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By Root 972 0

a time when you had to let go, hoping and trusting that the patient could do the rest. Perhaps sending your daughter off to be married was like this, Sarah thought. It could have been so much worse in so many ways. Over the phone her father seemed a decent man, and Sarah Rosen didn't need a specialization in psychiatry to know that, more than anything else, Doris needed a relationship with an honorable and loving man so that she could, one day, develop another such relationship that would last her lifetime. That was now the job of others, but it didn't stop Sarah from worrying about her patient. Every doctor can be a Jewish mother, and in her case it was difficult to avoid.

The hills were steep in Pittsburgh. Doris directed them along the Monongahela River and up the right street, suddenly tense while Sandy checked the numbers of the houses. And there it was. Sarah pulled the red Buick into a parking place and everyone took a deep breath.

'You okay?' she asked Doris, getting a frightened nod in response.

'He's your father, honey. He loves you.'

There was nothing remarkable about Raymond Brown, Sarah saw a moment later. He must have been waiting at the door for hours, and he, too, was nervous, coming down the cracked concrete steps, holding the rail as he did so with a trembling hand. He opened the car door, helping Sandy out with awkward gallantry. Then he reached inside, and though he was trying to be brave and impassive, when his fingers touched Doris's, the man burst into tears. Doris tripped coming out of the car, and her father kept her from falling, and clutched her to his chest.

'Oh, Daddy!'

Sandy O'Toole turned away, not put off by the emotion of the moment, but wanting them to have it alone, and the look she gave Dr Rosen was its own culminating moment for people of their profession. Both medics bit their lips and examined the other's moist eyes.

'Let's get you inside, baby,' Ray Brown said, taking his little girl up the steps, needing to have her in his house and under his protection. The other two women followed without being bidden.

The living room was surprisingly dark. A day-sleeper, Mr Brown had added dark shades to his home and had forgotten to raise them this day. It was a cluttered room of braided rugs and overstuffed '40s furniture, small mahogany tables with lacelike dollies. There were framed photos everywhere. A dead wife. A dead son. And a lost daughter - four of those. In the dark security of the house, father clutched daughter again.

'Honey,' he said, recounting words that he'd been practicing for days. 'The things I said, I was wrong, I was so damned wrong!'

'It's okay, Daddy. Thank you for ... for letting me -'

'Dor, you're my little girl.' Nothing more had to be said. That hug lasted over a minute, and then she had to draw back with a giggle.

'I have to go.'

'The bathroom's in the same place,' her father said, wiping his own eyes. Doris moved off, finding the stairs and going up. Raymond Brown turned his attention to his guests.

'I, uh, I have lunch ready.' He paused awkwardly. This wasn't a time for good manners or considered words. 'I don't know what I'm supposed to say.'

'That's okay.' Sarah smiled her benign doctor's smile, the sort that told him that everything was all right, even though it wasn't, really. 'But we need to talk. This is Sandy O'Toole, by the way. Sandy's a nurse, and she's more responsible for your daughter's recovery than I am.'

'Hi,' Sandy said, and handshakes were exchanged all around.

'Doris still needs a lot of help, Mr Brown,' Dr Rosen Said. 'She's been through a really terrible time. Can we talk a little bit?'

'Yes, ma'am. Please, sit down. Can I get you anything?' he asked urgently.

'I've set your daughter up with a doctor at Pitt. Her name's Michelle Bryant. She's a psychiatrist -'

'You mean Doris is ... sick?'

Sarah shook her head. 'No, not really. But she's been through a very bad time, and good medical attention will help her recover a lot faster. Do you understand?'

"Doc, I will do anything you tell me, okay? I've got all the medical insurance