Millie then asked both Michael and Rosalie to please allow her the time now to speak to them uninterrupted. She had so much to explain about Maria, and that it was very important they allow her to get it all out today. She stressed that this was something they both needed to hear, and something they both needed to know, especially Rosalie. Millie explained that what she had to say was very difficult for her to speak about and she needs for them to bear with her as she attempts to gather her thoughts. She promised, however, that everything would make sense for Rosalie after they heard what Millie had to say. So Michael pulled his chair closer to the bed while Rosalie remained seated at the edge of the bed, eagerly waiting and listening for Millie to speak.
As Millie struggled to get her words out, feeling anxious, apprehensive and somewhat fearful about telling this story, she began with one strong statement. She said, “After the way Maria tormented me in my own home and discarded my heart pills, I thank God I had enough strength left in me to crawl over to the phone, pull it down to the floor and call 9-1-1, otherwise you would never have learned the truth today Rosalie; and that would have been a real disaster for everyone...and yes, oh yes…God Bless those EMTs. They saved my life dear – and yours too Rosalie. You will understand very soon.”
Rosalie’s facial expression soon turned to worry, as did Michael’s. “What did Millie mean about me learning the truth today?” Rosalie asked herself. Still worried about Millie’s blood pressure, however, Rosalie held Millie’s fragile hand in one of hers and squeezed Michael’s hand with the other. Rosalie was so grief-stricken over Millie’s ordeal at the hands of Maria that she couldn’t hold back her tears. Michael then handed Rosalie the box of tissues from the small table at the side of Millie’s bed so Rosalie could keep them in her lap as Millie continued to speak and Rosalie continued to cry.
So without wasting another moment, Millie revealed the story of the Century, as Michael and Rosalie listened in shock. Michael’s jaw dropped while Rosalie’s body grew limp. Millie dropped a bombshell. They both were speechless as they struggled to listen to the soft voice of a fragile old woman desperately trying to speak. Millie’s next sentence vibrated in their ears like the loud gonging from a bell tower. - “Oh dear Rosalie,” Millie cried, “I don’t know how to tell you this, but Maria was the biological child of my younger sister Eve. Maria is my niece Rosalie!”
Rosalie was astounded by this news. Clutching her hands together tightly and pressing them against her chin, leaving behind an indentation and red mark on her skin, Rosalie quickly stopped Millie at once. “Your niece?” she questioned. Rosalie, in no uncertain terms, asked Millie why in all these years had she never revealed this information to her. Millie, unable to look Rosalie in the eye, politely requested that Rosalie please allow her to go on with the story. She promised that Rosalie would understand once she hears everything. So Rosalie put great effort into remaining silent until the very end, as did Michael, allowing Millie to continue.
…As Millie continued, she revealed that her younger sister Eve, Maria’s mother, suffered from multiple personality disorder in which two or more personalities seemed to exist in her mind. She further explained that the disorder destroyed Eve’s marriage and that Eve’s husband, Maria’s biological father, just walked away one day and never looked back. He couldn’t deal with his wife’s constant personality changes and strange behaviors, and he feared that his only child, Maria, would one day inherit her mother’s mental disorders over time; which she apparently had. He never came back to see Maria and no one heard from him again. The family was torn apart…Rosalie felt tortured and weighed down by this awful news, unable to speak, even if she wanted to. The words were trapped inside her heart and her soul. She and Michael both remained silent needing to hear more, yet afraid to listen.
…Millie took a deep breath and continued on. She went on to state that Maria was soon put up for adoption at the tender age of two. Millie, choking back tears, said that her sister Eve was incapable of taking care of little Maria. She couldn’t even take care of herself. Some days Eve didn’t even know who she was and, at those times, she became so agitated, confused and physically violent that Millie feared for her life and for the lives of her own mother and little Maria, since Eve and Maria were forced to move back in with Millie and Millie and Eve’s mother, Maria’s grandmother. Millie admitted that she herself didn’t know who her sister Eve was at times. Things were getting so out of control for all of them, especially for little Maria, that something had to be done. Adoption was the only alternative to keep Maria safe.
