A Conspiracy to Deceive

Still looking in the mirror, she shouted out loud. "But, I'm not through with you, goddamn doctor! I'm going to chew your ass royally when I see you!" She turned and walked out of the bedroom.

The staff meeting went off on time, even though four members of Steven's staff weren't there. Too early in the morning for them to get to work. Steven made the short announcement about his vacation and that Barry would now be in charge until he returned in about six weeks. He thanked everyone for their efforts and said that he expected them to give Barry the same support as they had given him.

There was a round of applause as Steven shook Barry's hand and then walked out the door.

Barry then turned to the staff members and said. "There will be a staff meeting in this room every morning at eight thirty unless you are notified otherwise. The meeting are mandatory. Only a written note from your doctor or undertaker will be accepted as an excuse." He paused for a moment waiting for any comments. There were none. The new commander had taken charge of the bridge.

"Rita will email each of you with the agenda for each morning's meeting. Thank you." Barry turned and walked out of the room. Now it was time for the staff to buzz around behind him.

Carol didn't stop at Becky's desk as she usually did when she arrived for her morning sessions. It was a direct march into the doctor's office. Becky was about to say something to her, but Carol just looked at her and said, "Shut-up!" as she turned the door-knob and walked into Dr. Lee's office.

Dr. Lee looked up in surprise as Carol entered his office unannounced. This was highly irregular. "Carol, you startled me. Becky usually calls me when you arrive." He said as he slowly got up from his desk.

"Cut all the bullshit, doctor! After what Barry told me about this so called mental dysfunction that caused me to have the affair with Les, I should scratch your eyes out for not telling me up front!" Carol was one angry female and she was on the offensive.

"Please calm down, Carol. Its not the way you think it is." The doctor said to her as he tried to gain control of the scene.

"I'm not here for one of you goddamn therapy sessions, doctor. I came here to get the facts about this so called mental dysfunction that you seem to think I'm afflicted with." Carol shot back at him. She walked over to one of the other chairs near his desk and sat down. No way was she going near the analyst couch.

"Without a lot of medical bullshit, tell me what this PTR shit is and why you think that its screwing up my brain!" She settled in the chair and looked directly at the doctor.

For the next half hour, Dr. Lee went through a detailed explanation of the PTH dysfunction. He told her of his theories of the how and the why of the dysfunction. He pointed out her actions, both with Les as her lover and those that took place in his office. These actions were a direct result of the mental dysfunction.

Dr. Lee knew that he was on thin ice with this angry wife. This confrontation was not in his plan for 'the perfect couple'. Things had gotten off track and he was now afraid that his theory validation plan was in jeopardy. He had to tread lightly or else Carol might just bolt out of his office and end the therapy.

Carol was biting down on her lower lip, trying to keep her anger under control. She didn't say anything or ask any questions once the doctor started talking. All she was trying to do was ingest all of the information he was giving her about her so called dysfunction.

Everything Dr. Lee told her about PTH was just a sterile clinical report of a disease that she had never heard about before last night. Nothing the doctor told her was calming her down or giving her any comfort. It was only cold hard facts.

Finally, she blurted out a question. "Ok, say I have this dysfunction. What kind of pills do you have that will cure or control this dysfunction?" She wet her lips with her tongue.

"I'm sorry, Carol. But, there is no known cure for this particular dysfunction. Also, except for some sedative type medicine, there is nothing that directly effects the dysfunction. I gave you a prescription for that sedative medicine a couple of weeks ago. It had very little effect on controlling the relapse. You saw that for yourself on Wednesday during that session."

"Yeah...that goddamn humiliating naked session that you put me through. Never again. Fuck you! Never again!"

Dr. Lee could see that he was losing control of his patient. Carol was outside the limits of his control now. The deception about her illness had driven her out of range. She was a loose cannon on deck. And her mental state was unpredictable.

"I think that I heard enough. You claim I have an illness that you can't cure and that can't be controlled. I might just as well go jump off the Sears Tower, that would surely cure my illness, won't it doctor!?" Carol got up and this time she looked at the doctor with very mean eyes and said. "This session is over."

