Have you ever done something, but were unable to find out what had happened as a result of your actions? And the unanswered questions from this episode seem to linger in your mind.

 

However, life goes on. You are successful and happy. But then, one day . . .

 

 

What Goes Around, Comes Around

 

“Hello. Yes, this is the Psych Hotline. How can I help you?” No response, just sobbing on the other end of the line. “Ma’am, please try to calm down. I need to understand your problem before I can be of assistance.”

 

The line went silent for a few seconds. Then I heard gasping, followed by short, deep breaths. “Huh, huh, . . . he did it to me.” More gasping. “Huh, huh, . . . I can’t handle it anymore. I won’t survive if this continues. Huh . . . huh, . . .” Silence.

 

“Ma’am, ma’am, are you still with me? No reply, just heavy breathing. “Ma’am, try to relax. I want to help you.” Smack, crash, . . . bang, bang . . . “Oh my god! Gunshots!” Then nothing. The line went dead. Now what do I do?

 

Just twenty-three at the time of the call, it was a hell of a way to begin my Marriage and Family Therapist internship. The police tried to trace the call, but with no success. It took me months to recover from the incident, during which time answering the hotline made me very anxious. Fortunately, responding to phone calls was just a small part of my training.

 

Working one-on-one with clients filled most of my time. After completing my internship, I received my Masters Degree in Counseling from Southwestern University and my Marriage and Family Therapist License. While teaching part-time, I started what later became a very successful marriage and family counseling practice in Southern California.

 

Thirty-three years have passed since that frightening phone call. I have not been able to get it out of my mind. And what makes it worse is that I never found out what happened. I scanned newspapers and the Internet for murders and domestic violence incidents the night of the call and the next few weeks that followed, but discovered nothing.

 

Thankful what I experienced that evening had not occurred again, I moved on with my life. I get great pleasure from helping my clients address the problems they face and am very successful in assisting them in surmounting life’s hurdles.

 

Now, there have been bumps in the road I traveled. Like the man who threatened to strangle me unless I stopped seeing his wife. He accused me of having weekly sex sessions with her. He wondered why she had to pay for sex when she could get it at home for free. I said to him, “You get what you pay for. And I provide a quality product.” Well, no, I didn’t say that, but I wanted to.

 

I finally convinced him I was helping her to understand why she felt uncomfortable in her marriage and that I had no interest in a sexual relationship with her. But this happened only after he screamed, “Don’t you find her attractive?” Not wanting to go down that road, I told him I was glad he did.

 

Aside from this slight diversion, my practice is thriving and I live a comfortable life. I even have been able to make time to give something back to the community my wife and I have enjoyed living in for over twenty-five years. I volunteer Tuesday evenings at the Gardnerville Emergency Hotline Center. Doing this has brought back memories—most good, but at least one, I felt was better not remembered.

 

In my current hotline role, one Tuesday night, the phone rang. “Hello. Yes, this is the Emergency Hotline. How can I help you?” No response, just sobbing on the other end of the line. “Ma’am, please try to calm down. I need to understand your problem before I can be of assistance.”

 

Still crying, the woman on the line yelled, “I did it! I had to do it! My life was a living hell. He tried to kill me thirty-three years ago. But his gun misfired. He’s held me captive all these years. I couldn’t take it any longer. So, I did it!”

 

“Did what?” I asked. Silence, then the sobbing became louder. “Ma’am, calm down. I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what happened. Still no response. And then like a storm coming out of a turbulent sky, she screeched . . .

 

“You couldn’t help me then! What makes you think you can help me now?”

 

Taken aback by this remark, I was at a loss for words. When I finally pulled myself together and was about to speak, the phone went . . . click. In total shock, I began to tremble uncontrollably, as my past and present collided.

 

 

Copyright © 2016 Alan Lowe. All rights reserved.