head. I was in no hurry to get up. The only thing tempting me was the distinct smell of chocolate chip pancakes wafting up the stairs. Dee definitely did that on purpose. She knew I couldn’t resist those. My stomach gurgled loudly, reminding me I wasn’t getting any pancakes hiding under the covers, so I groaned and made myself get up.
“Well, look at you up and at ‘em so early this morning!” Dee’s smile was a little too wide and she looked a little too cheery for 7:00am. How someone could be fully dressed with impeccable hair and makeup and full of energy that early was beyond my comprehension. I became aware of my own hair, momentarily posing as a rat’s nest, and pulled it into a messy bun on top of my head. I didn’t have to try very hard at the messy part.
“Mornin,” I gave her my best effort at a smile and plopped down at the breakfast table.
She set a plate full of pancakes dripping with sticky, sweet syrup down in front of me, along with two extra strength Excedrin tablets. “I expect you can get yourself to the therapist on time? I’ve left directions for you on the counter. Your appointment isn’t until 8:30, but you need to get there a little early for paperwork.”
“Mmhmm,” I said through a mouthful. There was no time for chit-chat when there were chocolate chip pancakes to be eaten.
“I’ve got some errands to run, then I’m meeting Suzanne for lunch and I’m due for a game of bridge with the girls at the club after that. Do me a favor and tell your sister her room better be spotless by the time I get home. That goes for you too.”
“Mmhmm,” I replied again as I kept chewing. Like Laura Beth would listen to anything I had to say.
Once Dee left and my stomach was completely stuffed with pancakes, I went upstairs to get ready with the urgency of a sloth. My headache had dulled slightly, but it was vehemently fighting for its life. It wasn’t going to give in that easy. By the time I threw on my favorite skinny jeans, flats, and a tank top; I had about fifteen minutes to make it to the therapist’s office. I rushed downstairs, collected the directions off of the counter, and slid into the white convertible BMW I shared with Laura Beth. It was way too pretentious for me, but Laura Beth insisted her reputation would only survive if she drove a BMW or Lexus.
Two wrong turns and one almost fender bender later, I pulled into the parking lot of a bland-
looking brick office building. I took the elevator to the 3rd floor and found suite 310-A just in time.
“Hannah?” After a brief wait in the stale smelling lobby, a petite middle-aged woman poked her head around the corner and motioned for me to follow her. I stood reluctantly and complied.
“I’m Dr. Hansen. How are you today?” Her short, black hair bounced around as she spoke.
“Pretty good I guess” ...for being in a therapist’s office.
Her thin lips curved up sympathetically, and she directed me into a small office with large windows covering one entire wall. The room was painted a light blue, probably in an attempt to create a calming ambience for her patients. Black and white photographs of lighthouses decorated the walls, and an imposing oak desk sat in one corner. As she took her seat behind the desk, she motioned for me to sit as well. Looking at my options, I noticed a plush corduroy couch against one wall, two brown leather recliners, and a wooden chair facing her desk. I chose the wooden chair. No sense in getting comfortable.
“I hear you had quite the experience last night…” she prodded me delicately and took a sip from a coffee mug that read ‘World’s Best Therapist’. Seriously?
“It was…um…interesting.” I clasped my hands in my lap and looked out the windows trying to feign boredom.
“Do you want to tell me what happened?” she questioned me further.
“I just fainted. That’s honestly all that happened.”
“I hear there was a little more to it than that.” Maybe she should tell me what happened since she seemed to know so much. I felt a familiar frustration bubble up in my chest.
I pulled my eyes off of the trees outside and glanced in her direction, already planning my escape route. My eyes slid past her and landed on an oversized fish tank in the corner. Bright orange, yellow, and red fish swam lazily back and forth. I’m pretty sure one in particular was staring at me, but then it swam off with a flip of its fin. Crazy fish. I’d go nuts if I were stuck in a glass tank all day, too.
Realizing she was still patiently waiting for me to elaborate, I figured the quicker I got this over with, the quicker I’d get out of there.
“I was just arguing with Dee about my tattoo when I got dizzy and fell. I blacked out and had a really weird dream. Then I woke up. The end.” I finished matter-of-factly, daring her to ask me more questions.
She just grinned back at me like we had shared an inside joke. “What kind of tattoo do you have?”
“I’m not sure what it is, but I’ve had it forever.” I held up my wrist for her. A confused look crossed her features for an instant, and then she was calm and collected once more.
“You were adopted, correct?” Her tone had changed from casual conversation to skeptic detective in a millisecond. She tapped her chin with her silver pen.
“Yes.” I tried to catch up with the sudden change of topic. She shifted in her seat and scratched her head. After a minute or so, I started to get a little uncomfortable with her intrusive stare.
“If you want, I can tell you who my last therapist was. I’m sure they can send over my records…” I offered with slight irritation.
“No, no that’s not necessary,” she replied, quickly. “Tell me more about this dream you had when you blacked out”. I explained the dream to her in detail and waited for her to prescribe me Prozac. Instead, she sat back and stared at me again.
“Hannah, I’m going to refer you to one of my colleagues.” She smiled and sat up straighter in her chair, proud of herself. “I think she’d like to talk to you.” Wonderful. Just wonderful.
“If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to make a quick phone call.” She stood and walked out of the office, closing the door behind her. While she was gone, I watched the exotic fish swim laps within their rectangular prison. I got the urge to feed them or maybe release them back into the ocean where I was sure they had been stolen from. Seeing a jar of fish food under the tank, I tentatively ambled over and peered through the thick glass.
“Anybody hungry?” I questioned them in a ridiculous baby voice usually reserved for puppies.
They immediately stopped doing laps and darted up toward the surface. “I guess that’s a yes.” I lifted the lid and shook some of the multi-colored flakes into the water.
“What are you doing?” I dropped the lid with a loud bang and raced back to my chair. Dr.
Hansen watched me curiously.
“I’m sorry, I thought they might be hungry, so….” I trailed off, feeling foolish.
“From the looks of it, I’d say you were right.” Her smile was full of understanding. I glanced back at the tank to see that the flakes had already been gobbled up. The fish followed my every movement, hoping for more.
“They would probably eat all day long if I’d let them.” She gazed at the fish with tenderness, as she sat back down. “Well I just spoke to Dr. Campbell and I’m happy to tell you she has an opening later this afternoon!”
I wasn’t sure if she was expecting me to celebrate with her, so I just replied, “Okay.”
“You’ll need to tell Dee right away because it will take 4 hours to get down there, and I can’t imagine she wants you to drive that far by yourself.”
“Four hours?” Why couldn’t she have a colleague in Atlanta?
“Dr. Campbell’s office is located down in Savannah. Have you ever been there? It’s a beautiful city.”
She was probably still talking but I had already stopped listening. She was sending me all the way to Savannah? Today? To talk to another doctor? This couldn’t possibly get any worse.
Chapter 3
“Savannah?! Today?!” I moved my cell phone back from my ear several inches so Dee’s voice wouldn’t break my ear drum.
“That’s what she said.” I read over Dr. Hansen’s messy handwriting again, “My appointment is scheduled for 4:00pm.”
She sighed and took a deep breath. I could tell her blood pressure had increased in the five minutes we’d been talking. “Okay, I’ll cancel my plans and be home as soon as I can.”