"Hold on one moment, Carol." The doctor said as he got up from his chair and walked over to the bookshelf. He pulled out two books and then turned around to face her.

"These are two books that I have written about the PTR syndrome and the effects it has on the female mind. Take them, read them if you like. They may give you more insight into the total make up of the dysfunction that you are suffering from." He handed the books to Carol, who took him cautiously from his hands.

"Maybe I'll read them, or maybe I'll used them to set some potted plants on." There was no 'thank you' for the books or for the information he had given her as Carol turned and walked to the door.

"Will I see you on Monday, Carol?" He asked as she opened the door. Without turning around to face him, she just called out.

"Don't count on it." And she walked down the hallway.

A cold blanket of doubt seemed to settle down over his shoulders as Dr. Lee retreated back to his desk and settled down in his swivel chair. That had not gone well. In fact that was a disastrous aborted session. Everything he was attempting to accomplish with his 'perfect couple' as now at the brink of being destroyed.

He sat there, a frightened man. Frightened that he may have lost his one chance to validate his theories about Psychotic Transfer Response.

Chapter 17

Friday Evening:

Carol arrived home just after one o'clock in the afternoon. After she left Dr. Lee's office, she went to a restaurant across from the college campus. She felt that she was too strung out and nervous to drive safely home. It took several cups of coffee, soup and a sandwich to help settle her down enough to drive home.

When she got home, there was a message on the phone recorder. It was a message from Barry. Time stamped at twelve fifteen. "Hello, darling. Too bad I didn't get to talk to you. Something special has happened and I wanted to share it with you." There was a pause on the line, then he continued. "Just get dressed up and meet me at Hugo's this evening at six o'clock. I gotta go now. I love you." The message ended and she just stood there wondering what the something special really was.

She dialed Barry's office number. Rita answered. Carol asked to speak to Barry. Rita responded in a very apologetic voice that Barry was in a high level management meeting and she thought it would last for the next several hours.

"Just tell him that I'll meet him at Hugo's at six this evening." Carol's mind was trying to decide if she should try and pump Rita and see if she knew anything about Barry's surprise. She decided against asking.

"Very well, Mrs. Knoll. I'll give him your message. And by the way congratulations." Rita said as she hung up. Carol just stood there as the line went dead.

When she arrived at Hugo's, the parking lot was crowded. She pulled up to the valet stand. A young man in a red jacket rushed over to the driver side door and quickly opened it.

Carol smiled up at him as she swung her legs out of the car. There was a lot of bare thigh showing as Carol stood up. She smiled to herself as she knew the valet had gotten a peak at the edge of her panties. He handed her a numbered chit and smiled back at her. "Have a great dinner, madam." He said as he slid in behind the steering wheel.

The doorman tipped his hat and swung the large door wide open for her. "Evening, madam." He said to her as she only smiled and nodded her head. The matra' d showed her to the table where Barry was already sitting. There was an unopened bottle of champagne sitting the silver ice stand next to the table. Barry rose from his chair with a warm loving smile on his face.

"God! You look gorgeous, my dear." Barry said to her as his eyes reflected the deep love he had for this woman.

"You look pretty damn good yourself, lover." She responded in a sexy voice and a wink of her eye.

As they both took their seats, they started talking all at once.

"Sorry, my dear. You first." Barry said to her. She smiled graciously and then began.

"I hope that this dinner isn't your way of apologizing for that secret that you and the doctor hid from me. If it is, thank you. But, I am the one who needs to be doing the apologizing to you, my love." Her face had an almost angelic glow about it as she paused and then said simply, "I'm truly sorry, my love. Please forgive my tantrum last night."

Barry sat there transfixed on this beautiful lady sitting across from him. After all they had just been through, he was able to forgive her infidelity and she was able to forgive his deception. There truly was hope for them. He smiled back at her.

"Nothing to forgive, my dear. Its all part of this tangled mess that we need to work out together. I promise that there will be no more secrets between us ever again." He reached across the table and took her hand. Gazing deeply into her eyes he simply said. "I love you and I'm so happy that you are my wife."

