Free Delirious by Daniel Palmer

Giles.”
    “Charlie,” he said again. “I’d prefer if we could keep this informal. I promise I won’t take up much of your time.”
    Charlie could see Rachel processing her next move. She was calculating. A thinker. He liked that. If they had met under different circumstances, Charlie was certain he would have been interested in getting to know her personally. Perhaps that would still be a possibility, he thought.
Assuming she doesn’t think I’m a nut job
.
    “Listen, Charlie,” Rachel said, her green eyes fixed on him. “Your brother, Joe, is a patient of mine. That automatically disqualifies us from having any professional relationship. You can ask me your questions, but if I feel a line is being crossed, I’m going to stop the conversation short. Is that all right with you?”
    Charlie nodded his head. “Yes, of course,” he said. “I understand.”
    “Good. Then talk. What is it that you want to know about?”
    “Well … I’m not sure where to begin.”
    “The beginning is often a good place to start,” Rachel said.
    “Of course. The beginning. Well, you know my family history. Both my father and brother have mental illness.”
    Rachel leaned forward, interlocking the fingers of her hands. It was a gesture of apprehension. Had she already suspected this conversation would head out-of-bounds?
    Charlie shifted slightly in his chair and crossed his legs. It was a defensive posture, but he was unable to resist the urge to protect himself. To hide his vulnerabilities.
    “I’m aware of your family history, Charlie. And, I’m also aware that any discussion of that on my part would be completely inappropriate.”
    Charlie sat back in his chair, uncrossed his legs, and tried his best to assume a more carefree, less concerned manner. He needed herperspective. The last thing he wanted was to scare her off with his own alarm.
    “Understood. Well, lately I’ve been interested in learning more about my family genetics. I won’t trouble you with all the specifics, but suffice it to say, it’s extremely important to me.”
    “All right,” Rachel said. “I’ll see what I can do. What do you want to know?”
    “I’m wondering how you come to the diagnosis that you do. I mean, what are the symptoms that might make you think somebody needs treatment?”
    “What treatment are you referring to, Charlie?”
    Charlie looked at his shoes. They were polished to a mirror finish, the way he was accustomed to maintaining things—perfectly. “I’m referring to the diagnosis and treatment for schizophrenia,” he said. There was nothing liberating about asking the question. It embarrassed him to ask, and the flushness of his cheeks suggested Rachel knew that as well. He had contemplated avoiding the term altogether by asking if work pressures could cause someone to lose their memory or concoct elaborate fantasies, but he wasn’t ready to be specific with her.
    Rachel stayed seated and made no gesture to end the conversation. From her pursed lips and narrowed eyes Charlie could sense she was being cautious with her word choice, a sign he interpreted as a willingness to walk a very thin line.
    “I find it interesting that you’ve taken such a sudden interest,” Rachel said.
    Charlie thought about that for a moment. “Are you implying something?”
    “I know about you through your family, Charlie,” Rachel said. “You realize we encourage family to participate in a patient’s treatment. Studies have shown that strong support from immediate family has tremendous benefit for the patient.”
    Charlie avoided her gaze. “No, I hadn’t realized that,” he said.
    “You’ve never come around, even though Joe has invited you to several of his milestone events. So I’m just curious. Why the sudden interest?”
    “I’ve had some experiences over the past few days,” Charlie said. “Let’s just say that they’ve heightened my curiosity.”
    “Why don’t we do this?” Rachel said. “Tell me about those