Page 140 of Woman on the Verge

“It’s such a long story ...”

He does one of his heavy sighs. “Look, I talked to the doctors. Convinced them to do another scan of your brain to make sure nothing is going on.”

His phone dings with an incoming message. We both stare at the screen. It’s Elijah.

Katrina? You mean from the bar a while back? I remember the name. Dude, I have no idea what you’re talking about though. We talked for a half hour and then I left to meet my girlfriend for dinner. Not sure what the confusion is, but wish you well. Peace.

I just shake my head. This doesn’t make any sense. Is he breaking things off? Ghosting me or whatever the young people call it?

“Hon, look at me,” Kyle says.

I do.

“The doctors said they’ll do another scan before discharge tomorrow. But they said there were no abnormalities on the first scan. They think perhaps this is more of a ... psychological issue.”

“What?”

“You’ve been under so much stress,” he says.

“A psychological issue?”

He puts a hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t worry, okay? We’re going to get you some help.”

Chapter 27

Therese

I am in week 3. I have confessed all to Crystal, and she has done a remarkable job of maintaining a poker face and convincing me that she is not horrified with who I am as a person. Then again, I’m assuming she knew most of my story before I arrived atComeand had time to recover from any initial shock.

It is Thursday, and in this one-on-one session, Kyle will be making an appearance. I am dreading this. I haven’t seen him since Margot escorted me from our home. We’ve talked on the phone, which is always awkward and makes me feel like an inmate calling from prison. It’s clear he doesn’t know what to say to me, and I don’t know what to say to him. I am ashamed, and he is terrified of me. His wife, the nutcase.

Usually, I sit on the middle cushion of the couch in Crystal’s office, but today I sit on the far-right cushion in anticipation of Kyle’s presence.

“Remember, he’s probably nervous too. I’m here to help the two of you, okay?” Crystal says.

Before I can respond, there’s a knock at the door, and when Crystal opens it, Kyle is there with ever-smiling Phoebe. He is a deer in headlights. His hair is longer than usual, borderline disheveled, and he still has the facial hair he had when I was in the hospital. He puts ahand to his beard. I give him a meek smile, a cautious peace offering. He returns the same.

“You must be Kyle,” Crystal says to him.

His eyes are on me when he says, “Yeah.”

“Have a great session!” Phoebe says with too much enthusiasm before going on her way.

Crystal leads Kyle to the couch, and he sits on the far-left cushion, as I thought he would. Crystal watches this initial interaction, likely noting that we have not made any physical contact. Hands are not reaching for each other; bodies are not colliding into one another.

“So,” Crystal says with a long exhale. “I know we have a lot to get into, and it’s my hope that both of you will leave here a bit less uneasy after our hour together.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Kyle nod as he presses his palms to his thighs.

“Let’s jump right in and talk about the elephant in the room,” Crystal says. “The Delusion.”

That’s what we’ve been calling the Elijah situation—the Delusion. She has been careful not to call me delusional, though I was and may always be.

“Kyle, I’m sure this was a big shock to you, and I’m curious what your thoughts are now that you’ve had some time to process this.”

He groans. Audibly.