“Speech Therapy”

Bobby Whitfield left his speech therapist one final time after a year of consecutive appointments and minimal breakthroughs. His mother, Laura, was at her wit’s end with the treatment regimen but remained persistent in getting help at the behest of Bobby's teachers. Bobby had not been found to have any hearing loss or other principal developmental issues or drivers to cause the problem. Laura had already sunk well over ten-thousand dollars on therapy to help humor the teachers, and the apparent problem had only seemed to get worse with time. Her eleven-year-old son was shy, and any time that he was called on in school or other extracurricular activities, his R's sounded like "Aww's" and his L's sounded like "W's". His mouth also seemed to continually be full of spit when he spoke, which caused the first words of his phrases and most of his S's to sound like "SH." “Daddy went to start the little car” came across more like “Shhhdaddy went to shhtawt the wittwe caw.”

Laura had searched the phone book aggressively to find help for her son all across the Tri-Cities area. She saw categories for Speech Therapy, Speech Pathology, Language Experts, and Alternative Speech Treatments. The traditional routes were not working for Bobby, so she looked at the alternative choice listed only as “B. Higgins… Speech and Save - 1217 Avenue J” in small, bold, black letters in the yellow pages about three quarters down the page. She called the number listed, (509) 55-SPEAK. The dial tone pulsed twice and then connected her.

A man’s voice softly answered, “Shh..Hello. B. Highinshh shpeech and shave…”

She continued, a little annoyed by the voice. “Yes. I’d like to set up an appointment for my son, Bobby. Do you have anything available this week or next week in the afternoon?” 

“What’shhh wronggg with Bobby’s shhhpeech?” She sighed.

“He’s 11 years old and seems to be fighting an impediment or impairment. I’ve tried various treatment approaches, homeopathic, therapeutic, other household techniques, you name it. None of them are working.” 

“Sh..What makeshhh you asshume that Bobby’ shhh…impediment…assh you call it …ishn’t causshed by you presshing him shho hawd?” She rolled her eyes and sighed audibly through the phone. “Ugh...Excuse me? I don’t appreciate the question. You don’t know me.” 

“Sh..You called me for help…right?” “I’m sorry. Yes, I did. Forgive my temper. It’s been a day.” “I undawshtand. I can shhhqueeze him in tomawwow at 4pm. Will that wawk, okay?” She seemed relieved and her voice relaxed. “That will be fine. I will bring him by after school."

…

Bobby’s mother saw him standing outside of the school and picking at his ear as he often did when he was nervous. She had briefly mentioned to him that he would be going to see a new speech therapist after school later that day. As she pulled up the light blue Ford Windstar minivan, Bobby hoisted the door open and climbed in.

“Hey, Bobby.”

“Shh…Hey, mom.”

“How was school, son?”

“Shh..Oh, you know… Bawwey wash putting rockshh down the back of the shmmallewww boys pantshh at wecess… Mrs. Winkweshon is mad at me again…I didn’t do all of my homewawk”

Laura interjected, “And why didn’t you do your homework, Bobby?”

“Sh.. You know why, mom. It’shh not faiw faw you to ashhk.” “Okay, Bobby. If you want to be that way, then I guess we won’t be stopping for ice cream after your appointment.”

“It’shhh not wike you need anymowe anyways...it goesh wight to yaw hipsh, wight?”

Laura threw the brakes on the car suddenly and pulled over. “I don’t want to ever hear you say that again. Where did you hear a thing like that?”

“Sh..I don’t know…mom. Pwobabwy just some of the kidsh at shchool.”

“The kids at school were talking about my hips?!!” “Sh..No, mom. All of the moms’ hips.”

“What… did you guys just like start itemizing our size and shape in sidewalk chalk or what?”

“Fawget it, mom.”

“I don’t know that I can. I’m aggravated with you, Bobby.”

“But yaw beauitfaw, mom. I pwomised you that’s aww I said to the othaw kidshh.”

