Read Online Silent Partner by Jonathan Kellerman - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jonathan Kellerman
Tags: Fiction
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folded her legs under. A stretch of white thigh showed. She tugged the dress down over her knees. It caused the fabric to go tight over her breasts and accentuate their fullness. Her eyes were wide and bright, midnight-blue, so dark the pupils blended with the irises.
"Sorry I'm late," she said. A sweet, creamy voice.
Page 43
"So what else is new," said Gray Hair.
"Any more follow-ups to present?" I asked.
No one answered.
"Then I guess we can move on to new material."
"What about Sharon?" said Ponytail, grinning at the new arrival. "You haven't shared a thing with us all semester, Sharon."
The black-haired girl shook her head. "I really don't have anything prepared, Walter."
"What's to prepare? Just pick a case, give us the benefit of your wisdom."
"Or at least Paul's wisdom," said Julian.
Snickers, nods of assent.
She pulled at her earlobe, turned to me, seeking reprieve.
The crack about Kruse helped explain the tension that had accompanied her entrance. Whatever his therapeutic skills at manipulating roles, this supervisor had allowed his group to be poisoned by favoritism. But I was hired help, not the one to deal with it.
I asked her: "Have you presented at all this semester?"
"No." Alarmed.
"Do you have any case you could discuss?"
"I... I suppose so." She gave me a look more pitying than resentful: You're hurting me but it's not your fault.
Shaken a bit, I said, "Then go ahead, please."
"The one I could talk about is a woman I've been seeing for two months. She's a nineteen-year-old sophomore. Initial testing shows her to be within normal limits on every measure, with the MMPI Depression scale a little elevated. Her boyfriend is a senior. They met the first week of the semester and have been going together ever since. She self-referred to the Counseling Center because of problems in their relationship—"
"What kinds of problems?" asked Gray Hair.
"A communication breakdown. In the beginning they could talk to each other. Later, things started to change. Now they're pretty bad."
"Be more specific," said Gray Hair.
Sharon thought. "I'm not sure what you—"
Page 44
"Are they fucking?" asked Ponytail Walter.
Sharon turned red and looked down at the carpet. An
old-fashioned blush—I hadn't thought it still existed. A few of the students looked embarrassed for her. The rest seemed to be enjoying it.
"Are they?" pressed Walter. "Fucking?"
She bit her lip. "They're having relations, yes."
"How often?"
"I really haven't kept a record—"
"Why not? It could be an important parameter of—"
"Hold on," I said. "Give her a chance to finish."
"She'll never finish," said Gray Hair. "We've been through this before—terminal defensiveness.
If we don't confront it, cut it off where it grows, we'll be spinning our wheels the whole session."
"There's nothing to confront," I said. "Let her get the facts out. Then we'll discuss them."
"Right," said Gray Hair. "Another protective male heard from—you bring it out in them, Princess Sharon."
"Ease up, Maddy," said Aurora Bogardus. "Let her talk."
"Sure, sure." Gray Hair folded her arms across her chest, sat back, glared, waited.
"Go ahead," I told Sharon.
She'd sat in silence, removed from the fray like a parent waiting out a spat between siblings.
Now she picked up where she'd left off. Calm. Or on the edge?
"There's been a communication breakdown. The patient says she loves her boyfriend but feels they're growing distant from one another. They can no longer talk about things they used to be able to discuss."
"Such as?" asked Julian, through a cloud of smoke.
"Just about everything."
"Everything? What to have for breakfast? Stuffing versus potatoes?"
"At this point, yes. There's been a complete breakdown—"
"Breakdown," said Maddy. "You've used that word three times without explaining what you mean. Try clarifying rather than restating. Operationalize the word breakdown."
Page 45
"Things have deteriorated," said Sharon, making it sound
"Sorry I'm late," she said. A sweet, creamy voice.
Page 43
"So what else is new," said Gray Hair.
"Any more follow-ups to present?" I asked.
No one answered.
"Then I guess we can move on to new material."
"What about Sharon?" said Ponytail, grinning at the new arrival. "You haven't shared a thing with us all semester, Sharon."
The black-haired girl shook her head. "I really don't have anything prepared, Walter."
"What's to prepare? Just pick a case, give us the benefit of your wisdom."
"Or at least Paul's wisdom," said Julian.
Snickers, nods of assent.
She pulled at her earlobe, turned to me, seeking reprieve.
The crack about Kruse helped explain the tension that had accompanied her entrance. Whatever his therapeutic skills at manipulating roles, this supervisor had allowed his group to be poisoned by favoritism. But I was hired help, not the one to deal with it.
I asked her: "Have you presented at all this semester?"
"No." Alarmed.
"Do you have any case you could discuss?"
"I... I suppose so." She gave me a look more pitying than resentful: You're hurting me but it's not your fault.
Shaken a bit, I said, "Then go ahead, please."
"The one I could talk about is a woman I've been seeing for two months. She's a nineteen-year-old sophomore. Initial testing shows her to be within normal limits on every measure, with the MMPI Depression scale a little elevated. Her boyfriend is a senior. They met the first week of the semester and have been going together ever since. She self-referred to the Counseling Center because of problems in their relationship—"
"What kinds of problems?" asked Gray Hair.
"A communication breakdown. In the beginning they could talk to each other. Later, things started to change. Now they're pretty bad."
"Be more specific," said Gray Hair.
Sharon thought. "I'm not sure what you—"
Page 44
"Are they fucking?" asked Ponytail Walter.
Sharon turned red and looked down at the carpet. An
old-fashioned blush—I hadn't thought it still existed. A few of the students looked embarrassed for her. The rest seemed to be enjoying it.
"Are they?" pressed Walter. "Fucking?"
She bit her lip. "They're having relations, yes."
"How often?"
"I really haven't kept a record—"
"Why not? It could be an important parameter of—"
"Hold on," I said. "Give her a chance to finish."
"She'll never finish," said Gray Hair. "We've been through this before—terminal defensiveness.
If we don't confront it, cut it off where it grows, we'll be spinning our wheels the whole session."
"There's nothing to confront," I said. "Let her get the facts out. Then we'll discuss them."
"Right," said Gray Hair. "Another protective male heard from—you bring it out in them, Princess Sharon."
"Ease up, Maddy," said Aurora Bogardus. "Let her talk."
"Sure, sure." Gray Hair folded her arms across her chest, sat back, glared, waited.
"Go ahead," I told Sharon.
She'd sat in silence, removed from the fray like a parent waiting out a spat between siblings.
Now she picked up where she'd left off. Calm. Or on the edge?
"There's been a communication breakdown. The patient says she loves her boyfriend but feels they're growing distant from one another. They can no longer talk about things they used to be able to discuss."
"Such as?" asked Julian, through a cloud of smoke.
"Just about everything."
"Everything? What to have for breakfast? Stuffing versus potatoes?"
"At this point, yes. There's been a complete breakdown—"
"Breakdown," said Maddy. "You've used that word three times without explaining what you mean. Try clarifying rather than restating. Operationalize the word breakdown."
Page 45
"Things have deteriorated," said Sharon, making it sound
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