He waved his hand dismissively. “I let special patients like you take all the time they need.”

She squirmed. “But I’m not comfortable anymore.”

“Why? I thought we were getting along so well!”

She could see he was making every effort to pull himself together, to find his “professional” face again and hide behind it. But he didn’t succeed, his eyes still full of an unnatural urgency that frightened her. “Don’t be a stupid child! Can’t you see this is a very, very important conversation we are having? I absolutely refuse to stop now! I won’t allow it! For your own good!” he demanded harshly. Then he took a deep breath, trying yet another tack. “Maybe, after all,” he said, almost sweetly, “you would like to sit on my lap and have me caress you the way Duvie did when he made you feel so … what did you say? ‘Cozy and warm and loved’?”

She shook her head violently, jumping to her feet.

He got up, moving toward her swiftly, blocking her way to the door. She stood there, paralyzed. He reached behind her head, pulling the pins from her hair, which fell down loosely around her shoulders, the braid unraveling. He seemed to gasp.

“You are a beautiful young girl. Why not dress like one? Modesty doesn’t mean ugliness. HaShem gave you your youth and beauty. Honor it, child. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. And don’t feel guilty about what you’ve experienced, how your body felt when it was touched by a man. This is all normal, natural. HaShem is preparing you, your body, to become a woman, to welcome children.” He moved closer, lowering his voice. “Don’t you want to feel it? My whatyoucallit? All the girls do. Not at first, of course. But then they tell me they get addicted to it. They wait outside the office, begging me for it,” he whispered, the words like a physical assault on her ears.

“Please,” she begged, tears streaming down her cheeks. “It’s wrong, shameful.” She tried to turn around, but he held her by the shoulders.

“Only with the wrong person. Your problem was you chose the wrong person, Shaindele. Your pizza parlor boy was young and stupid like all young men. They don’t have any patience. They grab what they want. They are coarse, insensitive. You need someone older, someone more experienced to help you.” He paused, caressing her shoulders. “I’ve helped hundreds of girls, just like you.”