Page 54 of The Therapist
‘I need to explain and it’s a bit complicated and I don’t have long.’
‘Is it your husband?’
‘No, we got… divorced.’
‘I am sorry,’ he says and he does sound genuinely sorry. I can imagine that there must be some guilt when he thinks about what he does and I wonder how many marriages he has helped end.
‘It’s fine but now I have…a problem.’ I speak quickly and I can hear him tapping at his computer as I do, taking notes. He listens and asks questions, and twenty minutes later I have explained as much of the situation as I understand.
‘Leave this with me. I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.’
‘I know it’s a lot to ask but as you heard, things are very complicated, and I’m sure you have other clients but if you could do this today, if you can figure out what’s happening and get me some answers, I will be very appreciative. As I’ve said I can’t go to the police without more information. They think I have too much of an interest in this client.’
‘I understand and I’ll do my best,’ he says.
It’s nearly time for my next patient, but when I get off the phone, I see I have a text from Ben.
So sorry I couldn’t come in today. My dad had a reaction to the medication. I think I need to take some time and go andsee them. I’ve told Kirsty to cancel my patients for the next two weeks.
You do what you need to do. I completely understand. I hope you manage to sort it out.
I’ll still come with you tonight though, don’t worry.
I allow myself a relieved sigh. I thought he was going to bail on me.
Just making sure we’re on the same page – what exactly are we hoping to get from going over there? I think it’s important to figure out our objective so we both know exactly what to do.
I think about what I hope to achieve, what I really want from this situation. I want to expose this couple for what they are doing, make sure that they are punished for playing with me. It’s not a nice emotion but it’s what I feel. I won’t say that to Ben though.
I want to know that she’s safe and that she is actually just taking a few days away.
I agree. And once we’ve established that, you suggest that she go and see someone else. She’s not answering your calls so you can leave the message with Mike and then tell Kirsty. There’s no way you should be treated like this, and if anything happens to her, it’s not your fault.
That’s the problem. I feel like it will be my fault because I allowed her to bring him in to talk. Maybe that’s what triggered this situation.
You’re a good person and I know you always try and do the right thing.
Thank you,I reply as Kirsty buzzes me to let me know that my next patient is here.I’ll see you tonight.
See you then.
The rest of the day feels like it goes on forever but I know that by tomorrow this will all be over, one way or another.
I am incredibly grateful to get a late call from William. And he has more information for me than I would have dreamed possible. He seems to have access to websites I don’t have access to or perhaps he is simply better at using the internet. In a short amount of time, he provides me with quite a lot of information. I feel like the game that is being played is becoming clearer. My fury grows with each new revelation from William.
I leave the office, thankful that Becky and Oliver have Iggy so I don’t have to worry about him. At home, I allow myself a glass of wine and then I make a few calls of my own, checking on Iggy, who is eating homemade chicken tenders prepared for him by Becky, and my mother, who tells me about her book club meeting. I am really just passing the time until Ben gets here.
He arrives at my house exactly when he said he would.
‘I’ll drive,’ I say because I’ve been to the home once already and he nods.
In the car we are silent until he asks for my phone. ‘I want to read the text she sent,’ he says and I wonder if that’s because he doesn’t believe me. At a traffic light, I open my phone and hand it to him and he stares at the screen.
The light turns green and I pull off, and it’s only when we’re parked outside Mike and Sandy’s house that I realise Ben is still holding my phone.
‘You believe me, don’t you?’ I ask as he hands it back to me.
‘Always,’ he says and he touches me lightly on the shoulder.
