumped out and raced blindly towards his front door and knocked frantically.
When Mr. Patterson answered the door, her eyes quickly appraised him up and down, searching for self-inflicted wounds. There was no such evidence, at least nothing visible that she could see. However, she noted that the whites of his eyes were blazing red. The room behind him was dark, save for a dim slice of light illuminating from a cracked opened door at the end of a long hallway.
“Allison, thank you for coming. Minutes before you got here I was going to—,” he said, choking on his words. An onset of tears poured from his eyes.
It broke Allison’s heart to see a grown man crying. She felt terribly responsible for all her patients.
“Oh no. You have been doing so well. What happened tonight?” Allison asked, catching her breath. “Let me drive you to the hospital...they’re better equipped to help you, Mr. Patterson.” He moved back into the room.
“Okay, let me get my things. Please come inside,” he implored.
Allison hesitated for a moment, glancing over her shoulder. She was in such a hurry to get to him that she had left the car running. The car would be fine idling for a few moments while she assessed the situation.
“Okay,” she replied and stepped into the dark room. A whiff of stale beer and sweat filled her nostrils.
Mr. Patterson closed the door and locked it. There was something dark in his hand that she had not noticed seconds ago. Perhaps she missed it because she was too zealous with concern for him. A pang of anxiety raced through Allison’s veins, and her heartbeat accelerated.
“Mr. Patterson, I don’t feel comfortable with you locking the door. Please, get your wallet and keys so we can go. Anything you may need. And I will lock up for you,” she said firmly. A look of nervousness spread across her face.
“I don’t like locked doors either,” he shouted loudly. His words pierced Allison’s eardrums. He had her full-on attention.
“Yes, I can understand that.” Her voice trembled. “So, let’s get out of here...you and I will work this out together.”
“No, I don’t want to go. I need you. You’re the only one that understands me. They will lock me away like they did before.”
“Before?” She paused. “Who locked you away?”
“My fucking