Page 99 of Inferno

Chapter 26

“Stan,” Dr. Gilliard breathed, greeting him with a smile of undisguised pleasure as she opened the door to her office. “It’s wonderful to see you again. Please come in.”

“Thanks for agreeing to see me on such short notice,” Stan said, entering the room. “I hope I’m not throwing off your schedule.”

“Not at all.I had a cancellation, so I’m all yours for however long you need me.”

“Uh, well, actually—” He broke off as Dr. Gilliard peeled his jacket off his shoulders and hung it on the coat rack. When he looked at her, she smiled warmly and gestured to the sofa.

“Please have a seat,” she invited.

Stan hesitated, then walked over to the sofa and sat down. He’d come there to tell her that he didn’t need her services anymore. On the way to her office, he’d rehearsed what he would say. But now that he was here, he felt awkward.Out of his element.

How exactly does one break up with one’s therapist?

Dr. Gilliard sat in her armchair and slowly crossed her legs. Today she had on a cream cashmere sweater dress and wore her long hair down. Her glasses, which had been missing at the ball, were back in place.

“So,” she began conversationally, “do you have any special plans for Thanksgiving?”

“Yeah.We’ve got family coming from out of town, and on Wednesday evening we’re driving up to the mountains to spend Thanksgiving weekend at a ski lodge.”

“Oh, wow, that sounds wonderful.” Dr. Gilliard smiled brightly. “That should be really fun for everyone.”

“Definitely.We’re all looking forward to it, especially the kids.” Stan paused,thenasked politely, “What about you? Got any special plans?”

“Oh, nothing as exciting or romantic as a ski trip,” the doctor said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I’m just having dinner at my parents’ house.”

Stan nodded.

“I’d love for you to meet them.”

Stan’s brows shot up.“Yourparents?”

Dr. Gilliard had the mortified look of someone who just realized she’d unintentionally spoken aloud. “Well, um, my father is retired military, and he and my mother are, um, really active in the community. So I just thought they’d both be, uh, honored to meet Coronado’s Firefighter of the Year.”

As she muddled her way through the convoluted explanation, Stan stared at her, eyes narrowed speculatively.

Dropping her gaze, Dr. Gilliard became absorbed in removing a speck of lint from her dress.

Stan regarded her in silence for another moment,thenfrowned. “Listen, I would have preferred to do this over the phone, but I thought I owed you the courtesy of telling you in person—”

Her eyes snapped to his face. “Telling me what?”

He met her gaze. “I won’t be continuing our therapy sessions.”

She looked stricken. “What do you mean?”

Stan frowned. He thought he’d spoken plainly enough. “I don’t think—”

“Is this because of what happened at the ball?Because I’m really sorry about that.Van Dorn insisted on dancing with your wife, and I didn’t know how to talk him out of it.”

Stan grimaced. “This isn’t about that, although dancing with youdidput me in an awkward position. But that’s not why I’m ending our sessions.”

“Then why?”

Stan hesitated for a moment,thenopted for complete honesty. “I’ve been coming to you for over three months now, and while I appreciate the time you’ve taken to help me, I’m no closer to understanding or overcoming my nightmares than I was when I first began seeing you.”

Dr. Gilliard looked stung. “Three months isn’tnearlyenough time to determine that therapy isn’t working for you, Stan. It takes some of myclientsyearsto make any sort of breakthrough. You just have to be patient.”