Hey friends, went off the grid for a while, was doing research for the story and working and graduating! I've typed up the next chapter, hopefully it's up to snuff and makes medical sense. I'll see y'all soon. I'm thinking this will be either the penultimate chapter or the ante-penultimate chapter.

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Phil paced in the kitchen. What should he do? Should he call the doctor and have Gertie committed?That was no life for her, she would be miserable in an Asylum... They were dangerous places. At the same time, could she be trusted with Miles? If she forgot where she was while she was with him, what could happen to his son? What if she forgot how to drive while she was in the car? Maybe it would be safer for her in the Asylum... that is what they were there for... a safe place for the ill to stay...

But why was this happening in the first place? She never mentioned anyone in her family going mad, and she was otherwise in fine health... she had the odd headache now and again, and from time to time she complained of stomach pains, but that happened to everyone! But these hallucinations, they're the farthest thing from normal...

"Slim, I'm gonna take Miles to the park, I'll be back in an hour, okay?" Gertie's voice jerked him from his thoughts.

"Uh. … Ger-... How about I go with you, Pookie?" If he went with her, he could keep an eye on her.

"That sounds dandy, Slim! Let's git on out!" She was wearing a cowboy hat, and Miles was holding a stuffed horse, looking gleefully at his mother's costume. Phil paused, wondering again if he should call the doctor, then took his wife's hand and pasted a smile upon his face – trying to make himself forget all that he knew for the sake of a few hours of happiness with his wife and child.

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"I love coming here, Miles and I come at least twice a week. It's just so peaceful, and there's lots of kids that Miles can play with too!" Gertie was beaming, and Phil was starting to let his guard down. She hadn't done anything strange so far, with the exception of the get-up, maybe things were going to get better...

Phil put his arm around her, enjoying this moment with her. Miles was playing with two of his classmates from school, girls named Suzie and Miriam, and there were several young children running around – playing games, climbing trees, and riding swings. Gertie got up to get some water from the fountain, leaving Phil to watch the happy scene in front of him. He was so happy, he nearly forgot about what he had been thinking this morning. She didn't need a doctor, she was fine!

"Mitzi! It's good to see you, how've you been?"

"Gertie...? It's Ellen, remember? Who's Mitzi?"

… Just a slip, right? That had to be a slip – he slipped at called people by the wrong name sometimes too! He looked at her, confused. She was talking to a girl they had gone to school with, not his sister... So much for her being okay.

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"... Pookie...? Can we talk?"

"What's going on, Slim? I've got to get dinner ready." She smiled innocently at him.

" I'll take care of dinner, I don't think 'watermelon surprise' is going to go over very well. Lets go sit down." Gertie's smile faltered. She chuckled nervously and followed Phil to the living room. "Pookie... are you okay? You've been saying and doing some very strange things lately. I'm worried." Gertie's eyes were filled with fear as she tried to reason with him.

"... Ph... J... S-Slim, what are you talking about? You're not making sense..."

"You can't even remember my name, can you? It's Phil. Don't you remember? Do you even remember your own name...?"

"Of course I do! It's... um... I... of course I remember your name, and mine! What a... what a ridiculous question!"

"...Pookie..." Phil's gaze softened. "...Your name is Gertrude. Gertrude Shortman, you've gone by 'Gertie' for almost 16 years... We... We run this boarding house together." He reached out to her and grasped her shoulder, trying comfort her. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Oh Lord... Phil... I don't know what's wrong with me... I just keep... forgetting things... and I just..." Her sobs made her words incomprehensible.

"It... it's okay, Gertie... We'll go see he doctor tomorrow... It's going to be okay..." His words fell on deaf ears, as she continued to sob late into the night.

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"Good morning, Mrs. Shortman, what seems to be the problem today?"

She looked at him, first frightened, then confused, then turned to Phil. He took her hand and squeezed it gently. "Doctor... my wife has been getting confused lately. She's forgetful, calls people by the wrong name... she's err... seeing things and... even forgetting who I am and who she is sometimes..." Gertie looked down, ashamed.

"I see... that's troubling... How have you been eating and sleeping?" She paused, and looked at Phil, hoping he would know.

"She's been having some trouble sleeping, and her appetite fluctuates. She gets stomachaches sometimes and she slurs her speech sometimes."

"I see... Have you been around any peeling paint?" Phil shook his head, they had just repainted the boarding house, and the paint had been in good shape before then – if a little faded. "I see... Well, I'm going to run some tests, I'm sure everything will turn out all right." He grinned at her and walked away, sending a nurse in to draw some blood. Gertie looked hopefully at her husband, encouraged by the doctor's words.

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"Lead poisoning? …... Are you sure? …... Thank you, Doctor, we'll see you soon." Phil's heart leaped for joy. While not the best diagnosis, far from it, it was better that than Schizophrenia or any of the other hundreds of horrible diagnoses that her symptoms could indicate, and, it was completely treatable with Chelation therapy! She would be okay, cured!

"Gertie! Guess what!" Phil bounded up the stairs, excited to tell his wife the news. As he burst through the bedroom door, his heart sank to the bottom of his feet.

She lay before him on the ground, her eyes wide and unfocused, her entire body shaking and convulsing.

"GERTIE!"

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End chapter 4

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