The Perfect Son (6 page)

Normally, I wouldn’t even think of making this request, but can you
please
sit with Cody tomorrow until I can make it home? I know this is very short notice, but you’ve always had a calming effect on him, and he’s always been so close to you, so I figure it will do him some good. Besides, I really don’t want to leave him alone for hours on end. I don’t trust him by himself, and I really don’t want him meeting a new shrink alone. Can you please do this for us? It would mean everything and more to me.”

For a few quiet moments, the sister sat in stunned silence. She had always wondered about Cody’s whereabouts and how he had been fairing since he and his mother abruptly stopping coming to church over a year ago. Never did she ever imagine that this had been his fate, and she wasn’t quite sure how to process it. One thing she did know, however, was that she could not turn down this request.

“Kelly, I can’t believe you ever considered
not
asking. It is my mission to be of service to anyone in need, so to turn down a personal request to attend to someone so close to my heart is inconceivable. I will be there. What time am I to arrive?” Sister Mary Ava said as she watched the woman with gentleness in her eyes. Immediately, Kelly hung her head and cried.

“Eight thirty,” she said.

“I’ll be there.”

***

“Hold still,” Kelly said firmly and without inflection as she tightened Cody’s restraints. He winced, and then laughed without humor.

“I love you, too,” he said mockingly.

His comment got no reaction from Kelly, and the same as before, she kept her face blank as she bound his feet to the footboard, before making her way to his right arm. Cody watched her intently as she moved from corner to corner, but she never met his gaze.

“You know, you can’t ignore me forever. Even if you try, I’ll still be here,” he said after several minutes of her silence. Finally, with coldness in her eyes he had only seen once before, she looked at him.

“I am not ignoring you. I simply refuse to entertain a vengeful, malicious sub personality of my son; therefore, we have nothing to discuss,” she said, and then returned to checking over her handiwork. She was resolute in her decision to not allow
this
Cody to hurt Sister Mary Ava after she had so kindly agreed to assist them. Cody, however, was even more confused than before.

“Really? So that’s what you’re telling yourself to help you sleep at night? I don’t act the way you want me to, so I must not be your son? Well, you’re wrong. I am your son, even if you don’t want me to be. I’ve always been your son, even when you weren’t my mom,” he said, with his voice finally revealing an emotion different from anger or amusement. Kelly merely turned away from him.

“Sleep,” she commanded firmly as she gathered her things, preparing to leave the room. Cody silently watched her, and after receiving silence once more, his eyes welded with tears.

“Right,” he said softly as he thought over his predicament. Not even twenty-four hours ago he was informed he was mentally ill, forced to take several pills, and was now strapped to a bed with the only person that had control of his life planning to leave him behind as quickly as she could. It terrified him, and he wanted to go away to a time and place he felt save. The first memory that came to him was when he had been a small boy of only three years old. A song had been sung to him to quiet his fears and help him sleep. Ironically, the person that starred in that memory was the same one who had just turned her back on him.

“Fly little bird, fly high and high

Dream far and wide, go touch the sky

Fly little bird, don’t fear the wind

I’ll make sure…”

Cody sang, before his voice drifted off in sleep. The one good thing about his predicament was that the other personality was always trying to claw to the surface, so falling into dreamland could be quickly accomplished by simply ending his never-ending battle to remain awake. Unfortunately, he did not see the frozen figure standing only a few inches from his door.

“I’ll make sure your wings don’t bend

Fly little bird, I’ll be your guide

I am with you, you’ll never die”

Kelly finished, before turning to look at her son. She then staggered over to him, before falling into a chair that sat at his bedside. She hadn’t sung that song in twelve years, and its reemergence made her think back to how it had come to be.

“Mommy, Daddy, look, a bird family! Mommy bird, daddy bird and baby birds!” Cody said excitedly as Robert held him up to get a better look. The minute his feet touched the ground again, he ran over to Kelly.

“You’re mommy bird and I’m baby bird,” he said with a huge smile. Not quite paying attention to who she was addressing, Kelly said the first thing that came to mind.

“Cody, those things are ugly as hell. You are way cuter than that.”

Immediately, Robert slapped his hands over Cody’s ears, before he scolded her.

“Kelly, what the hell are you thinking! Don’t tell him that!” He said with sternness and amusement coloring his voice. Realizing her error, Kelly’s eyes widened, and she quickly set out to amend her statement.

“What I mean is that I’m biased. You’ll always be the cutest baby to me, but if you want to be a baby bird, you can be one,” she said, making Cody’s confused face shift back into a smile.

“I’m a baby bird!”

A few weeks after that, Robert finally convinced her to take a year off before starting law school. She had already earned her bachelor’s degree in political science in only four years even with a child, yet he still had another year to earn his bachelor’s in education, and they were strapped for cash. He told her that she deserved a break, they could save on child care expenses, and the time off would let her get to know her son before it was too late. With those sound arguments, she relented, and her little bird ditty came about during one of the nights Cody had climbed into bed with her. She had never felt closer to him any other time than she did then. Of course, it didn’t last, and during their divorce Robert was quick to call her on it.

“You know what? Fuck you, Kelly! You’re mad at me, so you’re using Cody against me, and it’s wrong! You claim you love him, but how can you when you don’t even know him!”

‘I don’t know you, huh?’
Kelly thought as she wiped a stray tear from the sleeping boy’s eye and caressed his cheek. She then thought back to her latest conversation with Dr. Cruson.

“I have never given this diagnosis before, but I and my colleagues can see none other more fitting. We believe he has dissociative identity disorder. It often arises after a person experiences an extremely traumatic event, so their minds compartmentalize different events, memories and emotions to protect themselves from further pain, and Cody fits that description.

