Dream Me Home by Laurie Elizabeth Murphy

Author:Laurie Elizabeth Murphy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2023-07-11T11:34:50+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

It took less than five minutes to make it to the drive-through window at the pharmacy, but in that short amount of time, I had already lodged several concerns to my husband, attempting to make them less of resistance, and more of an intellectual conversation, to no avail. “l know you don’t want to take sleeping pills, honey,” he said, as if he was talking to a three-year-old, “but it is in your best interest. Dr. Sherman has been doing this for a long time and has a stellar reputation for turning people’s lives around.” When I attempted another rebuttal, he spoke in medical terms, quoting statistics, telling me about the neuro-functioning of my brain, of posttraumatic stress disorder, of the inability to pretend I can cure myself by time. He won, of course, as he always did.

After we paid for the pills, I opened the package, gazing at the poison Dr. Sherman prescribed, toxins, as far as I was concerned, that would interfere with my daily functioning, and disturb the natural order of things. They were pink, round, and small, their color obviously trying to lure people into believing they were not the enemy. I was not going to be fooled. Rob parked in front of the nursing home, offering to walk me inside, but I declined. It was almost eight o’clock. Mom was sound asleep, her sleeping pills next to her bed on the bedside table. I noticed they were the same color and shape as mine. Her nurse stopped in to say hello. “Are you going to stay awhile, or is this just a quick peek in to see how your mom’s doing?”

“l thought I’d stay for a little bit, just to watch her sleep. She seems so peaceful. Is she doing okay during the day?”

“Oh, yes, she’s doing just fine. She eats her meals like she hasn’t seen food in years, but that’s because our staff just loves to feed her. She can’t eat by herself, of course, but you don’t have a thing to worry about. She gets lots of love here. I wish all our residents were as sweet as your mother.”

“Yes, she is sweet. I used to think I inherited some of her good nature, but now, I’m not so sure.”

“You’ll get back to normal, Peggy. After the ordeal you’ve been through, no one could blame you if you’re a little on edge.” Then, she thought better of what she said, trying to correct any offense she might have caused. “What I mean is, we all think you’re just as wonderful as you’ve always been.”

“Thank you. I’m doing the best I can, but some days, it’s not easy.”

“l know, honey. Don’t you fret. Everything will be just fine. By the way, my shift ends in less than an hour. Before you go, would you mind tossing her sleeping pill into the toilet. I know you’ve already been well versed in how we dispose of pills we don’t use. Now, flush it good or we’ll all be looking for another job.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.