Laura kicked the Windstar back into gear and they went forward on Westbound Interstate 182 as it crossed the Washington State Highway 240 overpass. They exited off of the ramp and drove down the road until they reached Avenue J. The buildings that lined the street were progressively getting older and more and more run down as they went further down the block. Finally, as they arrived, they saw a poorly maintained, dark brown wood-paneled building that read B. Higgins…Speech and Save. There were only two cars parked out front. Laura noted the cardboard taped on the windows in multiple spots and saw the flytrap and bug zapper that were to the left and right sides of the front door, respectively.

Laura spoke to Bobby before she opened the door, “Huh, I wonder why they have those there.”

As they exited the car and prepared to go in, Bobby looked at the building and said, “Thishh placheee ishh a dump!”

Laura interrupted and put her finger to her lips, “SHHHH!!!! Bobby, not another word. On your best behavior, young man.”

As they pulled the door open and entered the lobby, Bobby playfully pushed his mother to the side and her long brown hair got stuck in the dangling flytrap. She was immediately weirded out and struggling to not blow a gasket with her son, and whoever the heck "B. Higgins" was to put such an atrocity front and center, right in front of the business and at such a risk for the clients arriving at it. She started pulling at the attached flytrap with her fingers, and the sticky glue on the sides of it began sticking to them even worse. She flung her hands side to side in agitation to try and detach it. Bobby just laughed at her.

“Mawmma…You awe too funny!!”

After she got it off, she reached in her purse for the personal bottle of soap and sanitizer that she kept on her person and her hands kept sticking to everything but that.

“Sh..Bad idea… mom!!!!”

They went through the doorway and headed into the strange and dated building while she tried to dig her sticky hands out of her purse. There was no receptionist visible, only a telephone and a sign next to it which said, "pick up and press 1." She finally got her hands out of her purse noting that the glue residue had lessened to a degree. Unfortunately, it had not entirely diminished. She could still feel the glue as she grasped the plastic.

“I need a trip to the restroom to wash my hands while you are at your appointment, Bobby.”

She pressed the 1 button, and it stuck for a second before the call transferred to a recording.

“Let yawshhelf in the doow to the wight. Sh..Go to the thiwd doow on the weft.” 

The line disconnected. As Laura motioned to Bobby to the wood-paneled door, he went towards it and began to twist the worn handle around.

“Third door on the left, Bobby. I’m right behind you.”

She looked around for a restroom to wash her hands. She assumed the second door might have been a restroom. She briefly knocked on the door and let herself in. When she peeked into the dark room, she saw a glowing item placed on the other side of the room, perhaps on a couch. She fumbled around for a light switch but was having no luck in locating it.

“Sh…mom... I don’t shthink we’we shupposed to be in thewe. Let’shh go to the thiwd doow on the weft.”

She agreed and went on down the hallway, noting the poorly placed ceiling tiles, the awful, partially wet, brown shag carpeting, and the stench of third-world poverty or a late ’60s-era halfway house. As Bobby began to knock on the door, they saw a metal tongue depressor on the table just behind it and a dated and poorly-kept stethoscope. They arrived into the room and saw mirrors on all of the walls and an intercom on the ceiling. A voice came through on the intercom. 

“Sh..go aheawd and shhitt down on that couch over thewe. I’m going to ashhk shyou shome queshhtionshh.” 

Laura was beginning to feel very unsure of the situation. Bobby seemed more open-minded as the two held hands and made eye contact with one another. 

“Fiwst question… Bobby ishh your motheww tweating you wight?” 

“Shh..I don’t know. I guessh sho.” 

“Sh.. that ishh too vague of an anshaw, Bobby. Why ishhn’t twaditionaw shpeech thewapy wawking faw you? Open yaw mouth and come neaw the gwass.” 

Bobby looked at his mother, Laura, who shook her head in disapproval.

“Bobby, I think it’s time we get going.”

The voice on the intercom continued, “Sh.. No. We awen’t finished yet.” 

