THE GREAT PRETENDER (35 page)

When another car pulled alongside them, there was an older woman at the wheel, bobbing her head to music, and Valerie envied her cheerfulness.
I wonder if she’s ever been to a psychiatrist…

D
r. Ulysses Berenger welcomed the Brookses into his office at precisely eleven o’clock that morning. His secretary efficiently closed the door behind them, and it was then time to begin.

As the family took seats and politely greeted him, giving their names, the silver-haired doctor made quick assessments of each. He was immediately aware of the palpable anxiety in each of them, though all four hid behind facades of ease.

Dr. Berenger smiled kindly and began the session in his soft and comforting tone. “Well, I am quite eager to find out what a lovely family such as this has to discuss with me.” He smiled warmly at each of them. “Which of you would like to begin?”

Valerie gazed out the large window behind her father. She could see the tall buildings across the street and she wondered about all the people in those buildings. Had any of them ever been to a psychiatrist?

Tracy took her eyes off the doctor and glanced at Reginald, who just stared back at her; he had an uncertain expression in his eyes. Where should they begin? Just as she opened her mouth to speak, Olivia interrupted.

“Doctor, it’s very simple, I think. We’re here because my mother thinks we can’t handle our family problems as a
family
. She seems to think we have to seek help from a stranger in order to solve them.” Olivia, crossing her legs, swung her eyes to her mother.

Before Tracy could respond, Dr. Berenger said, “Would it be a safe assumption that you don’t agree with your mother, Olivia?”

“Yes, it would, because I don’t think we need to be here.”

Dr. Berenger turned to Tracy. “Why do
you
feel the family should be here Mrs. Brooks?”

Tracy hesitated briefly before saying, “Doctor, some things have occurred over the last few months that have greatly affected our family, and because of changes, I thought seeking professional help was our best hope for dealing with them.” She cast a loaded glance at Olivia.
Why was she making things more difficult?
Why couldn’t she just cooperate?

Tracy continued, “We’ve just recently learned that…that Reginald has another child, an outside child with another woman.”

“Is this true, Mr. Brooks?” Dr. Berenger addressed Reginald politely.

“Yes, she’s six years old.” Reggie shifted in his armchair. “She lives in Orlando with her mother.” He cleared his throat. “I just recently told Tracy and the girls about her, and as you can imagine…we haven’t been doing all that well since.”

Just then, Olivia sighed dramatically, drawing everyone’s attention. Dr. Berenger looked to her. “Olivia, why don’t we talk a little about how this has affected you…specifically.” He clasped his hands in front of him atop his desk.

“Dr. Berenger, I can’t sit here and do this,” Olivia said, uncrossing her legs.

“Do what, exactly?” the doctor asked gently.

“Do
this.
” She waved her hand in front of her. “Sit here and be a character in this farce. This isn’t going to help—if anything, it’ll just make things worse. Coming here today is just about going through ridiculous motions.”

Dr. Berenger smiled. “Well, I don’t know why you feel that way, Olivia, but please believe that
I
have the best interest of this family at heart and I will try my very best to be of whatever help I can. Why do you feel this is a farce?”

Everyone was staring at Olivia, with the exception of Valerie, who appeared to be studying the mauve vase on the doctor’s desk. Finally, Olivia said in irritation, “Why am I here? Why did I even bother to show up?” Then she looked at her father and said, “
He
knows it’s a show. Mom seems to think coming here can somehow fix things, but
he
knows better. You don’t hide a kid for six years and…” She trailed off, appearing too offended to continue.

Reginald straightened. “Olivia, this attitude of yours….your reluctance to forgive is part of why we
need
to be here. Can’t you at least try meeting me halfway…even now?”

Dr. Berenger interjected, “I gather, Olivia, that you were
particularly
upset when you learned about your father’s other child?”

Olivia hesitated before answering stubbornly, “You know, I don’t know if I could
respectfully
express my feelings about what my father’s done—especially in this setting.”

Reginald flinched.

Dr. Berenger nodded. “It is understandable that you are angry, Olivia. I feel you are all entitled to your emotions under these particular circumstances, and I gather that you’ll get no argument from your father about that. However, there should come a time for forgiveness and progression, don’t you agree? You are a family, and the mere fact that Reginald is here now shows that he cares a great deal about getting his family back in order. Can you agree with that?” He leaned back in his chair.

