Dr. Dave Drama

Love and drama seem to go hand in hand...no matter how hard you try for it not to, somehow drama unfolds.

Karen has lived true to her word by being Dr. Dave's friend (no hanky-panky) and spending intimate time with Mr. Sculley. Sculley has a fat cat that he adores, named Zamboni. Karen called around our usual coffee time and I asked what she was doing.

"Cleaning up vomit." she said.

"Oh god, no....not again!" I said. "Is Sculley drinking that hard again?"

"Maybe, but it's not his puke, it's Zamboni's. He's taken him to the vet." Karen replied.

"That's a relief. It's probably a hairball, you know..." I say, the kitty expert.

"Yeah, but he's such an over protective father and they love him at the vet's office, and it's good to get the cat out and about especially on a pretty day." Karen said.

"True. What cat doesn't love a car ride after throwing up?" I said. We laughed.

Sculley came back and Zamboni had eaten too much and it is probably a hairball. That's what the vet said. Karen and Sculley settled down for an afternoon movie and he passed out. Karen noticed that he smelled like alcohol again and took a peek into his car and sure enough, he'd downed a bottle of peppermint schnapps. She called me back on her drive home from his place with this news.

"Poor guy," Karen says. "He really is drinking just to feel drunk. How easy is it to drink a bottle of schnapps?"

"Well, it's probably easier than eating a tin of Altoids. The schnapps are sweet, but it's so sad. How long are you gonna watch him do this?" I ask.

"Oh, I don't know..." she drifts off in thought.

"Well, you know now that he's gonna drink even when you are around. You can't stop that." I say.

"Yeah. I know" Karen replies. "Dr. Dave had a bad week too."

"Really? What happened with the good doctor?" I ask.

"Well, one of his patients jumped from a 5 story building and died." Karen said.

"That's gotta suck for Dr. Dave. That's bad for business, him being a psychiatrist and all." I say. "And that has to be bad for his ego too...I mean, how many patients have died now under his care?"

We laugh for a couple of minutes adding jabs at Dr. Dave.

"But look on the bright side, he has room for new patients now and he was complaining that he was too busy." I say. "Maybe he should have them sign a waiver before he tells them his new hourly rate of $300!"

We laugh some more. But I really don't think he is a good shrink. Heal thyself, doctor.

Karen goes on, "Maybe Mary [the psychic] is right. Maybe both of these guys are not right for me."

I do the happy dance in my living room. Finally, she may be getting it! Dump these guys and move forward...wasn't that the advice she gave me with my love for the unresponsive man behind Door Number 1? I took her advice...why does it take so long for her to take mine?

Matters of the heart are so tricky.

"Seriously Karen, you are worthy of a man who doesn't need to get drunk everyday to be with you and if you marry a doctor, may he be one that is really able to help people...like a plastic surgeon." I say.

We laugh some more.

We love to laugh together and this men stuff sucks. So rare is the connection between two people, where it hits on lots of levels. Does it really exist?

"I was talking to some friends of mine, they're a married couple and have been together for 35 years. If she doesn't want to do whatever he wanted to do, he changes his plans to meet her needs and she does the same for him so that they are always together." Karen shares.

"That sounds like a terrible relationship to me!" I say. "I believe that two people need to be themselves and it is impossible to expect the other person to be interested in everything that I am doing and that doesn't leave much room for individuality in a relationship. What about being who you are?" I ask.

"Well, it seems to be working for them. Married 35 years." Karen declares.

"That doesn't feel right...it smells fishy to me. I am not looking for that kind of married-at-the-hip relationship. Is that what you really want?" I ask.

Karen ponders. "Well, maybe not. But it is a nice idea, isn't it?"

"Yes, a lovely idea." I agree.

Later on when Sculley was cooking Karen dinner, she took a call from a male friend who takes her out every month to the Opera, or a museum or the symphony. A great friend to have...one that has tickets to places. She discusses plans for the symphony and Sculley gets irate. When she hangs up he tells her how hurt he is and that he is devastated that she would make plans with another man while he was cooking her dinner. He accuses her of flirting with him on the phone.

That is probably true, Karen is like me....a big flirt. We can't help it. It is something we both were born with, a gift to make men feel at ease and ponder mysterious thoughts of "later on". I doubt if she is really conscious of it and this is a good time for her to bring some attention to it.

"When the fuck did you two make the 'exclusive' arrangement?" I asked her when she called on the way home from his house.

"We didn't." she said.

"And a ring?" I ask. "Has he produced a ring?"

"No." She said.

"Hmmmm." I am pissed off. Nothing makes me more angry than a jealous man. So unnecessary.

"What you gonna do now?" I ask.

"Oh, I don't know." Karen says with a big sigh. "Maybe it was rude of me to make plans with him at his house, but I take all kinds of phone calls when I'm over there. What? Am I supposed to start sneaking around with all my friends, be they male or female?"

"Karen, I don't want to tell you what to do so I will." I say. "Maybe you shouldn't see the Sculley anymore. He's too vulnerable and obviously possessive, plus the drinking? I don't see how this is in your best interests."

"Yeah, you might be right." She says.

We hangup and another day ends. What will she decide? Hard to say. I suspect she will continue on this same path until something else happens and she reaches her limit. Or maybe someone better will come along. It doesn't matter really. She's not in love with the Sculley and even if Dr. Dave got his shit together, she probably wouldn't move in with him either. She loves her space and the path her life is taking, so why choose? That is society knocking at the door... insisting on a 'choice' rather than staying present in the moment.

The best part about this situation is that it is happening to Karen and not me. Sorry dear. I couldn't put up with all that as you do...and I love you so much. Carry on! Carry on for the rest of us so we don't have to. And please, call anytime. I so love our chats!

So much love,
All the way from down here....
Linda