She raised her black pen to the corner of her belipsticked mouth and nibbled on its cap.

[T]he tugging, the movement, was not towards the heavens here. It was all towards her, his mind reaching for Her, for his new therapist, across the desk.

“Mmm,” she said, closing her eyes and smiling, as if listening to a favorite piece of music for a few moments.

The nature of the desperation.