“Don’t worry, then, this will take only a few minutes,” Jennifer insists. “I have the morning booked solid with appointments, and I need to collect feedback on Saturday night to present to Miss Bishop as soon as possible.” Why is she still using our aliases, I wonder, as the tirade continues. “It wouldn’t be gentlemanlike to make a lady wait. I’ll be quick, I promise.”

“Go ahead,” I surrender, sagging backward in my chair. Medusa is staring at me with an amused glint in her eyes. From the looks of it, I’d say Vivian is going to enjoy the next five minutes just as much as I’m going to hate them.

“Very well, Dr. Keller,” Jennifer continues. “I’m happy to inform you Miss Bishop has expressed an interest in going on a second date with you. Did you find her to be a suitable match?”

“No,” I reply curtly.

“Oh, may I ask why?”

I sigh, looking at Medusa again. At least she knows already. “Because, mid-date, Meadow declared she’s a witch.”

“Hold on just a second…”

The sound of paper shuffling comes through the line. “Yes, I can see from Miss Bishop’s questionnaire she has an esoteric faith.” More paper rustling. “But you also stated in your questionnaire that you didn’t care about a potential partner’s denomination.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t anticipate that would include women who are convinced they can perform magic spells.”

I make the mistake of looking at Medusa again; she’s not even trying to hide her smile.

“I’m sorry, but how is one belief more legitimate than another, Dr. Keller? Don’t all religions rely on blind faith?”

Medusa raises her eyebrow at me in a, I want to see you get out of this one way. I ignore her silent provocation and reply to Jennifer. “Listen, I’d rather not debate theological arguments with you. Just, please, no more witches.”

“Noted. Was religion the only issue with Miss Bishop? She stated you ended the date quite abruptly.”

“I had my reasons,” I say.

“What reasons?”

“Those are private.”

“Sorry, Dr. Keller, but if you want this process to work, you need to be forthcoming. Why did you leave?”

Vivian tilts her head as if saying, something to hide, Doctor?

“Meadow… err… propositioned me in a way I wasn’t comfortable with.”

“What made you uncomfortable?” Jennifer asks.

Medusa’s grin turns evil at this point.

I stare right back at Vivian and say, “Meadow asked me point-blank to have sex with her.”

Medusa doesn’t drop her gaze, but is that a faint blush on her cheeks?

“And that was a problem because…?” On the line, the familiar rustling of paper comes back. “You stated on your questionnaire that sexuality is an important aspect of a relationship for you. Are you uncomfortable getting physical with a partner?”