Doctor Richard Enlightened Pt 02

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I'm a Brit, so it's English from this side of the pond. Thanks to Tim1135 for playing editor on this one, hopefully I've not cocked anything up where it's had the usual post edit tweak, if I have done so, apologies we'll all have to just live with it.

I originally wrote Doctor Richard, Duped as a one-off. Several readers suggested expanding the story - What about the perpetrator's partners? This is the second part, nice and short; I'll piece together a final one to tie it all off. No sex here, the third and final part will warrant some though😊. Here we go.

Doctor Richard, Enlightened

I sat at my desk doing the usual thing; surreptitiously watching the prospective clients on my computer monitor, as they were sitting in the waiting room. This couple had all the visible hallmarks of people facing major issues in their relationship. Instead of the usual fifteen minutes I typically let my clients sit out there under the pretext of completing forms whilst I studied their behaviour, this couple certainly didn't need any secret analysis on my part via the cameras. As soon as they completed them and returned them to my secretary, I buzzed her asking that she send them straight in. What I hadn't detected so far was, which one had rocked the boat in their relationship, which led them to seek out my help.

I walked up and closed the window. I hoped the smell of the tobacco had dissipated enough to not cause offence. Since the unsavoury appointment around seven or eight months ago, with the couple masquerading as a Mr. and Mrs. Smith had strung me along, I'd taken to actually smoking my pipe again. It had been over ten years since I'd smoked. It irked me that the hallowed ninety per cent positive outcome was tainted by feedback from the couple. Collected by an external organisation, I had no way to correct the error. The Smith's had a link to provide feedback and it ate into my soul that they scored me as an outstanding councillor, with top marks. I had taken pride that I'd earnt the status to be one of the very best, by helping people put things right that had gone wrong in their relationships.

With careful analysis and a plan, most damage could be repaired and relationships stabilised to a point where they were worthwhile sustaining. Sniffing the air, it did appear the smell of the tobacco from the pipe had almost vanished. Earlier, I'd been standing at the window where I now smoked between appointments. The air fresher on my desk also seemed to work in masking my rediscovered sinful pleasure.

Damn those bloody Smiths, whoever they really were! I wouldn't be going through this routine had they not irked me as they did.

A quick check in the mirror ensured my cleverly crafted persona was visibly correct. As usual, I was wearing a plain shirt, tank top jumper and bow tie along with glasses befitting an academic. The pipe in my hand, completed the illusion.

<۞۞۞۞>

"Welcome, please, come and take a seat."

I shook their hands as they sat on the other side of my desk, in two chairs close together. They walked in rather slowly, which wasn't typical. Usually, the supposed wronged party would lead the way whilst the wrong-doer would shuffle in behind, often with the look you'd expect to see if someone was heading for the gallows.

My new clients scanned the various documents pertaining to my qualifications and achievements that hung from the walls. Something was severely wrong here, I immediately picked up that they were uncomfortable with the setting and with themselves. The chairs were actually just big enough for two normal sized people to share. They both sat at the opposite end of each chair, trying to be as far away from each other as they could possibly be. This was going to be bad, certainly take a fair few sessions to put things right, if that was even possible. I sat back down with a slight smile, hoping to change the mood of the meeting, before I went into my short spiel.

"Welcome, Mr. and Mrs. Jones. I'm Doctor Richard Percival, a specialist in matters of marriage and sexual behaviour. In simple terms, I'm a marriage guidance counsellor. I can happily say that, over the last twenty years, almost ninety percent of my clients finished their course of counselling and remained in their marriages. As a therapist, I have seen in excess of four thousand couples and that also includes those in same gender relationships."

Mr. Jones spoke up.

"Your website said you have a ninety per cent rate at obtaining a positive outcome from your sessions."

Retaining the smile, I tried not to grind my teeth as I replied.