Tears began to form in her eyes. She suddenly took in a deep breath and shook her head as to clear her thinking. Things were getting a little too emotional at this moment.

"So, my dear, what is it we are celebrating this evening." She said in an upbeat voice.

"Good news, very good news." He said as he held her hand. "Steven is going on an extended vacation starting today. I am the man in charge of GeoTex while he is gone." There was a sound of triumph in his voice as he made the announcement.

"Oh god, Barry, that's fantastic!" She said in a loud voice as she jumped up from her chair and ran around the table and gave her husband a full mouth passionate kiss. There was some soft clapping coming from the patrons sitting at the two tables next to theirs. Carol straightened up and returned red-faced to her chair.

Barry motioned for the waiter to come over and open the bottle of champagne for them. After filling their glasses, the waiter retreated away from the table to let the two lovers alone. Lifting his glass he made a toast to his beautiful wife.

"To our continuing success. Both in marriage and in the rest of our lives."

Clink. Their glasses touched and they sipped the bubbly liquid as their eyes never left one another.

The meal was superb. It seemed to the two of them, that everything was now perfect in their world. All the heart-aches and doubts had been pushed to the back of their minds. It didn't matter that those dark ominous clouds had just moved away from the spotlight. They would wait in the background, just quietly waiting.

As they were about to leave, the last glass of champagne finished, Barry leaned closer toward Carol and said.

"My darling wife, I want to say this once and never have to repeat it again. So, listen carefully." His voice had a solemn tenor to it. "No matter how successful I may become in my career, I will turn my back on it in a minute if it is ever a choice between my career and our marriage."

Carol could not restrain herself any longer. Tears gushed from her eyes as they both got up from the table. This time she threw her arms around his neck and gave him a long passionate kiss.

The soft clapping had now broken out into a loud round of applause from almost everyone in the dinning room. Barry smiled and waved to the patrons as he and a blushing Carol left the restaurant.

That night a new chapter in making love was written in the Knoll's bedroom.

Sleep didn't come till early in the morning for the both of them.

Peace and contentment filled their dreams.

Chapter 18

Saturday Morning:

Barry woke up before Carol. He went to the kitchen and put the coffee pot on. Then he called Jack. He didn't care if he woke the doctor up. Fortunately, Jack was jogging around the college track when his cell phone rang.

Jack was relieved to get the call from Barry. He wasn't sure what might have transpired between Barry and Carol last night. Little did he know that Carol had not discussed her last session with Barry at all last night.

Barry, still unaware of how Carol's session went, told Jack that he need to meet with him that morning. Somewhat relieved, Jack said that he could meet with Barry at 10:00 in his office.

Barry was on his second cup of coffee sitting at the table reading the morning paper when Carol came around the corner.

Their eyes locked for a moment. Then she said, "Morning, darling. Sorry I slept in so late."

"Not a problem. I have something I need to do this morning so I got up early." He replied.

"What do you need to do?" She said as she poured a cup of coffee for herself.

"I need to get with the doctor this morning. There's too much shit going around that needs to be resolved." Barry was slowly shaking his head from side to side.

"Do you want me to go with you?" A simple question...lots of hidden meaning.

"I don't think so, dear. Without triggering any thoughts you might have about a conspiracy between the two of us, I need to wring several answers out of him. He has been playing with my mind, even though he denies that he was doing that." Barry's voice was calm, but Carol could tell that there was anger in the subtle tones.

"I probably should tell you about my session with....Jack." She now dropped the Dr. Lee name. "I was very angry with him. I told him that I wasn't there for a therapy session, I only wanted more information about this fucked up dysfunction he claims that I am suffering from." Her face was very rigid, no smile no hint of her inner feelings.

"He told me all about his research and the work he had done with other woman suffering from PTR. Then he told me that my prognosis for a complete recovery was very slim." She stopped speaking and look hard at her husband.

"I didn't want to hear any more of his bullshit. So I got up and left. He gave me a couple of his books to read, I doubt if I'll ever crack the covers of them." Then as if in a final statement, she said. "I told him that I doubted that I would return for any more therapy sessions with him."

