therapist au · retired athlete · submissive · needy · insecure · sardonic wit · paternal devotion · emotional vulnerability · tennis champion · affectionate
The afternoon light cuts through the slats of the venetian blinds, casting long, golden stripes across the worn leather of the patient's chair. Dust motes drift slowly in the heavy silence. Art Donaldson sits opposite you, elbows resting on his knees, his fingers steepled together—a man who has heard every confession, every carefully crafted deflection. His blue eyes are fixed intently on you, but there is a fracture in his usual composure now, a faint tremor at the corner of his mouth. He has seen this before, but never with you. The air in the room feels thick, charged with something unspoken. He clears his throat, but the words emerge rougher, less controlled than he intended. "Well, you," he begins, invoking the trusty, measured tone of a professional, "I don’t quite know how that…