…Millie took another deep breath before she could go on. The stress of revealing this information left Millie breathless. Rosalie and Michael feared for Millie’s health and begged her to calm down and breathe slowly or they would have to call a nurse in and both Rosalie and Michael will then be asked to leave. Millie replied, “Please, don’t do that. I’ll be fine. Rosalie, be a sweetheart and give me a sip of that ice water over there. Let me wet my throat. I feel so dry…Um, that’s good...See, I feel better already. Thank you dear. I’m even breathing better. Bear with me now you two. Please understand that I must tell you everything today; right now, while I have the opportunity…and please allow me to do that.” Rosalie and Michael both nodded in agreement and allowed Millie to go on speaking while keeping their eyes fixed upon Millie and periodically watching her monitoring equipment.
…Ready to continue, Millie dug deep down into the depths of her soul in order to find the right words. Nervously clenching her aged hands, she revealed that complicating matters even more was the fact that her and Eve’s own mother, Maria’s grandmother, suffered from depression and severe bipolar. Her mother never recovered from the loss of Millie’s and Eve’s father, who had died at a young age from a fatal heart attack years before little Maria was even born. With Millie’s mother’s depression and severe bipolar, it was clear that she also was too sick and too distraught over losing her husband, that it was impossible for her to step in and care for young Maria. Millie shamefully confessed to both Rosalie and Michael that she herself was not financially prepared to raise her niece Maria on her own at that time. Sweeping back loose strands of fly-away grays from her forehead, Millie sadly added that she is so fully aware of how cold and cruel this all sounds but she admitted that she’s had to live with that guilt for many years. The adoption of young Maria was both a blessing and a curse. Millie said that, unfortunately, the circumstances were what they were at the time and young Maria was a victim of this dysfunctional household. Maria deserved to grow up in a safe and normal environment.
After a few moments of silence and a few more tears, Millie then went on to explain that after the adoption, she soon married and started a life of her own with a wonderful husband who Rosalie and her family knew very well over the years. Rosalie nodded in agreement and forced a bit of a smile upon her lips after Millie had said that, since she clearly remembered what a nice man Millie’s husband was. Millie also summoned up a smile as she remembered her dearly-departed husband, yet her eyes remained full of guilt and sadness over Maria.
Millie continued that she and her mother soon made arrangements to have Millie’s sister Eve placed in a psychiatric facility in Manhattan for better care, where she remained until her death a few years back at the age of sixty-two. It was impossible to keep Eve at the family home, especially after Millie got married. Eve needed to be cared for in a skilled environment where they could monitor her every mood and regulate her medications.
…After Eve’s passing, the medical records stated that she died of a heart attack, but Millie commented that she believed her sister Eve died of a broken heart. Millie stressed that whenever her sister had lucid moments, she seemed to realize what this disorder had taken from her. She lost her husband, her young child Maria, her home and her family. Millie added that her sister knew that the family was cursed with various forms of mental illness and psychiatric disorders, and she believes this tormented her sister until the day she die
d. Her only solace may have been during the times that another personality took over, when Eve didn’t even remember who she really was. Maybe then she was free of a reality that eventually destroyed her. At this point Rosalie and Michael felt a deep sadness for Eve, a deep loneliness for her; and with heavy hearts they listened on.
