After a strong Ambien night's sleep and an even stronger Monday morning breakfast, ordered in from Shutters and delivered by an upbeat Jesse Edwin, Rickie dressed simply in loose-fitting black slacks topped off by a sensible gray sweater, at which point she set out to keep her morning session with Dr. Black.
Having been chauffeured from the beach to the Valley by Judy, the two friends made their way to the waiting room of Black's third floor office located in the bank building on the northeast corner of Ventura and Sepulveda.
Rickie was greeted by an assistant who helped her through the plethora of obligatory forms. This was followed by a warm greeting from the Doctor herself, who escorted Rickie to the inner sanctum which was light, bright, and airy. Rickie eyed with curiosity an empty gun holster on the desk.
The two women squared themselves away in comfortable armchairs on opposite sides of the coffee table. Without waiting for the doctor's preamble, Rickie launched immediately in.
"He called me a lazy, stupid bitch," Rickie said. "Right before he threw the first punch."
"That's common batterer talk," Dr. Black said.
"I've learned to step back when he does that."
Black laughed pleasantly. Rickie noticed she was a natural beauty, of obvious Native American extraction. The doctor was tall, slender and physically fit, with light makeup, no nail polish, and no earrings. Black favored bright colors--turquoise slacks and a soft, yellow cashmere top accented with a tiny golden peacock pin.
"I guess you're going to talk me into permanently ending the marriage," Rickie said. "You're going to tell me not to fall back into my habit of basking in the aftermath of Hershey's temporary charm, which he always turns on full force after he beats me."
"We may get around to all that psychological stuff eventually," Black said. "Our first task is to get Rickie into the room."
"Excuse me?"
"Whoever you are, I'm not sure, but I'm certain Rickie's not even here yet. Rickie's body is here, but the rest of her is somewhere far away. I'm going to suggest you and I wait here in this room without talking for the next hour, and see if Rickie herself is willing to pay us a visit."
With that, Black went to her desk and began fiddling with her papers.
"Dr. Black?"
"Mmm?"
"We’re just going to sit here? Don't you want to hear what's going on with me?"
"No, I don't. I want to hear what's going on with Rickie. Rickie's not here. If she doesn't show up today, we'll set up another appointment for tomorrow." Annoyingly, Black began to whistle, amateurishly, the Toreador Song from Carmen.
"Dr. Black, it's me. Rickie. I'm sitting right here."
"You're not Rickie. Whoever you are, I do appreciate your coming today to cover for her in her absence. After all, I can't blame Rickie for not being here. Rickie wants to escape from her husband, and the escape process is risky and dangerous. She's terrified of leaving and terrified of staying. She knows her husband is stalking her and she knows she might be killed. She feels guilty because she's going back to him."
"Please don't talk about me as if I'm someone else."
"Whoever you are," Black said. "Give Rickie a message for me. Tell Rickie she's a beautiful woman, one worth saving, and I'm going to do everything in my power to help. Tell her we're not going to waste our time dealing with the guardian personality she's created to block us in our quest for healing."
"Dr. Black, I--"
Black shrieked fearsomely at the top of her lungs. "Rickie! Do you want to live or do you want to die? Rickie! Do you want to live or do you want to die!"
The shock from the surprise shriek hit Rickie with the force of a jet blast. She felt herself begin to burn at Black's shout, her deeply buried emotions--until now held in check--dangerously out of control, vibrating like crazy heat inside her heart and head.
She was trapped. Her entire body began to shake as a series of dark, malignant, volcanic, unknowable energies flowed up and out of her through her gasping mouth. Attempting to extinguish this psychic blaze, Rickie slumped from her chair and writhed on the floor, her body instinctively curling into a protective ball.
"Oh, God help me," she cried. "God help me! I'm too far gone! I'm too far gone! I'm going back to him! He's going to kill me! I'm going to die! I'm going to die!"
Black walked over and knelt, cradling Rickie's tortured face between her strong hands. The doctor's shining black eyes bathed Rickie's soul in their compassionate light. "Hello, Rickie. My name is Dr. Black. I'm here to help you. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you."