Woody went alone, and after that, he began going to every party without Peggy.
He would come home at all hours, and Peggy was sure he had been with other women.
The accident changed everything.
It happened during a polo match. Woody was playing the Number-Three position, and a member of the opposing team, trying to stroke the ball in close quarters, accidentally hit the legs of the pony that Woody was riding. The pony went down and rolled on top of him. In the pileup that followed, a second pony kicked Woody. At the emergency room of the hospital, the doctors diagnosed a broken leg, three fractured ribs, and a punctured lung.
Over the next two weeks, there were three separate operations, and Woody was in excruciating pain. The doctors gave him morphine to ease it. Peggy came to visit him every day. Hoop flew in from New York to console his sister.
His physical pain was unbearable, and the only relief Woody had was from the drugs the doctors kept prescribing for him. It was shortly after Woody got home that he seemed to change. He began to have violent mood swings. One minute he was his usual ebullient self, and the next minute he would go into a sudden rage or a deep depression. At dinner, laughing and telling jokes, Woody would suddenly become angry and abusive toward Peggy and storm out. In the middle of a sentence he would drift off into a deep reverie. He became forgetful. He would make dates and not show up; he would invite people to his home and not be there when they arrived. Everyone was concerned about him.
Soon, he became abusive to Peggy in public. Bringing a cup of coffee to a friend one morning, Peggy spilled some, and Woody sneered, “Once a waitress, always a waitress.”
Peggy also began to show signs of physical abuse, and when people asked her what happened, she would make excuses.
“I bumped into a door” or “I fell down,” and she would make light of it. The community was outraged. Now it was Peggy they were feeling sorry for. But when Woody’s erratic behavior offended someone, Peggy would defend her husband.
“Woody is under a lot of stress,” Peggy would insist. “He isn’t himself.” She would not allow anyone to say anything against him.
It was Dr. Tichner who finally brought it out into the open. He asked Peggy to come see him in his office one day.
She was nervous. “Is something wrong, doctor?”
He studied her a moment. She had a bruise on her cheek, and her eye was swollen.
“Peggy, are you aware that Woody is doing drugs?”
Her eyes flashed with indignation. “No! I don’t believe it!” She stood up. “I won’t listen to this!”
“Sit down, Peggy. It’s about time you faced the truth. It’s becoming obvious to everyone else. Surely you’ve noticed his behavior. One minute he’s on top of the world, talking about how wonderful everything is, and the next minute he’s suicidal.”
Peggy sat there, watching him, her face pale.
“He’s addicted.”
Her lips tightened. “No,” she said stubbornly. “He’s not.”
“He is. You’ve got to be realistic. Don’t you want to help him?”
“Of course, I do!” She was wringing her hands. “I’d do anything to help him. Anything.”
“All right. Then let’s start. I want you to help me get Woody into a rehabilitation center. I’ve asked him to come in and see me.”
Peggy looked at him for a long time, then nodded. “I’ll talk to him,” she said quietly.
That afternoon, when Woody walked into Dr. Tichner’s office, he was in a euphoric mood. “You wanted to see me, doc? It’s about Peggy, isn’t it?”
“No. It’s about you, Woody.”
Woody looked at him in surprise. “Me? What’s my problem?”
“I think you know what your problem is.”
“What are you talking about?”
“If you go on like this, you’re going to destroy your life and Peggy’s life. What are you taking, Woody?”
“Taking?”
“You heard me.”
There was a long silence.
“I want to help you.”
Woody sat there, staring at the floor. When he finally spoke, his voice was hoarse. “You’re right. I’ve…I’ve tried to kid myself, but I can’t any longer.”