Millie then firmly stated, “I don’t know why God spared me from this hell of mental illness, but he did. Maybe it was to be a caretaker. I continued to look after my mother over the years with the support of a loving husband and a wonderful daughter, until mom passed. I also continued to visit my sister in the psychiatric facility until her death. My husband accompanied me there many times while he was alive, because it was so difficult for me to leave Eve after each visit. She always asked about her daughter Maria when her mind was clear and I would always show her pictures since I stood in contact with the adoptive parents, who were just so wonderful. My mother, and my husband and I, agreed not to tell my own sweet daughter that she had an aunt in an institution and a cousin who was put up for adoption. Dealing with my mother and her issues was enough for my daughter to witness. My daughter, to this day, never knew I had a sister, her only aunt from my side of the family; or that I even had a niece, Maria, her only cousin. We were trying to protect my daughter from the curse of mental illness that seemed to pass on from one generation to the next in our family. My daughter was mentally healthy, thank the dear Lord, and we wanted to spare her from this family tragedy. We wanted her to live her life free from this monstrous shadow that had tormented this family each and every day of our lives. My own dear grandchildren, my daughter’s two girls, were thankfully spared from the evils of mental illness as well. My mother, my sister Eve, and now my niece Maria were swallowed up alive by the effects of mental illness.”
Rosalie’s eyes were red, her lids swollen and her cheeks wet from tears. She was destroyed by this information . She couldn’t move, as she sat in silence, holding onto Michael’s hand for dear life, fearfully awaiting the grand finale of Millie’s story. Rosalie stared at Millie’s wrinkled yet beautiful face, which seemed to age more rapidly with each passing moment, nervously waiting for Millie to resume speaking. Rosalie could now see the pain and guilt that poor Millie had to endure over the years. She hid it well. Rosalie realized today how strong a woman Millie truly was. Millie never let on how anguished her heart and soul was by this family secret. Yet, she managed to look after Rosalie unconditionally.
Rosalie then glanced over at Michael who just sat very still, listening intently, periodically tapping his foot, unaware of the distinct sound it made on the tile floor in the quiet hospital room. The atmosphere grew melancholy. As Millie kept on with her story, Rosalie and Michael opened their hearts with love and compassion for Millie and her family, yet felt the utter shock from the sorrowful details of Millie’s account of things. It was much more than either Rosalie or Michael could have imagined. Rosalie then asked, “What happened with Maria all these years, Millie?”
…Millie courageously went on to explain, as she had mentioned earlier, that Maria’s adoptive parents were such wonderful people, adding that they always remained in touch with Millie over the years. They provided a secure and happy home for Maria, and they always let Millie know how Maria was doing. Millie added she was so very thankful to them for that, more than words could ever express.
Rosalie interjected and shared how she remembers Maria’s family being so nice, both the parents and Maria’s older brother. She had no idea they had adopted Maria. They all seemed like one big happy family. “How could this be?” Rosalie asked. Millie responded that Maria wasn’t aware that she was adopted until she was much older. Millie then added that Maria’s brother was the natural son of Maria’s adoptive parents but, sad to say, as an adult he could no longer handle Maria’s erratic behavior, which got worse after she found out she was adopted. Maria was exhibiting signs of inappropriate behavior and emotional disorder. Things grew worse for the entire family. Millie continued that the adoptive parents were well aware of Maria’s background, because Millie and her mother were very honest with them by revealing the mental illness that ran in their family. They didn’t hide anything nor did they sugarcoat it. Millie stressed that the adoptive parents were a very good, kind, loving and religious type of people. They were more than willing to take on the challenges of young Maria, hoping and praying that mental illness would somehow bypass this young, innocent child. Unfortunately it did not and it began to surface as she got older. Millie further stated that the brother had no choice but to move out of the family home so he could live in peace and harmony, free of Maria’s outbursts and wild episodes. This made the adoptive parents very sad since that boy was their biological son. Millie added that they understood completely, however, and gave him their blessing. Millie continued that shortly thereafter, Maria also moved out of the family home at the request of her adoptive parents. Maria was of age now and they felt it was time for her to go off on her own and join society, urging her to seek psychological counseling for her own well-being and for those around her. It seemed Maria refused that good advice...Looking towards Rosalie, Millie said, “As you know, Maria was on her own to this day, working at a great job as a buyer for a large Department store and renting a small apartment in the neighborhood.” - Rosalie nodded affirmatively.
