psychotherapy into the moment, which did not make me happy. But, on the other hand, I didn't want to ignore her. That would be rude. Right? Even unprofessional."
"Tough situation," I said. I meant it.
Hella said, "You've always told me that I have to be prepared to take control at moments when reality and therapy collide outside the office."
It was one of my standard supervisory prompts, though I would have admitted that I had never imagined a moment precisely like the one that Hella was describing.
"What should I have done, Alan?"
"Finish the story, then we'll talk about that." I hoped by the time she finished the story I might come up with an answer to her question.
Hella said, "Well, I turned to face her, and I said, 'They?' You know, to clarify?
"She turned her body to face me. She lifted both her hands so they were floating in front of her abdomen, palms up. She said, 'These. The C-cups. The girls.'
"I'm not surprised by much that goes on at Burning Man, Alan. I've been going for a long time. I've seen a lot. Most of what happens there now is evolution, not pure inspiration. But she must have noticed the bemusement on my face right then because she began to dance in front of me, pulled her shoulders back, bent over a little at the waist, and she shook her chest at me in a shimmy that was so well executed that I'm pretty sure she'd been practicing . . . the move."
I shook my head slowly, in amazement. It's not something I would have done in psychotherapy, but in supervision, it seemed okay to express my wonder.
"I'm little, Alan. She's not--she's like five-eight. A lot of curves. Very pretty, in a dolce vita way. You know what I mean? Anyway, with the dance, and the lean, at that instant her shimmying breasts were right in my face." Hella held her open hands inches from her eyes. "And I swear those boobs of hers were so well packed they didn't move a millimeter on their own during the shimmy. It was like the damn plastic surgeon had bound those puppies in shrink wrap."
I'm rarely speechless in psychotherapy, except by choice. In supervision? Before that moment? Never that I could remember.
Hella continued. "She says, 'See, Dr. Zoet?' And she shimmied again. 'This is just the way Dan wanted them.' "
Despite more numerous potential side roads than I could count, I managed to stay in the supervisory moment.
"She hadn't mentioned the augmentation previously?"
Hella said, "No."
I said, "Well, it has always been your impression of this woman that she's a man pleaser."
"Exactly," said Hella. "Exactly what I was thinking."
"And the golf club through her head?" I said. "Thoughts?"
"I kept thinking it would come up. But she didn't mention it until this week's session."
3
A s things developed, I discovered that I knew more about almost everything and everybody involved with the allegations that emanated from the damn housewarming than I should have known.
At no point would it turn out that I was pleased about that.
I wasn't aware, for instance, that the precise time the caterers left the gathering would become important.
It was one of many things that the authorities could have just asked me, had they ever gotten around to treating the events of the evening as an actual criminal investigation. Which, from my perspective, they never did.
It's also one of the few things I knew, or had learned, that I would have been comfortable telling the authorities.
What I came to know about the damn housewarming and at least some of the people who attended it and how I learned all of it became crucial as the days passed; it also made it difficult to keep the various categories of facts straight in my head.
There were some things I didn't want to talk with anyone about.
Other things that I couldn't talk with anyone about.
But right from the start I did know the time the caterers left the event because the damn catering van had almost run me over on the way out the lane.
Had I looked at my watch? No, when I'm not at work
"Tough situation," I said. I meant it.
Hella said, "You've always told me that I have to be prepared to take control at moments when reality and therapy collide outside the office."
It was one of my standard supervisory prompts, though I would have admitted that I had never imagined a moment precisely like the one that Hella was describing.
"What should I have done, Alan?"
"Finish the story, then we'll talk about that." I hoped by the time she finished the story I might come up with an answer to her question.
Hella said, "Well, I turned to face her, and I said, 'They?' You know, to clarify?
"She turned her body to face me. She lifted both her hands so they were floating in front of her abdomen, palms up. She said, 'These. The C-cups. The girls.'
"I'm not surprised by much that goes on at Burning Man, Alan. I've been going for a long time. I've seen a lot. Most of what happens there now is evolution, not pure inspiration. But she must have noticed the bemusement on my face right then because she began to dance in front of me, pulled her shoulders back, bent over a little at the waist, and she shook her chest at me in a shimmy that was so well executed that I'm pretty sure she'd been practicing . . . the move."
I shook my head slowly, in amazement. It's not something I would have done in psychotherapy, but in supervision, it seemed okay to express my wonder.
"I'm little, Alan. She's not--she's like five-eight. A lot of curves. Very pretty, in a dolce vita way. You know what I mean? Anyway, with the dance, and the lean, at that instant her shimmying breasts were right in my face." Hella held her open hands inches from her eyes. "And I swear those boobs of hers were so well packed they didn't move a millimeter on their own during the shimmy. It was like the damn plastic surgeon had bound those puppies in shrink wrap."
I'm rarely speechless in psychotherapy, except by choice. In supervision? Before that moment? Never that I could remember.
Hella continued. "She says, 'See, Dr. Zoet?' And she shimmied again. 'This is just the way Dan wanted them.' "
Despite more numerous potential side roads than I could count, I managed to stay in the supervisory moment.
"She hadn't mentioned the augmentation previously?"
Hella said, "No."
I said, "Well, it has always been your impression of this woman that she's a man pleaser."
"Exactly," said Hella. "Exactly what I was thinking."
"And the golf club through her head?" I said. "Thoughts?"
"I kept thinking it would come up. But she didn't mention it until this week's session."
3
A s things developed, I discovered that I knew more about almost everything and everybody involved with the allegations that emanated from the damn housewarming than I should have known.
At no point would it turn out that I was pleased about that.
I wasn't aware, for instance, that the precise time the caterers left the gathering would become important.
It was one of many things that the authorities could have just asked me, had they ever gotten around to treating the events of the evening as an actual criminal investigation. Which, from my perspective, they never did.
It's also one of the few things I knew, or had learned, that I would have been comfortable telling the authorities.
What I came to know about the damn housewarming and at least some of the people who attended it and how I learned all of it became crucial as the days passed; it also made it difficult to keep the various categories of facts straight in my head.
There were some things I didn't want to talk with anyone about.
Other things that I couldn't talk with anyone about.
But right from the start I did know the time the caterers left the event because the damn catering van had almost run me over on the way out the lane.
Had I looked at my watch? No, when I'm not at work
Similar Books
Tangled Up in Princes (Royal Romances Book 1)
Molly Jameson
The School on Heart's Content Road
Carolyn Chute
Tree Girl
Ben Mikaelsen
In the Fifth at Malory Towers
Enid Blyton
Protocol 7
Armen Gharabegian
Shipwreck Island
S. A. Bodeen
Havana
Stephen Hunter
Vintage Stuff
Tom Sharpe