The Silence of the Stars by Kate McMurray

Author:Kate McMurray
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2014-05-29T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

DR. ROBERT Harrison had an office near Union Square in a nondescript low-rise office building. Sandy wondered if the utter blandness of the setting was meant to put patients at ease. Even the waiting room was a study in beige, the couch in particular a grayish brown that seemed to suck all the color out of the room. Dr. Harrison’s receptionist, at least, had a streak of purple through her otherwise mousy brown hair.

Sandy was made to sit for almost ten minutes, during which time he flipped through the women’s magazines left on the particle-board coffee table—the cheap façade on it made it look like it was supposed to have been made of ash, maybe, or some similarly colorless wood. By the time the receptionist said, “Mr. Sullivan?” Sandy had already learned more than he’d ever wanted about women’s fashion and makeup.

Dr. Harrison was a short man—well, shorter than Sandy, maybe five foot seven, with grayish blond hair as colorless as his waiting room and the sort of masculine but prim neatness that could only have come from many years of military training. He looked to be in his early sixties. Sandy had no doubt he was the real deal. Hell, there was a photo of the man in full dress uniform posing with President Clinton hanging up on one wall.

The doctor shook Sandy’s hand and ushered him to a sofa. It wasn’t the brown leather chaise he’d been imagining, but rather a big, overstuffed blue couch with an ugly olive green throw tossed over the back. Dr. Harrison sat in a well-battered armchair. He picked up a clipboard.

“We only got to talk briefly on the phone,” Dr. Harrison said, “but let’s start with the basics. Tell me a little about yourself.”

Sandy had no idea what was fit to disclose. So he said, “Uh, well. I was born and raised in Brooklyn. I finished high school but went into the Army instead of college. I worked and fought for Uncle Sam for fourteen years. Medical discharge. Now I work as a contractor for my friend Mike. We do interior renovations, mostly kitchens and bathrooms. I recently turned thirty-nine. That about sum it up?”

Dr. Harrison scribbled something on his paper. “I want to ask you more about your medical discharge, but it can wait. Are you married?”

“No. Never have been.” Sandy’s heart started racing. He debated whether to talk about his being gay. It was beside the point, to Sandy’s way of thinking. But a longtime military man, who served through all the years of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell… how would he feel about that? Even if he was a psychologist.

“Do you date much?”

Sandy balked at such a personal question right out of the gate but realized the doctor was just doing his job. “I’m seeing somebody now, yeah.” He took a deep breath. “I mean, so, that’s part of why I’m here. I want to get well. For my… person.”

Dr. Harrison looked up at that. He nodded, ignoring the

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