…Rosalie was caught totally by surprise at this point to now learn that Maria never shared this part of her life with Rosalie. They were so close and they talked about everything. Rosalie was so confused now about their relationship. She wondered if she could ever put things in perspective and make sense out of a senseless situation. She couldn’t comprehend the reality that her relationship with Maria all those years was built on secrets and lies. This was devastating to Rosalie. It was as if she had shared a friendship with the devil. She stared straight into Millie’s eyes in wonderment - perplexed, and waiting for further explanation.
Millie immediately responded to Rosalie’s stare and wordless questions by admitting to her that Millie herself had confided in Rosalie’s mom all about Maria. Millie went on to say that she begged Rosalie’s mom not to say a word to Rosalie since Rosalie and Maria were such close friends and Millie did not want Rosalie to slip with the information; especially since the friendship between Rosalie and Maria was going so well, and without any issues, as they got older. Rosalie’s mom agreed with a bit of trepidation, but felt that would be best for the time being since Maria seemed fine and the friendship was a happy one, where both girls, Maria and Rosalie, were inseparable. They both felt it should have been up to Maria, as an adult, to tell Rosalie about her past and her adoptive family. However, it seemed Maria also chose to keep this quiet, perhaps to avoid answering any difficult questions about her past and the truth about her biological family. Millie further commented that maybe Maria wanted to avoid placing any negativity on the close relationship she shared with Rosalie. Millie added that Rosalie’s Mom, being the dearest friend to Millie that she was, took this information to the grave. Millie said, “I believe your mom kept this secret for two reasons. One, so she wouldn’t betray me; and two, so she wouldn’t destroy the friendship you shared with Maria. She saw how close the two of you were – like sisters.” Rosalie looked over at Millie and softly replied, “I know Millie. I don’t fault mom for keeping your secret. Mom always rationalized a situation and made the best decision for all those concerned…and always with love in her heart. God, I wish she was here Millie.” Millie replied, “Me too dear Rosalie. Me too.”
…Millie then revealed that when Maria’s adoptive parents told Maria she was adopted, they also felt she should know the truth about her biological mom and dad and the reason behind the adoption. Maria was traumatized by this information and had a very hard time accepting it. Her adoptive parents and brother made every effort to help her through this with their constant support and love of family, but this information destroyed Maria. It frightened her. As time went by, it seemed Maria was moving on with her life and
accepting the truth about her past – until the periodic outbursts and erratic behaviors began to surface more frequently, disrupting the entire family. Millie stated, “All was not fine for Maria, as we have learned today; Maria succumbed to mental illness like her mother and grandmother before her.”
At this point Rosalie needed a break. Her face was flushed and she felt the heat from all this stress rush throughout her entire body. She walked over to the large window in Millie’s hospital room and looked out below onto the busy streets, unconsciously gazing at the traffic going by. She lost herself in thought for a few moments. Michael joined her at the window, placing his arm around her waist and guiding her back to Millie’s bed where she took a seat once again.
Millie, feeling Rosalie’s pain, knew that she had to continue. She owed it to Rosalie. So Millie continued that when Maria learned in later years from her adoptive parents that Millie was her aunt, she held a lot of animosity toward Millie for not reaching out to her. Millie then said, “Honestly, when I heard about Maria developing personality issues similar, or perhaps worse than her mother and grandmother, I did not want to have to deal with that again. I left that part of my life behind me while Maria was raised in a good home by good parents. Maria, however, felt betrayed by me, and maybe rightfully so. I was family and she felt I had abandoned her.” Millie confessed that Maria would call her periodically, asking for money when she was low on rent; and Millie would mail her a check. Although Maria had a good job, Maria was a spendthrift and spent exorbitant amounts of money on clothing. Millie added that Maria loved to dress up with designer labels, especially since she worked in the field as a buyer. Rosalie nodded in agreement, knowing Maria so well.
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