Free No Kiss Goodbye by Janelle Harris Page A

slowly as I analyse the back profile of the people in the seats.
    Mark and Nicole? I squint and shake my head, certain my eyes are deceiving me.
    Mark finally turns around to face me. He looks deathly serious. Nicole doesn’t turn around.
    How long have they been in Doctor Hammond’s office? I was in the waiting room for over forty minutes, and I didn’t see them pass. Why are they visiting so long with the doctor? Actually, why are they here at all? I thought Mark was waiting in the car, and where did Nicole come from?
    I feel betrayed, by both Mark and my doctor. I console myself that they can’t have been discussing me. Patient confidentiality protected me, didn’t it? At least that was one relief.
    ‘Come sit with us, Laura,’ Doctor Hammond says.
    I don’t move or speak.
    ‘Laura. It’s okay,’ Mark finally says after a long drawn-out silence. There’s gentle reassurance in his eyes, but I’m not convinced.
    Nicole remains with her back to me.
    I wheel forward slowly and tuck my chair beside my husband.
    ‘Do you know why Mark and Nicole are here?’ Doctor Hammond asks as soon as I come to a stop.
    I shake my head.
    ‘Are you sure?’ he questions, in a tone similar to a strict schoolteacher.
    ‘Yes, I’m sure. Do I look like I have a clue what’s going on?’ I bark.
    Nicole suddenly turns to glare at me. Her body language is screaming hatred towards me. The feeling is mutual, bitch.
    ‘Mark, why are you here?’ I ask.
    Mark drops his head and stares at the ground. His knee is twitching and causing a scratching sound as his jeans grate against the fabric of the armrest.
    ‘Laura, do you remember making a phone call to Nicole last night?’ Doctor Hammond asks.
    ‘No. If I wanted to check on the kids, I’d phone Patricia.’
    ‘You weren’t checking on the kids,’ Nicole snaps.
    I glared at her. ‘I don’t even have your number.’
    Mark rummages in his pocket and pulls out my mobile phone.
    ‘Where did you find that,’ I snap. ‘I’ve been looking for that all morning.’
    Mark ignores me. He’s scrolling through the call log on my phone.
    I try to snap my phone out of his hand, but I can’t reach.
    ‘Two twenty- seven a.m.,’ he says.
    Nicole nods.
    ‘You made a call from your mobile to Nicole’s mobile this morning at two twenty-seven for a duration of a little over four minutes,’ Mark says, turning the phone screen towards me so I can see the evidence for myself.
    ‘But I didn’t call anyone at that time. I was asleep. I didn’t even know Nicole’s number was in my phone.’
    ‘You did call me,’ Nicole insists.
    ‘Why the fuck would I call you?’
    ‘To scare the living daylights out of her by all accounts,’ Mark says.
    ‘You made a lot of threats and accusations, Laura,’ Doctor Hammond says.
    ‘Oh, really? And how would you know that?’ I bark.
    Doctor Hammond writes something on the paper in front of him. His making notes of my reply. Asshole.
    ‘You were parked across the road from the house watching Nicole,’ he continues, putting down his pen.
    I laugh. There’s certainly nothing funny about the situation, but this is so messed up that my nervous laughter is involuntary. Are Mark and I really paying this quack good money?
    ‘In case you haven’t noticed, I can’t walk. How the hell would I have managed to drive the car in the middle of the night and park it anywhere?’
    ‘Laura, I don’t think you realise the seriousness of this matter. Thank God Nicole spoke to Mark and not the police. What were you thinking?’ Doctor Hammond’s voice is grittier than I’m used to.
    Mark can’t possibly believe this nonsense. He can’t really be this easily manipulated by Nicole. I’m shaking my head so hard I’m making myself dizzy.
    ‘I don’t have to listen to this bullshit,’ I growl. ‘Mark, I want to go home.’
    ‘You do have to listen, actually,’ Doctor Hammond says. ‘I can keep you here as long as necessary.’
    Mark tilts his head. I