In order to treat this, the first order of business is to identify the dominant personality, and then unearth what is fueling the creation of the others. I attempted to do this over the past three days, and I now believe that the Cody that attacked you is the main personality,” Dr. Cruson said, and Kelly was already shaking her head in the negative.

“No, I won’t accept that. I will accept that perhaps his previous issues led to him creating this other person, but no, that is not my son. My son has never behaved that way before, and he never would. That’s not my son.”

“Kelly, I know this isn’t what you wanted to hear, but after speaking with him extensively during his hospitalization, I am confident that I am correct in my assessment. Before the accident, Cody was struggling with feelings of anger, despair and ineptitude at living up to your expectations, so it should not be a surprise that after such a horrific accident, he would lock his emotions and memories away, and become who he thought you wanted him to be. If you speak with him, he may reveal to you why he’s–”

“Dr. Cruson, with all due respect, you may have been seeing my son for the past year, but I raised him. I think I know him better than you do.”

For the first time since having that conversation, Kelly was feeling doubt. She finally wanted to speak to him, and to see if Dr. Cruson was right, but he was fast asleep.

‘Later, we’ll talk,’
she thought as she ran her fingers across a wisp of his hair, before carefully blotting away her tears before they could fall. The next moment, the doorbell rang.

***

“Hello Sister Mary Ava, thank you so much for coming here. I cannot begin to tell you how grateful I am,” Kelly said as she moved aside to allow the older woman to enter her home. The minute she crossed the threshold, the sister felt a chill that ran deep to the depths of her soul. It was so unsettling, that it physically gave her pause.

“Sister Mary Ava?”

The concerned voice quickly brought the woman out of her contemplations.

“My apologies, Kelly. I did not mean to worry you. My thoughts just seemed to run away from me for a moment. Where is Cody?” she asked.

“He’s currently sleeping at the moment; his bedroom is the second door on the left when you go upstairs. I should warn you that he is currently restrained. I know it may seem harsh, but he really is too much for one person to handle, and he is a bit of a wild card, so please don’t remove his restraints unless absolutely necessary,” Kelly said, and could practically feel the other woman’s disapproval.

“What am I to do if he needs to use the restroom?”

“In that case, I’d only release him when the calm personality is present. You’ll know immediately which one is which, because they have an entirely different way of speaking, and the calm persona is an amnesiac.”

“I see.”

“I should also warn you that he is now switching between personas quite rapidly, sometimes within minutes. I’m not sure what they did to him at that hospital, but I can’t predict which one I’m going to get anymore. Sometimes he’ll fall asleep and then awaken the same person as he was before, other times they’ll switch. There have even been a few times where I felt as though both personalities were present, and that is… Just please be careful,” Kelly said before thanking the woman again and saying goodbye.

Now alone, Sister Mary Ava felt a bit of trepidation, but allowed her faith to quickly stamp it down. She then made her way to what she correctly assumed was Cody’s room. Just as Kelly said, he was somehow peacefully sleeping, even though he was thoroughly tied down.

‘What has happened to you, young one?’
she thought as she remembered her first encounter with what she called “a hyperactive ball of sunshine.”

“Nana!” Cody yelled as he ran over and nearly tackled the sister. It was sheer luck that they weren’t sprawled out on the ground.

“Cody! That is a nun, not Nana,” Kelly yelled as she ran over to assist the woman. Robert was standing by laughing his ass off, and only laughed harder when Cody ran and hid behind his leg. The boy wasn’t sure what a nun was, but he did know what “not Nana” meant; it meant she was a stranger!

“Actually, I’m not a nun; I’m a religious sister. Many people equate the two, but there is a difference,” the woman said casually, before formally introducing herself. “My name is Sister Mary Ava, and it is my pleasure to welcome you to St. Peter’s church.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sister. I must say that you really do resemble my mother, and it’s been a while since we’ve seen her, she moved to Florida last year, so that’s probably why he got confused. I apologize for the trouble,” Robert said with a smile.

“It’s no trouble at all,” the sister said, before she crouched down to see the little person still hiding. “Well, hello there. As I just told your parents, my name is Sister Mary Ava, but you can call me Nana, if you like.”

“Oh please, Sister Mary Ava, do not encourage him. The next person he decides to run and jump on may not be so nice. Besides, it’s so improper,” Kelly said, still trying to scale down the redness in her face. The sister didn’t even notice. Her eyes were focused solely on the boy.

“Nonsense. I’ve been called many things in my life, but Nana is a first. If I’m being completely honest, I like the sound of it, so I don’t mind,” she said, before addressing Cody once more. “What’s your name?”

Only after Kelly ordered him to properly come out and greet the sister did the boy shift to the right to reveal himself.

“Hello, my name is Cody Winters, and I’m this many,” he said while holding up four fingers.

“You’re that many, huh? Exactly how many is that? Let us count and see what we get.”

Together, they counted to four, bringing a smile to the sister’s face. Quickly, Cody returned to his place behind his fathers’ leg before slightly peeking out, revealing his own smile.

‘Time reveals many unexpected twists in the road. Stay strong and true, young one,’
Sister Mary Ava thought as she bowed her head and prayed. Though she wished it wasn’t so, she knew that the situation was beyond her capabilities, so sent her pleadings above. She then opened her eyes, and met blue.

“Cody?” she asked in surprise.

“Hello, Sister Mary Ava. I apologize for not greeting you sooner, but I didn’t want to interrupt. My mother informed me that you would be coming here. Thank you so much for staying with me today,” Cody said politely, and only sixty years of life experience stopped the sister from gaping at the boy. She finally understood exactly what Kelly meant when she said that she would be able to easily identify the two personas.