&nbsp;The girl in the photo on her wall blinked.This was not bad for a Saturday morning, Medley thought. The medication was still sour and hard under her tongue, and they would soon check to see if she took it, but the old problems never went away.And the girl was smiling now.After three years here, she knew that they would not put her into solitary, unless she was violent like the others. She knew that Doctors Lilly (strange name for a man she thought, but he had the feminine touch) and Hatter (like The Mad Hatter, she thought after their first talk; maybe she was a former resident). This was simply a place for her to rest and not think about things. This was a place for her to return and reset herself.Let’s get back to normal…She heard them walking down the hallway to her door.“Ms. Lapine?”At least they knocked here. She swallowed some of the orange juice to wash away the pill (the taste still lingered).“You can come in.”As they opened the door, Medley quickly glanced over at the photo. Not an inch of it moved. The girl was back to her middle-distance glare, and something else…“And how are we today?” Dr. Lilly, the older one of the pair, always sat down for these talks, with Hatter at the door like she was some sort of monitor…or guard.The squeak of the padded chair was comforting.“Fine today. I’m just intrigued by that photograph.”Hatter frowned and looked over at the picture. Lilly just smiled.“Well, we thought that someone like you would appreciate it. It’s…”“Diane Arbus.” Medley cut him off. “She took that one in nineteen-seventy, I think.”“Right. Very good.” Lilly was making good. “Just as she was at the peak of her talent.”“And just before she…”Both Lilly and Medley stared at Hatter as she stood in the doorjamb. Lilly was disappointed. Medley was impressed.“Yes, well, that was unfortunate.” Lilly was back to his patient.“It was. And that was why I came here to take it easy for a while. I did not want to end up like her when she felt that she had no one to talk to.”Medley could not help but look back at the picture. The girl was now clearly staring at her. It almost felt like a dare.“And do you feel better?” Hatter had her own clipboard, too. She was staring at it as she spoke.“As good as I can be.”Hatter tried not to smile.“As good as any of us can be.”Lilly let the grin take over his face.“That’s good. And you took your medicine?”Medley almost opened her mouth to let them both examine under her tongue, but had another idea come to mind.“You can check the bed if you like.”That was awkward. The two doctors briefly made eye contact, putting their clipboards down and returning their stare to the bed their patient was now sitting up in.“Well, you’ve never…”Hatter coughed at this.“Well, it has been a long time since you refused your medication. I think we can check this later.” Lilly made a note.“If I lie, urine trouble?”Dr. Lilly almost dropped his pen and smiled again, a sincere one. Hatter tried not to grin. A sense of humour in the pair of them? Medley was surprised by this.“Well said.” Lilly finally put the board on the side table with her lamp, clock and papers. “And that is why we think that your time is up here.”Hatter finally seemed to relax in the space of the doorway.“You think that I’m okay.”“I really don’t see any reason why you should stay on. You were voluntary, at first.” He leaned back and let the clipboard rest in his lap. “And now you are doing well with the medication and rest.”“But shouldn’t I just stay on a little longer?”There was a pause there, and she once again looked at the photograph. The girl, now on a swing in the background, seemed to be moving.“Don’t you miss your work?”Hatter was moving forward, almost as if she wanted to pull Medley out of the bed.“My work…”“You’re an artist. You even brought your camera with you when you arrived. We gave it back to you and you have left it in the cupboard all this time. You can get back to what you know.”Lilly seemed to approve of this tactic.“I think… Dr. Hatter is just saying that with your talent and fame, it seems a waste to have you spending so much time in bed staring at the wall, and at one of your…rivals?”It was now Medley’s turn to laugh.“Never a rival. Believe me. Photographers will always… I mean, she was one of the best and then…”“Yes, her death. By her own hand.”Hatter was looking at the clipboard again.“She had no one to talk to.” Medley stared out the window and saw that the slate grey sky was getting darker.“But you are not her. You are Medley Lapine. Your pictures are in galleries and album covers and…”Hatter was beginning to really impress her.“Let’s get back to normal?”That had been Lilly’s line, and he stood up at the words.“Right. Exactly. Let’s not forget why you are here. We will take a sample before the day it out, and by the end of the week you are free to go.”Hatter was already at the door when Lilly joined her, a strange pair of figures in the now quiet hallway.“The press will want to know what happened.”“Ms. Lapine, this is perfect for any artist, don’t you think?” Hatter clicked her pen and dropped it neatly into a pocket of her lab coat. “So many stories to share…”Medley looked at her closely. Drs. Lilly and Hatter… Like a happy couple she was forced to spend time with every Monday morning; like a little soiree with friends. She would actually miss them.“So, by the end of the week?”“After we check everything.”“Okay, Dr. H. I will be on my way.”Lilly liked to watch them engage like this.“Speak to you later. And enjoy the rest of the stay.”They shut the door and Medley wondered if she really meant what she had said. Three years is a long time, but, as Hatter pointed out, many artists take a break in order to find themselves. She thought of John Lennon in his house husband days in New York, and Picasso making ceramics instead of paintings for a while. And she thought of Diane.Ms. Arbus.Let’s get back to normal…“Don’t be fooled by those people. They just want you to leave. I am the one who wants you to stay.”Who was…?The girl in the photo blinked and smiled. An ugly black hole for a mouth, as black as the eyes that grew in the frame, moved as the words formed.“You should stay.”Medley Lapine stared at the picture, trying to focus on what was happening, but she felt an overwhelming urge to crawl back under the covers.“Stay…”In the distance, a thunderclap began to spread its sound.

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Undersolo

Kendall A Defoe

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