"Ahh yes, there is a slight error in those figures quoted on the website, I do apologise, I'm not quite there yet. I'm sure that in the very near future, I can reach that true figure. So, let's begin. If it makes you more comfortable, please call me Rich or Richard. If you prefer to remain formal, Doctor will suffice. Please, tell me about yourselves, let's start with some first names."

I looked at Mrs. Jones. She was an attractive woman, of that there was no doubt. If anything, she was downplaying her beauty and attributes. Her clothes, almost dowdy, although clearly expensive. Her hair tied back in a ponytail, with very little make-up. Looking at her face, she was obviously having trouble with her sleep, the tell-tale bags evident under her eyes. She had a large wedding ring, which the fingers of her right hand subconsciously rolled around her ring finger. This was a sure-fire sign of someone identifying their relationship was in serious jeopardy.

"Hello Richard, my name is...Jane. Jane Jones. I wish I could say it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance but, I'm afraid it's not."

With that, she started to sob. Not uncommon and a reason why there was always a box of tissues on the desk. It was what happened next that didn't follow the typical pattern. Mr. Jones reached out to take the box, and passed it to Jane. I noticed, he shared her sorrow and pain. She looked at me as she spoke.

"I'm sorry Richard, this is so hard."

"It's no problem, if I had a penny for every tissue used in my office, I'd be driving home in a chauffeur driven car. Instead, I catch a tube train home."

I turned to look at Mr. Jones. He realised it was his turn.

"Hi Richard, my name's John, John Jones."

Immediately, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. No, surely not. They didn't look the type and heck, she was crying. I would start to be more guarded going forward. What's the saying? '

Once bitten, twice shy

.' Were these just another pair of Smiths? Jones was the second most popular name in the UK, after Smith. I Coupled that with the fact John and Jane were about the most ubiquitous Christian names as you'd find. I looked at him, trying to truly appraise who he was. His eyes looked back at me, they were the eyes of a broken man.

The despair was painfully evident, I reached across my desk, thrusting the box of tissues towards him, so he could dab his own tears from his eyes. Despite being wary, as to their true intentions, I needed to go gently. I asked if they were OK to continue to which they both looked at me glumly as they nodded in unison.

"Can I take it that your marriage vows have been broken?"

This elicited further nods of agreement.

"Can you give me any details as to what happened? If it's too painful at the moment, just say so."

Jane spoke up, her voice wavering.

We can't bring ourselves to tell you what happened but, we need to understand why people cheat, cheat on the very people that love them, love them with all their hearts."

I sat back in my chair and exhaled.

"Nothing is set in stone, Jane. I have had couples that have been married for many years and it ended up being the repetitive nature inside the relationship, that's tripped them up. Some couples thrive on it, they want, need and enjoy the almost rigid and clearly defined routine to make their lives work. But sometimes, just sometimes, it breaks. Often, it's some catastrophic event. Death of someone held dear, friends separating, big house moves or changes in jobs. Introductions of new people into their lives and routines. Sometimes these things can become a catalyst to generate the change, and that can affect some relationships quite badly."

They both gave a solemn nod before I continued.

There are others that are no more than thrill seekers, people that think they have Godlike levels of control and manipulation who thrive on the danger, living by the skin of their teeth. They live for the drama or the fear that their actions could cause a serious drama to unfold. What these people frequently do, is let themselves believe that whatever they engineer, they will never ever be discovered, that they are too smart to come unstuck."

"As you are sitting here, it's for a reason and the reason is a failing marriage. If you want me to help, you need to open up some more. I don't need the details, at least not at this point in time. Can I assume that one of you has formed a relationship outside of your marriage?"

They looked at each other, they obviously had something that they were uncomfortable with. Then John asked an odd question.

"When we conclude our sessions, do you send out a follow-up text message to us at some point?"

It was a very odd and unusual question. I leaned forward in my chair; this was obviously something important.

"Yes, I do. It's automated, to be sent after six months."

