AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And your name is?”
“Ryan Wolfgang.”
She adjusts her spectacles and reads something on the desk. “You are on the list,” she says, more to herself than to me.
She picks up a phone and dials. Four clicks on the nineties-style keypad tell me she dialed an internal number.
“Yes, Dr. Ortega?” The woman eyes me as she speaks. “Mr. Ryan Wolfgang is here to see you. He’s on Indigo Wolfgang’s list. I mentioned you might be going home for the day.” There’s a beat of silence. “Yes. Thank you.”
She sets the handset down with a click. “She’ll be down in a moment. You can sit right over there while you wait.”
I choose to stand by a window that overlooks a lush lawn. Paths laid in brick crisscross the sloping land. From this location, you can’t see the fenced perimeter. This is Indigo’s third facility. Twice I thought we were through the worst of it. Twice I believed she conquered her demons.
Heels on tile announce a person approaching. I first met Dr. Ortega when my sister agreed to try another treatment facility.
Experimentation with meth had been her first step past alcohol. Her teeth and skin bear that tale. Apparently, my financial support during her college years had been too generous. She sought higher-grade drugs. Cocaine, then heroin.
I no longer give my sister money. I refuse to waste time thinking about what she did to earn the funds for this latest spiral.
She’s suffering. A month ago, she attempted suicide. I believe there is more at play than a drug addiction. But I don’t want to feed my theory into a psychiatrist’s head. I want the diagnosis to be true and accurate.
“Mr. Wolfgang.”
Dr. Ortega tucks both hands into her pockets. Her purple silk blouse folds neatly into brown, pleated slacks. Her hair is up in a bun. She’s about five foot four, and I estimate she is in her fifties. She’s experienced and well regarded by the medical community.
“Thank you for meeting with me. How is she doing?”
“You mean, since you visited a few days ago?” Red lipstick stains her front tooth.
“Yes.”
“You can call and check on her if you like.” I nod. We’re in a public lobby. Due to privacy laws, she won’t share much where we can be overheard. I want answers. I want solutions. But she texted me. “When you visit with your sister, how does it go?”
She looks at me in a way that says she knows exactly how it goes. And for the first time, I wonder if my sister and I are observed during visitation periods. At first, she couldn’t have visitors. She earned the privilege, but she doesn’t want me to visit. She’s twelve years younger, and I barely know her. But she’s my blood relative, and our mother may have turned her back on Indie, but I don’t work that way.
“Are your visits…emotional?”
“No.” Outside, a man in scrubs approaches. His badge swings from his neck. “She doesn’t say much.”
“She may not be ready yet.” Dr. Ortega attempts kindness. “There are no family illnesses documented on her health history. Is that accurate?”
“Nothing diagnosed on our mother’s side.” Suspected, but not diagnosed. I mentioned this during intake. “I don’t know anything about her father’s side. We have different fathers.”
“That’s all I wanted to ask you.” She looks apologetic. “I didn’t mean for you to come straight out here. I meant for us to speak on the phone. I’m sorry if I alarmed you.”
The doors open, and the orderly speaks to Dr. Ortega. She offers a professional smile that doesn’t reach her eyes and lets me know she needs to go, but if I would like to schedule an appointment with her, I am welcome to do so.
I hate this. I hate everything about this situation. I hate how my sister stares at me with her sad brown eyes. But most of all, I hate this helpless sensation. There is no action plan to follow. This facility, right here, is all I can do. And rehab failed twice before.
I open the Uber app to request a car. The car is two minutes away. I scan my texts as I stroll to the gated entrance.
Erik:Call me.
A flash of hope my techie partner at Arrow found something effectively pulls me up like a safety line. I can’t do anything more for my sister. But I can find my friend’s daughter.
Erik, the head of our IT team, spearheads the surveillance team. He lives up north in Napa. Our team lives in locations all over the world. Having a workforce in time zones around the globe gives us an advantage when we need work completed around the clock.
“Hey,” he says. Instrumental jazz music plays in the background.
