Gerald's Advisor

Gerald had come to terms with his illness. He had accepted the fact that Joseph was not real, and was all in his head, but that didn’t matter. Despite Joseph’s existence merely being a figment of his imagination, he still relied on him for advice and help. Joseph was smart, and Gerald counted on him during his day-to-day life. Gerald would return home from work and stand-alone in his kitchen, only to himself, he wasn’t alone, he was with Joseph, and they would talk. Joseph didn’t go to the plant with Gerald, because Gerald didn’t want people to see him talking to himself, Gerald didn’t want people to know he was crazy. Gerald had once been referred to a psychiatrist. Joseph told him not to go, Joseph said it was a trick, he said they wanted to destroy him; he said they wanted to lock Gerald away. After Gerald had explained his life and everything to the doctor, that’s when he realized Joseph was right. They said Joseph wasn’t real, but Gerald could see him. Joseph was right, it was a trick, the doctors wanted to put him away, they wanted to remove Joseph from Gerald, and Gerald couldn’t allow that. Gerald decided not to take the medication he was prescribed, and so he lived with guidance from Joseph, who was vastly wise, and could tell Gerald things.

Gerald had had problems the month before, when a colleague had accused Gerald of stealing things from the plant, nothing of significance, but the notion of employee theft itself was something the plant wouldn’t tolerate. Gerald knew he hadn’t taken anything and Joseph helped him prove his innocence. Joseph was there for Gerald, and in return Gerald insured Joseph’s existence, by acknowledging him. Gerald saw great advantage with Joseph, because there was a perception there, where Joseph could pick up on things Gerald missed. Joseph was thorough, he was Gerald’s subconscious radar, scanning the thoughts Gerald would pass by, and screening them for any significance. Gerald knew this, and that was why he was adamant about keeping his confidant around. He could tell Joseph anything, whether the inconsequential happenings of a slow day at the plant, or Gerald’s deepest fantasies, either way, there would be no criticisms or judgment, only analysis and positive reinforcement. Perhaps telling Joseph things was redundant, because Gerald wasn’t sure if Joseph was an isolated part of his mind, or whether he knew everything Gerald knew. Frankly that wasn’t really important, since Gerald had made a habit of telling him everything partly for Joseph’s input, but mostly for the interaction and company.

Then one day a rift was driven into what seemed to be a happy and inseparable relationship between man and mirage. It started when Gerald became well acquainted with a woman from work named Wendy. From the start Joseph knew Wendy was trouble, but Gerald dismissed Joseph’s complaints as jealousy and paranoia, ironic since Gerald was the one fabricating friends. Joseph saw that Wendy was jeopardizing the stability of Gerald’s unstable life, his concerns were warranted, since she’d be a little suspicious if she saw Gerald interacting with thin air. So, whenever Wendy came around, Joseph would vanish, receding to what Gerald could only presume was the depths of his mind. This displeased Gerald since he usually relied on Joseph to help him communicate well with others. Without any advice or guidance from Joseph, Gerald was awkward and nervous around Wendy, but she found it cute, progressing their relationship to a more serious level.

Eventually, Gerald asked Wendy to move in, and since they worked together, they were nearly inseparable, causing Joseph to practically vanish from Gerald’s life. Gerald wasn’t so sad; he gave up trying to integrate his two worlds by convincing Joseph to let Wendy know about his presence in Gerald’s mind. He knew Joseph would always refuse, and he wasn’t so lonely with Wendy around, so he accepted the distance between himself and his imaginary companion. Soon Joseph wasn’t important to Gerald, and Wendy had replaced him as council and confidant. Then finally, Joseph was gone. Gerald had a sick day from work, and while alone at home he called to Joseph, and his calls went unanswered. It was that day that Gerald knew, staring into his bathroom mirror, that Joseph was gone for good. He figured love had saved him, and now without his loneliness, he was sane, free of any imaginary friend. Later that month Gerald decided to marry Wendy, and they went on an evening stroll through the park, but his plans to propose were postponed as they were waylaid by coworkers who had taken to the park for a game of volleyball. Wendy not knowing Gerald was to propose decided they should join the group’s festivities, causing Gerald to lose the time alone he needed with her to muster the courage and set the mood to pop the question. After the park the gaggle of coworkers agreed to go for drinks, not knowing Gerald’s intentions to wed and preference for them to be alone together Wendy said they’d join suite. Gerald being a slightly timid guy, not used to public engagements went along for the ride, and kept the ring for another day, and another scenario. They were having a good time at the bar, and the company was weeding itself out as many coworkers had family and friends to return to.

Soon Gerald and Wendy were nearly alone, the only thing standing between him and till death do you part was Ricky Trapps from accounting. Things were looking up and Gerald was feeling fairly comfortable for a man of his shy nature, and then he hit a brick wall. Across the bar he saw a man shooting pool at a table by himself, it was Joseph. Gerald looked in horror, he knew full well that despite the joy he’d shared with Joseph, he couldn’t see him again, for a marriage was in no way possible with an imaginary third wheel. Gerald then was drowned in a wave of paranoia, what if the others in his life weren’t real either, what if Wendy, and even chubby Ricky Trapps were all just figments of his mind, wild creations caused by his subconscious. Gerald sank back into his shell, as grief and fear swept over him. Suddenly the bar was stuffy and he found it hard to breath, he felt dizzy, alone and scared. Then his panic was interrupted as Ricky called out to Joseph, “Hey Joe! How are ya? I haven’t seen you since college.”
Joseph looked over at Ricky, and not recognizing Gerald in the dark atmosphere of the bar called out jokingly “Hey, not much, living the dream I always said I would Ricky.” Ricky gave a hearty half drunken chuckle and turned to Wendy and said “haha, man that guy is hilarious, he comes up with the funniest things. Back in college he always said that one day he’d find some loaner, pretend to be his fantasy and just live in his house. Who comes up with that stuff?”
As Joseph began to laugh, his eyes met Gerald’s, and without warning he dashed from the bar and out into the streets.