Bobby approached the glass. He opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue. 

“Come closaw.” 

The lights in the room became four times brighter as the harsh fluorescents started to hurt both his and his mother’s eyes. 

“Sh..I can shee the mawks on yaw tongue, Bobby. Did yaw mothew do that to you?” 

“Sh..yeshh.. she did.” 

“How??” “

Eyelash coowleh and shcawching tomato shhhoup.” 

“Shayy what??!!!” 

“With an eyelash coowleh and shcawching tomato shhhoup. Mom, has a cwush on peopwe with shpeech impedimentshhh. Sh.. I don’t know how and I don’t know why.. but she doeshh..”

Suddenly from beneath the couch where his mother sat, handcuffs emerged and latched onto her and bound her down.

The voice on the intercom continued,“Sh…Bobby, pleashhe exhiit the woom and come to the nexht daw on the weft. Weave yaw mothew to the pwofessionawls.” 

Bobby arrived into what appeared to be a sterile medical clinic room that didn’t match the rest of the building and observed either "Mr." or "Dr." B. Higgins standing inside the room wearing a lab coat and dressed up for the part.

“Shonn… I think it’shhh time that we end thishhh. Hewe.. take shome of thish medicated ointment faw yaw tongue.” Higgins pulled out an eyelash curler and a can opener from a neighboring drawer and an unopened can of Campbell’s Tomato Soup from the cabinet.

“Sh..That Bunshon Buwnaw is on ovaw thewe. Heat up the can for a few minuteshh and we’ll shet yaw mothew stwaight.”

…

Laura saw the lights flicker off and could only make out the faint shadows on the other side from the light that shined behind the double-sided mirrors as she sat with her arms bound on the couch. There was a glow that appeared to her right and she began to tremble in fear.

The voice came on the intercom, “Lauwa…I wish you would have been niceaw to yaw shon. He didn’t desawve thishh.”

The glow began to approach her face, and Bobby heard her begin to scream until she stopped. The glow slowly faded away.

“Sh..Bobby, you can unlock hew now. Push that wed button.” He pressed the button and heard the sound of the handcuffs releasing in the next room. Laura yelled in heated frustration.

“Sh…Higgins or whoevaw you awe... I don’t appweciate what you’ve done heaw.”

She was about to reach for her tongue to assess what had just occurred when she remembered she still had remants of the glue from the flytrap on her fingers and felt utterly disgusted and panicked. Higgins turned up the lights to a reasonable brightness.

“Have a nischhee day, Lauwa. Think twice befowe you do that to Bobby again, pleashe.”

…

Despite observing the suffering that his mother had just experienced for the mistreatment that she had given him, Bobby smiled and felt the ointment beginning to heal and relieve the welps and strain on his tongue. He spoke clearly for the first time that he could remember. Laura came out of the room and tried to let herself into the area where Bobby was, but the door was locked. Neither Higgins nor Bobby rushed to let her in.

“Momma, wasn’t always this way, doc…”

Higgins responded negatively, “Sh…That’sh whewe yaw wong, Bobby. She did the shhhame thing to me when we werwe in middle shchool. My entiwe bushinessh is built awound it. What wawked faw you just now, can’t evaw wawk faw me. Thankfuwwy, it wawks faw mosht.”

Bobby was puzzled and shocked, “Why won't it work for you, Dr. Higgins?”

“She ushhed shafety schissaws.” Bobby coarsely laughed.

“That seems impossible. Safety scissors, aren't sharp enough to do that..."

Higgins shook his head.

“Sh..That’shh what I shaid when she puwwed them out at wecess aww those yeaws ago… I washh mishtaken, Bobby boy. I’ll shend yaw momma the biwll."

He stuck his tongue out and over half an inch of the bottom of it appeared to be missing. Bobby’s face lost it’s color for a moment as he gulped, and he realized that his mother’s strange fixation had spanned many years and went beyond himself. How many others were there? He wrapped his arms around Higgins and asked to stay...