The Hot Shrink
1327 Words
Leonardo
He pulled into the parking lot of the One Vanderbilt, got into the lift and tapped in for the 73rd floor.
The building had many practitioners, healers, fitness coaches and yoga studios. It also had a gym and a temperature- controlled pool in the basement for the residents of the luxury condos on the higher floors.
It was a one- stop shop for fitness freaks, located in the upscale area of midtown Manhattan and had super tight security and round the clock surveillance.
Although there were CCTV cameras placed all around, even in the lifts, he knew that the digital data would be protected by the strongest firewall.
He had run a check on their security system using his company’s investigations agency, a year back when Nonno had first spoken about visiting Dr Oxana Namevar at 'Beautifully Healthy'. The firm was known for a portfolio of 5 of the top psychiatrists of The Big Apple.
It had been a year since then. The first appointment was fixed by Nonno just after Leonardo’s graduation and Leonardo had obliged him by visiting.
His first sitting had been casual, and he had instantly felt at ease with the good- looking doctor.
The young doc had the body of a supermodel with a shiny smooth caramel skin which looked like it was perpetually tanned. Her dark brown eyes behind the cat eye framed glasses and pink, full lips painted in a nude shade looked nothing like what he had imagined his shrink to be.
The woman knew how to talk in an easygoing yet courteous manner. He did not even realize, when he opened up about his life and started sharing his memories with her.
His counselling sessions were planned 6 weeks apart in which he was supposed to do some brain exercises. The doctor hadn’t given him any medicine. Instead, she had spent time getting to know him and he loved that about his treatment.
He did not want to cloud his thoughts with psychiatric drugs. Not when he was doing so well in his career. His relationship with his dad had improved a lot since he got involved with the business.
Today was his eighth appointment.
Every visit she would ask him to talk about his memories from childhood. In the past seven visits, he had told her everything about his childhood and adulthood.
In fact, on the last visit, he had also mentioned his obsession with kickboxing and burning himself out in a gym. That was his only way of venting out since he abstained from any form of romantic hookups. After Eleanor, he had decided that he would never hurt a woman again. Relationships were not for him!
He continued to visit 'Beautifully Healthy', to keep Nonno off his back and, of course, to meet the friendly doctor.
He entered the pristine white clinic that smelled of freshness and lavender.
As usual, he found no one in the waiting lounge.
This is how their appointments were managed. He never met another patient. What a waste of space. They could have made an art gallery here instead.
The point of entry and exit were different and by the time the next patient arrived, the previous patient had already left.
You wouldn’t even find their car in the parking lot.
The friendly receptionist gave him a wide smile. “Ah, Mr Lombardi! You are bang on time! Dr Oxana is waiting for you.”
He nodded at her and walked through the passage towards his shrink.
Dr Oxana was dressed in a business suit and sat next to the therapy couch in a grey, wingback chair. With her dark hair tied up in a neat bun and the glasses perched on her nose. She looked like a strict teacher from a convent. Her petite frame looked small against the huge chair. Pity! He liked his women with big booties! Anyways, with his monstrosity, he would never ask anyone out.
“Leonardo! Good to see you! Please take your place on the couch. I have a fun session planned today.” Her sweet voice shook him out of his thoughts.
“Good to see you too, Doc Oc! Are we in a hurry to begin?” He said in a lighthearted tone using the endearment that he had come up with in their second meeting. Interestingly, the Doctor knew about the villain from Marvel’s Spider- Man and she had heartily laughed at it. Since then, he had been calling her Doc Oc.
“Yup! Have a lot of ground to cover.” She continued talking as he lay down on the couch. “I have come to a diagnosis. Nothing very serious. I think I will be able to patch you up. But first I need to confirm my diagnosis. Today, I will be guiding you into a hypnotherapy session. I will ask you some questions. Based on the time we spend today, we will continue the sessions a few more times or this could be the last one. To confirm my diagnosis, I need a few answers.”
“Sounds good. Do I need to worry about anything?”
"No. Nothing much. It’s my duty to let you know that a video recording would be made of your reactions and answers. Nothing to worry about as this information is safe under patient privacy and confidentiality. Please sign your consent here unless you want to opt out."
She went on to explain the procedure as he took the Ipad from her. It was preloaded with a consent form. As Leonardo read through the matter and signed it, she declared, "let's begin then".
“Now Leonardo, close your eyes and relax. Slow down your breathing and empty your brain of all thoughts.”
He did as he was told. He was skeptical about whether this would work or not. It wasn’t like he hadn’t shared his past with her. I wonder what she is looking for in my memories. I have told her everything.
“Stop thinking! Let go of all your thoughts. I can still see the frown on your face.”
He sighed and tried to rein in his skepticism. He had come here anyway, so he decided to humour the Doc.
Slowing down the breathing was easy, but emptying the mind was difficult. The more he tried to stop thinking the more his brain came up with crazy musings. From doubts about Doc Oc’s ability to cure him to Wall Street NYSE, it was as if his thoughts were on fire.
Eventually, his mind slowed down as time passed. The tick- tock of the clock in the consulting room could be clearly heard. Had the clock always been this loud? No! Clear your thoughts! His ears tried to pick up more sounds, but the room was eerily silent. His soft breathing continued, and he concentrated on the tick - tock, as he waited for the next instruction.
She started asking him to imagine he was at a waterfall or at a beach. It was his choice, so he chose a beach. The sound of waves calmed his nerves as the water gently soothed his feet. He felt like lying naked under the warm sun. He didn’t know which beach it was, but it was beautiful and desolate with nobody around, just the way he liked it.
She continued to describe the scene and a cool serenity washed over him.
Her soothing voice reached his ears, “Leonardo, I want you to access your memories. Go back to the day you were with Eleanor.”
Leonardo reluctantly pulled his feet out of the water and suddenly dropped into a scene, falling freely yet lightly as if he was a feather. He landed on his feet in a place and time where he had been before.
Standing next to his Ford Shelby with the passenger door open, he beamed at Eleanor as she stepped into his car, laughing.
***
- Writer
