Unexpectedly, Milo - Matthew Dicks [18]
Better than porn, Milo thought, though he knew that his client probably would disagree. He was feeling good about himself, confident that he had made a difference in the old man’s life while finally ridding himself of conflagration.
Perhaps this new sense of purpose would make up for the guilt that he continued to feel about watching Freckles’s tapes, and the knowledge that despite his guilt, he would be watching them again soon. By spending a little extra time with Arthur Friedman, perhaps he could get the universe to forgive his indiscretion when it came to Freckles. He only hoped that the extra fifteen minutes with his client wouldn’t make him late for his first session of couples’ therapy.
Christine hated it when Milo was late for anything.
chapter 5
Things were not going well for Milo, because things were going well for Milo.
He had allowed Christine to choose the marriage counselor, assuming that one therapist would be just as good as another and thinking that the ability to choose might make his wife happy. So Christine had chosen Dr. Dana Teagan of Hartford, Connecticut, and having only spoken to the therapist’s secretary, was visibly surprised to see a middle-aged man enter the waiting room and invite the couple inside.
Dr. Dana Teagan was a short, thin man with a full head of hair and a well-groomed goatee, making him look decidedly younger than his fifty-plus years. His voice was soft and warm, and as he shook Milo’s hand, he held it a second longer than necessary, somehow assuring Milo in this subtle gesture that everything would be all right. He wore the type of clothing that actors donned in holiday commercials, connoting tradition and family: a soft patterned sweater, a pair of dark corduroys, and well-worn brown loafers. The appearance of the man had made Milo suddenly feel as if he were in a Hallmark Hall of Fame Christmas special, and he half expected to find a group of uncommonly good-looking people sitting around a stone fireplace as he entered the doctor’s office instead of the three chairs, an assortment of indoor plants, and the desk he found instead.
After the formalities of insurance coverage and scheduling were complete, Dr. Teagan suggested that he spend some time meeting with Christine and Milo separately, in order to get to know them on a more personal level before moving forward with them as a couple. They agreed, and Christine eagerly volunteered to take the first twenty minutes while Milo retreated to the waiting room.
Though Milo embraced the idea of meeting with a therapist in order to find a solution to his troubled marriage, the thought of sitting across from a mental health professional scared him to death. He had no intention of mentioning the demands that plagued his life, but he worried that a psychologist might see right through him, picking up on things he said or even physical symptoms of which he was completely unaware. These were, after all, professionals who were trained to diagnose and treat mental illness. Perhaps there were indicators that Milo exhibited each day without even knowing.
Worse still, what if a demand arose while he was meeting with Dr. Teagan? What if conflagration had still been pounding away in his mind when he entered the doctor’s office? What if the need to pop a balloon or shake and open a can of Canada Dry diet ginger ale struck while he was sitting on what he thought was going to be the kind of leather couch that Freud might have used? Would a doctor be able to detect the amalgamation of signs indicating