Free Silent Partner by Jonathan Kellerman

like a question.
    Maddy laughed. "Terrific. That makes it perfectly clear."
    Sharon lowered her voice. "I don't really know what you're getting at, Maddy."
    Maddy shook her head in disgust, said to no one in particular: "Why waste time on this shit?"
    "Second the motion," someone said.
    I said, "Let's stick to the case. Sharon, why does this girl feel things have broken down?"
    "We've discussed that for several sessions. She claims she doesn't know. At first she thought he'd lost interest and was seeing another woman. He denies that—he spends all his free time with her, so she thinks he's telling the truth. But when they're together he won't talk and seems angry at her—or at least she feels that. It came on all of a sudden, got worse."
    "Did anything else happen at that time?" I asked. "Some kind of stressful event?"
    Another blush.
    "Did they begin having sex at that time, Sharon?"
    Nod. "Around then."
    "Were there sexual problems?"
    "It's hard to know."
    "Bullshit," said Maddy. "It would be easy to know if you'd done your job properly."
    I turned to her and asked, "How would you go about getting that kind of information, Maddy?"
    "Be real, establish rapport." She ticked each phrase off with her finger. "Know the specific defenses of the client— be prepared for the defensive bullshit and roll with it. But if that doesn't work, confront and stay with it until the client knows you mean business. Then simply go for it—bring up the subject, for Christ's sake. She's been seeing this woman for two months. She should have done all of that by now."
    I looked at Sharon.
    "I have," she said, the blush still in force. "We've talked about her defenses. It takes time. There are problems."
    "Sure are," said Julian.
    "Seck-shoo-all problems," enunciated Maddy. "Say the 'S' word, honey. Next time it'll be easier."
    Scattered laughter. Sharon seemed to be taking it calmly. But I kept my eye on her.
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    "Share the problems with us," Walter was urging, grinning and playing with his ponytail.
    "They... she isn't satisfied," said Sharon.
    "Is she coming?" asked Julian.
    "I don't think so."
    "Don't think so?"
    "No. No, she isn't."
    "Then what are you doing to help her come?"
    She bit her lip again.
    "Speak up," said Maddy.
    Sharon's hands began to shake. She laced her fingers together to hide it. "We've... we've talked about... reducing her anxiety, relaxing her."
    "Oh Christ, blame the woman," said Maddy. "Who says it's her problem? Maybe it's him? Maybe he's a bumbler. Or a preemie."
    "She says he's... okay. She's the one who's nervous."
    "Have you done any deep muscle relaxation?" asked Aurora. "Systematic desensitization?"
    "No, nothing that structured. It's still hard for her to talk about it."
    "Wonder why," said Julian.
    "We're just working on trying to stay calm," said Sharon. It sounded like self-description.
    "Hard to be calm about primal issues," soothed Walter. "Have they done oral sex?"
    "Uh, yes."
    " Uh, in what way?"
    She looked back down at the carpet. "The usual."
    "I don't know what that means, Sharon." He looked at the others. "Do any of you?"
    Orchestrated smiles and shakes of the head. A predatory bunch. I pictured them as full-fledged therapists in a few years. Scary.
    Sharon was looking at the floor, fighting a losing battle with her hands.
    I thought of intervening, wondered whether that violated the norms of the group. Decided I didn't care if it did. But being too protective would harm her more, in the long run.
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    While I was deliberating, Walter said, "What kind of oral sex?"
    "I think we all know what oral sex is," I said.
    His eyebrows rose. "Do we? I wonder. Do any of you wonder?"
    "This is bullshit," said Aurora. "Got too many things to do." She stood, hefted her carpetbag, and stamped out of the room. Three or four others followed quickly.
    The door slammed. A tight silence followed. Sharon's eyes were moist and her earlobe had been tugged scarlet.
    "Let's move on to something else," I