Barry has just sat there in silence as Carol completed her dialogue. He was glad that she had vented her anger at Jack and not at him yesterday. The revelation about her illness seemed to have steeled Carol's resolve to move forward, but this time without the doctor's help. Barry was not about to try and convince her otherwise.

He looked at the clock. It was 9:15. Time to leave for the doctor's office. Carol looked at him with questioning eyes as he got up.

"Time for me to head out, darling. This shouldn't take too long. I'll call you when I'm done and then we can decide if we want to go out for lunch or just stay around the house." He pulled her to him and gave her a long loving kiss. Then he went out into the garage.

Chapter 19

Saturday's session:

The drive over to the campus to meet with Jack, was not a pleasant drive for Barry. He knew that he would have to deal with all of this chaos to head. It seemed to him that the therapy sessions were now doing more harm than good for Carol and him.

This past week was a real disaster in the Knoll household, primarily because of the humiliating photo session and then telling Carol about her PTH dysfunction. Barry doubted that either he or Carol could endure another week like this past one.

Jack was waiting in his office with the door opened. Becky's desk was empty. The entire building seemed quiet as a morgue. Barry walked into the Jack's office.

"Hello Jack, good of you to see me this morning." Barry said as he moved to a chair in from of Jack's desk. Jack just nodded and smiled.

"It was no problem. I'm glad that you wanted to see me today." Jack said in a guarded voice. He wasn't sure what to expect from Barry this morning.

"Carol told me that she was quite upset when she came to see you yesterday." Barry moved right in on the subject. No sense in beating around the bush.

"Yes. I think the shock of being told that she was susceptible to a mental illness didn't sit very well with her." He tried a small smile. "Especially since that illness was directly tied to her infidelity."

"You're right about that, Jack. She was thoroughly pissed at me when I told her Thursday evening. She accused you and me of a conspiracy to deceive her into believing that her therapy sessions were supposed to help her overcome her guilt about her affair." Barry stopped and made a soft sound with his lips. "I'm afraid that she is so pissed at you that she has decided not to continue with the sessions any more. I think she told you that, didn't she?"

"Not in those exact words, but I got the distinct impression that she wasn't going to be here for her Monday session." Jack was now wondering if he could persuade Barry to insist that Carol continue her therapy sessions. He would have to wait and see what was on Barry's mind.

"The reason I wanted to see you this morning, Jack was to clear up two issues that are bothering me." Barry moved away from Carol's personal issues with Jack.

"The first has to do with treating Carol's dysfunction. You said that it was not treatable with medication or any known therapy method. So, what was your plan for Carol? You seemed to want her to continue her sessions, but there doesn't seem to be a real purpose to them now. Tell me what your thinking was, or is, about helping Carol in the therapy sessions." Barry was in his fact gathering mode now. 'Just the facts, only the facts'.

"It would be hard to explain in just a couple of simple sentences, Barry. But, the gist of it is that Carol needs some outlet to vent all the chaos and confusion in her mind. She realizes more and more everyday just how much damage her affair had on you and on your marriage." Jack was now trying to make his best case for keeping 'the perfect couple' within his sphere of influence. If the ended the sessions, he would lose his best opportunity to validate his theory.

"Carol needs to bring out all of her guilt feelings and not to internalize them. The therapy sessions are a venue for her to do just that. Vent her guilt and frustrations." He laid it out there. Would Barry agree?

"Up until that disastrous so-called photo session you had with her, I would have believed that the therapy was designed to allow her to openly vent her thoughts and feelings." ... Short pause ... "But, Carol is now on a massive guilt trip in addition to thinking that you and I are tricking her for our own amusement." Barry rubbed his hands together.

"I think further therapy sessions with you might cause irreparable damage to Carol's mental state. I agree with her decision to terminate her sessions with you." Barry paused and then without elaborating any more on that subject he shifted topics.

"The second item that I wanted to discuss with you was this idea you were presenting to me about polyamory. You seemed to place all of the burden of acceptance of this form of lifestyle on my shoulders. It was as if I agreed to a troika relationship, that it would be fine and dandy with Carol."