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full-time.” He clasped his hands together and leaned forward. “Dr. Holly, I want you to be with me when I tell him.”
    My stomach flipped and flopped like a fish pulled from the water. Arnie’s father was a hard-core retired marine who’d gone off the deep end when he found a rag doll in his son’s room. Arnie had been eleven years old at the time. His father had been trying to turn him into a man’s man ever since. Not only did I not want to be in the same room when Arnie told his father the truth, I didn’t want to be on the same planet.
    “Wouldn’t your father feel uncomfortable having an outsider present?” I asked hopefully.
    “I can’t do it alone,” he said. “I’m going to need support. Now that I’ve made my decision, I’d like to get it over with. When is the soonest I can get another appointment?”
    I hesitated. I wasn’t going to have an office after Friday, so it would have to be soon. I checked my appointment book. “How does Wednesday afternoon sound?” I was already dreading it. I wondered if he would fall for my mad cow disease story.
     
     
    The ambulance arrived for Marie, accompanied by a police officer, as I was escorting Arnie out. “I’ll need a few minutes to talk to the patient,” I said.
    I found Marie sitting on the sofa, flexing her right hand. She looked at me. “I have writer’s cramp.”
    I took the chair beside her. “Marie, I know how important your country western music career is, but I think you need to put it on the back burner for now.”
    She looked alarmed. “I can’t! My fans will forget about me.”
    I touched her shoulder in hopes of calming her. “You’ve neglected your health,” I said. “You can’t remember when you last slept, and I’ll bet you haven’t eaten a decent meal in days. You’re in no condition to think about a new career.” I paused, knowing she was not going to like what I had to say. “I want you to go into the hospital for a few days.”
    “You can’t be serious!” she said. “What will I tell my fans? What will I tell the press?”
    “We’ll try to keep it quiet, but if anyone should find out, we’ll say you’re suffering from exhaustion.”
    Her eyes suddenly hardened. “I should have known something like this would happen. You’re jealous. It irks the hell out of you that I have all this talent and you have none. You don’t want to see me succeed.”
    “I want to see you healthy,” I said.
    She threw the legal pad on the floor. “Do I have a choice in the matter?” she asked. “Or do they plan to drag me to the psych ward and drug me?” She met my surprised gaze. “This ain’t my first rodeo, lady.”
    “Then I think it’s especially important that we try to cooperate with each other the best we can. There are EMTs out front waiting to take you to the hospital.”
    “What if I refuse to go? Then what?” she added.
    I sat back in my chair and regarded her. “I think you know the answer to that,” I said. “You’ll crash and burn, and there will be nobody to help you.”
    She sat there quietly for a moment, but I could see the anger burning in her eyes. “If they try to cuff me, I’ll kick and scream and bite.”
    “I’ll ask them not to, but you’ll have to cooperate.” We both stood and headed for the door. I opened it and stepped outside with Marie on my heels. “Miss Osmond is ready to go,” I said. “She doesn’t need to be restrained.”
    Mona and I were quiet as Marie was led out. The police officer nodded at me before he closed the door behind him.
    “Boy, am I glad I don’t have your job,” Mona said. “I used to think it would be cool helping people, but it must be awful hearing about other people’s problems day in and day out. I would hate to be you.”
    The door opened, and two teenage girls in slut-wear walked through, followed by their parents, who hoped family counseling would put an end to the hostility that was wrecking their home. It never failed; each session