pry. There was some relationship that she was uncomfortable about. And it seemed to make her uneasy when he tried to get her to talk about it.
His intercom buzzed. His next appointment was in the waiting room. A new patient.
Hastily, Michael opened the new file he had prepared, and looked at the referral letter from the man’s doctor, a GP Michael had never heard of. Dr Shyam Sundaralingham, who practised in Cheltenham, but that wasn’t unusual: there were countless doctors he didn’t know.
Dr Sundaralingham diagnosed that his patient was suffering from clinical depression and had specifically requested that Michael see him. That wasn’t unusual: a lot of people heard him on the radio or read his articles, and asked for him specifically. He would give them an initial interview, but then, to keep his workload from spilling over, he kept only those patients who particularly interested him, and normally referred the others to psychotherapists for their long-term treatment.
This new patient was thirty-eight.
His name was Dr Terence Goel.
Chapter Twenty-four
‘OK, Amanda, I think this would be helpful. I want you to describe Michael Tennent to me.’
Amanda was in the turquoise room of her therapist, and now in the airy quiet of this space, shaded by the Venetian blinds from the late-afternoon sunlight, she felt calm for the first time that day. She leaned back in the comfortable wicker armchair, closed her eyes, compiled her thoughts.
‘He – I – uh – he reminds me – a sort of – composite. Let me think of an actor, sort of outdoors but intellectual, if you know what I mean. Kind of Harrison Ford in
Indiana Jones
or, maybe, Jeff Goldblum – he has that sort of quiet authority that Goldblum has.’
Maxine Bentham, in her usual position squatting on the floor against the sofa, nodded. ‘He was in
The Fly
. And in the Jurassic Park movies.’
‘Uh-huh.’
‘OK, Amanda, let’s think about these roles. In
The Fly
he plays a crazed scientist who evolves into a human fly. In
The Lost World
he plays a scientist who has to deal with the monsters. Do you see any significance in this?’
‘A contradiction? Is that what you want me to say?’
‘I only want you to say what you
feel
.’
Amanda tapped her teeth with a fingernail. She nibbled at it, aware that she was doing so, but unable to prevent herself. She had been appalled at what a mess her nails had looked recently. ‘You think I’m seeing him partly as someone to be scared of? And partly as someone who can solve my problems? Who can slay my monster? Who can cure me of Brian?’
‘Jeff Goldblum is a curious way for you to describe him, that’s what I mean.’
‘I don’t think so, no. I’m just trying to give you a physical description. He’s tall, dark-haired, good-looking, but in a – a kind of intellectual way. Maybe he has a little Jewish blood, just a hint.’
‘Do you think he’s a kind man?’
Amanda nodded vigorously. ‘He’s really warm. I . . .’ She hesitated, searching for the right words. ‘I feel safe with him, secure. I don’t have to pretend anything with him. I’m
me
with him.
Me
.’ She frowned. ‘Am I making any sense?’
Maxine gave her a curious, rather wistful smile. ‘Yes. Go on.’
‘I don’t know. Maybe it’s because he’s a shrink, so I feel he can see through me, so there’s no point in trying to lie to him.’
‘Lie to him about what?’
Amanda scratched the back of her neck. She was suddenly finding this difficult. ‘He sent me an e-mail this morning. It was there when I got to the office. It was –’ She fell silent.
The therapist prodded gently. ‘It was what?’
‘It was really nice!’
‘What did it say?’
‘It just said, “Four hours since I saw you. I’m missing you.”’
‘Did you reply?’
‘No.’
‘OK, why not?’
Amanda tugged at her nail again with her teeth. ‘Because I –’ She shrugged. ‘I’m not sure how to reply.’
‘Because you are not sure
His intercom buzzed. His next appointment was in the waiting room. A new patient.
Hastily, Michael opened the new file he had prepared, and looked at the referral letter from the man’s doctor, a GP Michael had never heard of. Dr Shyam Sundaralingham, who practised in Cheltenham, but that wasn’t unusual: there were countless doctors he didn’t know.
Dr Sundaralingham diagnosed that his patient was suffering from clinical depression and had specifically requested that Michael see him. That wasn’t unusual: a lot of people heard him on the radio or read his articles, and asked for him specifically. He would give them an initial interview, but then, to keep his workload from spilling over, he kept only those patients who particularly interested him, and normally referred the others to psychotherapists for their long-term treatment.
This new patient was thirty-eight.
His name was Dr Terence Goel.
Chapter Twenty-four
‘OK, Amanda, I think this would be helpful. I want you to describe Michael Tennent to me.’
Amanda was in the turquoise room of her therapist, and now in the airy quiet of this space, shaded by the Venetian blinds from the late-afternoon sunlight, she felt calm for the first time that day. She leaned back in the comfortable wicker armchair, closed her eyes, compiled her thoughts.
‘He – I – uh – he reminds me – a sort of – composite. Let me think of an actor, sort of outdoors but intellectual, if you know what I mean. Kind of Harrison Ford in
Indiana Jones
or, maybe, Jeff Goldblum – he has that sort of quiet authority that Goldblum has.’
Maxine Bentham, in her usual position squatting on the floor against the sofa, nodded. ‘He was in
The Fly
. And in the Jurassic Park movies.’
‘Uh-huh.’
‘OK, Amanda, let’s think about these roles. In
The Fly
he plays a crazed scientist who evolves into a human fly. In
The Lost World
he plays a scientist who has to deal with the monsters. Do you see any significance in this?’
‘A contradiction? Is that what you want me to say?’
‘I only want you to say what you
feel
.’
Amanda tapped her teeth with a fingernail. She nibbled at it, aware that she was doing so, but unable to prevent herself. She had been appalled at what a mess her nails had looked recently. ‘You think I’m seeing him partly as someone to be scared of? And partly as someone who can solve my problems? Who can slay my monster? Who can cure me of Brian?’
‘Jeff Goldblum is a curious way for you to describe him, that’s what I mean.’
‘I don’t think so, no. I’m just trying to give you a physical description. He’s tall, dark-haired, good-looking, but in a – a kind of intellectual way. Maybe he has a little Jewish blood, just a hint.’
‘Do you think he’s a kind man?’
Amanda nodded vigorously. ‘He’s really warm. I . . .’ She hesitated, searching for the right words. ‘I feel safe with him, secure. I don’t have to pretend anything with him. I’m
me
with him.
Me
.’ She frowned. ‘Am I making any sense?’
Maxine gave her a curious, rather wistful smile. ‘Yes. Go on.’
‘I don’t know. Maybe it’s because he’s a shrink, so I feel he can see through me, so there’s no point in trying to lie to him.’
‘Lie to him about what?’
Amanda scratched the back of her neck. She was suddenly finding this difficult. ‘He sent me an e-mail this morning. It was there when I got to the office. It was –’ She fell silent.
The therapist prodded gently. ‘It was what?’
‘It was really nice!’
‘What did it say?’
‘It just said, “Four hours since I saw you. I’m missing you.”’
‘Did you reply?’
‘No.’
‘OK, why not?’
Amanda tugged at her nail again with her teeth. ‘Because I –’ She shrugged. ‘I’m not sure how to reply.’
‘Because you are not sure
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