I squeezed his hand once more as the elevator dinged and stopped at our floor.

We followed the signage to the offices of Drs. Woolcott and Aldrich. Roy stopped in front of the door. I inhaled, grasped the knob, and entered.

To my surprise, a young woman sat at the reception desk. Since it was after hours, I’d assumed we’d be entering an empty office.

“Hi,” she said brightly. “Are you Dr. Woolcott’s eight o’clock?”

Roy nodded. “I am.”

“I’ll let her know you’re here. Have a seat.” She gestured to me. “We have lots of magazines for you to look at while you’re waiting.”

I nodded. Yeah. Right. Just what I needed. Leaf through Cosmo while the man I loved was inside spilling his guts to a stranger.

My nerves were on edge. Really on edge.

And I wasn’t even the one getting hypnotized.

An older woman, pretty with some gray at her temples, stepped out from behind an oak door. She walked toward us. “Mr. Wolfe?”

Roy stood.

“I’m Alison Woolcott.” She held out her hand. “It’s a pleasure.”

“Thanks for staying open late for me.”

“Not at all. We don’t all keep to normal schedules, and I’m here for whoever needs me.” She turned to me, her hand still out. “Alison Woolcott.”

“Charlie Waters,” I said. “I’m just here for moral support.”

“That’s kind of you. I’ll try not to keep him too long. But this is my last appointment today, so if we start getting somewhere, do you want to keep going?”

“Yeah,” Roy said. “Let’s get it over with.”

Dr. Woolcott smiled. “I understand your trepidation. But I should warn you. Things are rarely resolved in one session.”

Roy nodded and then looked to me. “You don’t have to stay.”

“Of course I do. If you need me, I’ll be right out here.”

“Ready?” Dr. Woolcott gestured to her office door.

Roy nodded tentatively. I smiled, trying to give him strength. Inside, though, my stomach was in knots.

Really knotted knots.

It’ll be okay, I said silently.

Whether I was talking to Roy or to myself, I wasn’t sure.

42

Roy

The office was decorated sparsely, which surprised me.

“You need to focus,” the doc was saying. “I don’t want anything in this room to detract from what we’re doing.”

Had I asked about the sparse décor? I didn’t think I had.

Must be part of her standard spiel.

“Most patients are more comfortable in the recliner.” She motioned to a dark-brown leather chair. “But I also have the couch. Or just a regular chair if you prefer.”

“I guess I’ll try the recliner.” I walked to it and sat down.