"Children should not see things like that."
"I completely agree. That image still burns in my memory."
"I gather that their marriage was pretty normal otherwise."
Jon laughed. "Not even slightly. My parents had a relationship that just baffled me for a long time. This is the point where I mention that my Dad used to spank my Mom. Not as a sex thing. For misbehaving."
"Spousal abuse can be very traumatic for a child."
"I don't think it was spousal abuse, but you're free to decide for yourself. Here's the way it worked. My Mom was a wonderful lady with many fine qualities, but she didn't have a lot of common sense, so my Dad made most of the serious decisions for the family. He decided where we'd live. She decided what color wallpaper we had. The thing is, she would get bitchy. Her pattern was that she would get bitchy, and bitchier, and bitchier, and finally one day Dad couldn't take it anymore.
"After my brother and I went to bed they'd start arguing so loud you could hear it all over the house. It would get louder, and louder, and finally my Dad would take Mom over his knee, pull out his belt, and spank her ass. She'd yell and scream, and he'd keep doing it until she shut up. Then they'd go into the bedroom and have sex so loud we could count Mom's orgasms. She usually had two. Sometimes three. Then it would get so quiet we figured they'd gone to sleep.
"The next morning everything would be fine. Mom would be all lovey-dovey with Dad, and he'd hug and kiss her so many times he'd be late for work. Things would be great for weeks. Marital bliss. But eventually Mom would start getting bitchy again, and we knew Dad would spank her again pretty soon."
Robins was surprised by the light hearted tone Jon used. "When you use a belt, it's called whipping. Not spanking."
"Whatever. This started before I was born. It was kind of scary at first. Hearing my parents screaming at each other was horrible when I was a little kid, and it got worse when I realized Dad was spanking Mom. But things were always so wonderful the next morning that I figured out pretty quickly that this was part of the way they related to each other. You had to know my Mom. In some ways, she was an amazing, competent woman. In other ways, she was a disobedient child who regularly needed to be punished. It made sense in a weird, fucked up way."
Robins knew that seemingly normal people often had private lives that featured elements no outsider would suspect. It seemed to her that Jon's childhood environment was more problematic than he acknowledged. "Mr. Major, have you ever wondered if your problems with relationships stem from the unusual nature of your parents' marriage?"
Jon laughed. "Oh, I've asked myself that question maybe one or two million times. I don't know. My parents have always seemed to be very happy with each other. And call me Jon. My employees call me Mr. Major. It gets tiresome."
"Certainly, Jon. This has been interesting. I'd like you to do some homework before next week. Make a list of the names of every person you'd had a relationship with. You mentioned that you've only had one successful relationship. Let's talk about that next time," Robins said.
"I can do that," Jon said. "It's a long, sordid tale of woe."
"I'm sure it's not that bad," Robins said.
"I'm pretty sure it is," Jon said.
After Jon left her office, Robins went to her coffee maker for a fresh cup. Through her window, she saw him walk across the parking lot to his car. He drove a Maserati. That made sense. It was the kind of car a billionaire would own. Robins drove a Maserati, too. Jon's car was a bigger, fancier, more expensive version, but Robins owned a sportier model. Jon's was black. Hers was red.
This was a very unusual first session. It didn't usually take long for Robins to understand the nature of her clients' problems, but she was almost clueless about what was troubling Jon. She'd understand more after another session.