The next question was even more bizarre but, the penny dropped with it.

"Do you offer guidance, to help people cover their tracks, when having an affair?"

They were both looking intently at me. Standing and walking from my chair, I moved to the window and looked out at the traffic on the street below. I decided to take the plunge, bring this out into the open. When I turned to face them, the anticipation was clear from their expressions.

"To answer your question, I may, just once, have inadvertently done exactly as you are suggesting. What I cannot do, is breach the confidentiality of clients. It is somewhat unorthodox, what I'm going to ask of you. I want to create an imaginary scenario. I'm pretty sure it will help. To make this work, I need to give you some pseudonyms to help us move forward. Are you both OK with that?"

They looked surprised, but nodded in agreement.

"That's a yes then. OK, this is a hypothetical scenario we are going to discuss. For the purpose of the discussion, I'll call you...Jools and Stefan."

Their eyes went wide in shock and Jane inhaled sharply. As Stefan went to speak, before he uttered a word, I carried on. I did not want them to reveal themselves to me even though, at this point, I knew who they were.

"Sorry to stop you. Allow me to finish laying out this hypothetical scenario. Let's imagine that you are, in fact, each married to persons unknown to me and they are having an affair with each other. They have gone to extraordinary lengths to find a way to create, what they believe, is an ironclad, safe cloak of lies that have been spun thus covering their tracks. So, first question, how would you go about unmasking such an affair?

They smiled at me. They may have been weak smiles, being intelligent people, they could see where this was going. Stefan spoke.

"Let's say my fictitious wife, I'll call her Isobel, went for a quick trip to the loo before going to work and left her phone on the kitchen table. As I'm clearing the table, after the family breakfast, her phone pings with a message which I can see enough of to become aware it's from a certain marriage guidance counsellor that indicates it's a follow up from a meeting Isobel may have had."

"Then, let's imagine, I tell her that her phone had a message when she was out of the room and it may be important. Her answer is, that it's about an appointment with her hairdresser. Now caught in a lie, my curiosity would be piqued and I may just happen to hire a private investigator."

He looked across to Jools, who continued.

Now, I can imagine that the investigator finds my husband, we can call him Charles, coming out of a nondescript apartment in Greenwich one afternoon, two minutes after Isobel. When Isobel's husband contacts me to verify what she believes is happening, on checking his calendar, along with tracking his phones previous location, indicates he was in attendance at a meeting in central London, not a meeting in an apartment at that given time."

Stefan chips back in.

"As for Isobel, her calendar shows taking a couple hours out for an aromatherapy session, which isn't uncommon."

Jools continued.

"Interestingly, Charles isn't an aromatherapist, he is the lead barrister for the Amalgamation of Christian Churches, so I don't think that's the reason he would be there, do you?"

I decided to play devil's advocate.

"What makes you think these two characters could be having an affair? There may be some valid reason for them to meetup."

Stefan gave a deadpan reply.

"Just imagine, on initially checking, she did attend the booked appointment with the aromatherapist. I could call them, explaining my wife may have left her phone there. After checking the name and time, they may confirm she had been there. Of course, there may be some confusion over which of the two aromatherapists she saw. They'd likely confirm that the short brunette was definitely the woman that came in for the appointment. It may be a case of mistaken identity as Isobel is considerably taller, more athletic looking with blonde hair which means she couldn't be in two places at once. What could happen, it's a new aromatherapist she's using and has gifted the first two appointments to her secretary, as she has a sudden meeting she needs to attend when each session is due. If she told the secretary to use her name instead of her own to avoid confusion, she can suddenly be in two places at once."

This was all fitting together nicely, some more info would be good, so I asked the next question.

"Just out of interest, what kind of job would you give this Isobel?"

When Stefan replied, I could detect he was aware of the damage and havoc to be wreaked in a marriage, should this imaginary scenario come to light.

"I think she would have a job...something high profile...how about, the head of public relations for a major political party?"

