“It probably didn't seem like it, but I was actually getting into the idea of therapy. I'd psyched myself up for it. Then they killed it.”

“Your parents?”

The surprise in my voice made her flush. “They didn't tell you.” Her smile was cold. “They claimed they did, but I always wondered.”

“All I got was a cancellation call,” I said. “No explanation. I phoned your house several times, but no one answered.”

“Bastard,” she said with sudden savagery. “Asshole.”

“Your father?”

“Lying asshole. He promised he'd explain everything to you. It was his decision— He never stopped complaining about the money. The day I was supposed to see you, he picked me up from school. I thought he was making sure I showed up on time— I thought you'd lied to me and finked to him about my coming late. I was furious at you. But instead of heading to your office, he drove the other way— into the Valley. Over to this miniature golf course— this Family Fun Center. Arcades, batting cages, all that junk. He parks, turns off the engine, says to me: ‘You need quality time with your dad, not hundred-buck-an-hour baby-sitting with some quack.'”

She bit her lip. “Doesn't that sound a little . . . like he was jealous of you?”

As I mulled my answer she said, “Seductive, don't you think?”

I continued to deliberate. Took the leap. “Lauren, was there ever any—”

“No,” she said. “Never, nothing like that, he never laid a finger on me. Not for anything creepy or for normal affection. The fact is, I can't remember him ever touching me. He's a cold fish. And guess what: He and Mom finally got divorced. He got himself a bimbo, some slut he met on the job— So they never told you they canceled, that it wasn't my idea. Figures. They brought me up with lies.”

“What kind of lies?”

The blue eyes met mine. Got hard. “Doesn't matter.”

“That day at the golf course,” I said. “What happened?”

“What happened? Nothing happened. We played a few holes, finally I said I was bored, started nagging and whining to be taken home. He tried to convince me. I sat down on the green and wouldn't budge. He got mad— got all red-faced like he does, finally drove me home, steaming. Mom was in her room— It was obvious she'd been crying. I thought it had to do with me. I thought everything had to do with me— thought it all the time, and it just sat there in my head like a tumor. Now I know better; they were totally messed up all along.”

She crossed her legs. “A few weeks later he walked out. Filed for divorce without telling her. She tried to get child support out of him, he claimed business was lousy, never gave us a penny. I told her to sue his ass, but she didn't. Not a fighter— she never has been.”

“So you lived with her.”