I sat back, threading my fingers on each hand together tightly into a ball.

"Stefan, Jools, in our hypothetical universe, what would you like to see happen? Do they deserve each other...or do you think that this make-believe relationship could cause them serious problems in life, if it came to light?"

Sitting looking at them, their eyes darted back and forth between each other and me a couple of times. Jools went to say something but stopped. This was good, they were working through the risk and consequences of whatever actions they were considering. Stefan broke the silence.

"For one moment, imagine that I still loved that person, despite the damage that was done. I would want to understand what I did that was wrong. After all, I sacrificed, maybe short term, maybe forever, my own dreams and aspirations. Instead, I end up being a stay-at-home parent. If the marriage failed now, the sacrifice would be for nothing and our children would end up shuttling between two parents."

Jools piped up too.

"I agree, I would want to know. Is it sex, am I not good enough or doing something wrong? Why wouldn't he talk to me, try and fix whatever he thinks is broken."

We all sat there for a few moments, thinking how to continue. I took the lead.

"Thank you both. Jools, I have a question and it's not any form of suggestion. I merely want to understand the depth of your make-believe love. If Charles asked you to kiss me passionately, to prove your love to him, would you do it?

Her eyes went wide in disbelief at what I was suggesting.

"I...I...I'm not sure. Why would he ask me to do that."

"What if he told you to have sex with me, to truly prove you love him?"

She stood from the chair, planting her hands firmly on the other side of my desk.

"NO! Never, ever, ever! My marriage vows are sacred to me."

She sat back down, her face starting to screw up and the tears fell. Her words were a pitiful cry.

"I just want my husband back, I don't want the axe hanging over us to fall on our lives. He loves his children, why would he throw them...throw me, away?"

I had flustered her and her fingers went back to touching the ring on her finger. Suddenly, they were looking at this as if it was the beginning of the end of their marriages. I needed to show them a different perspective.

"Supposing our fictional wandering pair believe they have it all? The jobs, wealth, prestige, an attractive, illicit playmate...and a loving family at home. Is the attraction because it's dangerous but, they think they are in complete control? It's like one of those theme park rides that drops from a great height, at crazy angles. It feels dangerous however, you know it's done with so many controls in place, you'll step off the ride at the end, safely back into your everyday life. What happens if you take a control away? You don't use the safety bar to keep them securely seated. What if our imaginary spouses find the security of being in control of their destiny is lost to them, and now sits in the hands of others?"

They Looked at me, curious as to where I was steering this conversation.

"In our make-believe world, what would happen if you shattered the illusion that they were untouchable? Their jobs, respect...and family life? Do you think they would throw them away for a series of rolls in the hay?"

I could see them both clearly thinking this through. Jools asked the big question.

"What if this is

what

they wanted? The chance to start afresh, discard their old lives?"

I took the pipe from my pocket and started to pack some tobacco into the chamber.

"Looking at this scenario we have decided to run with, I think the very last thing they would want is that. Tell me, how do you think their employers would react? They certainly couldn't be sacked for it but..."

I left the question lingering. They both had a slight smile. Jools answered.

"I think they would be backed into a corner where they would voluntarily be pushed out through the door."

Stefan gave a slight chuckle. He added his piece too.

"I would imagine that the political party Isobel works for would take a dim view on a home wrecker. They have already started pushing on the need for strong family values as part of the manifesto for the election push that's coming."

They were looking at each other smiling. Now we were all on the same page. I made the suggestion that it was then, entirely in their hands.

"Just imagine, if we had these two-part make-believe couples see a councillor. Normally they would go as two separate couples. In our imaginary world, I do think it would be of benefit to have these four people sit together, especially if they arrived unaware that two couples would participate in the counselling together. A threat of divorce, of exposure, would see them participating, don't you think?"

They sat looking at each other, both considering the notion from their own perspective. What they both currently shared was a desire to put their marriages back on track.