“No, Doctor, I can’t say that I would agree.” Olivia snorted. “
If
he had cared, we wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place. If he cared and really wanted to fix things with us, he’d have come into this office and began honestly with you. Instead, he does what Reginald Brooks always does: He plays a part—he
acts
. That’s what he’s done for as long as I can remember.”

Reginald’s eyes widened, struck by the apparently endless hostility in Olivia. He looked at her long and hard in the brief silence that followed. “Have I really alienated you this much?”

“Olivia, let me ask you this,” said Dr. Berenger. “Did you know about your father’s other daughter? I mean, prior to him telling the family?”

In curiosity, Tracy and Valerie swung around to face Olivia.

Olivia looked confused. “No. Valerie and I found out at the same time, when they sat us down and told us.”

“I only asked because there seems to be something more, something in addition, surrounding this mere incident for you.”

Olivia smiled sweetly at the doctor. “That’s my point, Dr. Berenger. Like my mother said before, a lot has happened to cause these problems. There’s a lot more to it than just this kid, and Daddy’s sitting there acting like there isn’t. You heard what he said about things not being ‘all that well’ since we heard about his other kid. My point is, things haven’t been ‘all that well’ for years. In fact, I wasn’t the least bit surprised about this other child. I’ve learned to expect nothing better from my father.”

“Olivia, pipe it down a bit, okay?” Tracy’s tone was clipped when she finally found her voice. She was appalled by Olivia’s bluntness in the short ten minutes that they’d been there.

A glance at Valerie showed that her anger was rising with every word that flew from Olivia’s mouth. Despite what had happened, it was obvious that she still felt very protective of her father. She looked as if she was itching to retaliate, but the fact that they were sitting in a counseling session must’ve humbled her.

Reginald spoke then. “Olivia, don’t you think I realize how my being away so much—for so long—affected you? All of you? I know that it’s driven us apart and onto separate paths.” He turned to Dr. Berenger, his face rigid, determined to be understood. “Doctor, for the past ten years or so, my job has required me to travel back and forth between here and Orlando. Every month my time was split between here and there—two weeks here and two there.”

“He’s basically had two separate homes,” said Tracy. “I know that, as a little girl, Olivia grew to resent that almost right away. She would cry constantly when he had to leave or whenever he missed her birthday or a recital. I think that’s why she’s had all this pent-up anger to this day. She’s just missed him.”

“I think Olivia recognizes her father’s desire to reconcile the disconnect his absence has caused,” said Dr. Berenger. “However, it seems that there’s a desire to reflect pain. On some level, you want your dad to hurt just as you’ve hurt. You want to make sure he
understands
what he’s done by being away all these years. Could that be true, Olivia?”

“I don’t want him to hurt. I want him to stop pretending. He needs to recognize that the acting can’t last forever. For years, he’s been basically living two lives, and I’ve always
felt
it. He stopped being my daddy the first day he left for Orlando. And now we all know why.”

Reginald spoke in his defense. “I have come to realize that my family is what’s most important to me.” He looked at Dr. Berenger and continued. “I want everyone to understand how I really feel…I began to see that I didn’t know my daughters. One day, they were little girls, and the next day, they were grown young women who were practically strangers to me.”

“And is this the realization that led you to admitting you had another child?” asked the doctor.

“Yes,” replied Reginald. “But not only that, Dr. Berenger. There’s a great deal of time I need to make up for here. I’ve tried to reach out to Olivia, to get to know her as she is today, but she’s hell-bent on keeping this wall between us.” Reggie hesitated. “My biggest grievance is that recently she’s been going through a lot, and if it were left up to her, I wouldn’t even know half of what’s been going on in her life.”

Olivia’s head snapped up. Her eyes flew to her father, then to her mother.

Somewhere far away she heard Dr. Berenger begin to babble something about her being comfortable with the anger toward her father, and having a fear of letting her guard down. She barely heard him. She trained bitter eyes on her mother.
Her father knew about the baby?

She had told him!

Olivia raised her hand. “Wait a minute, Dr. Berenger. I think we should back up just a little bit.” She glared at Tracy. “What is he talking about? What wouldn’t he know if it were left up to me?”

Before Tracy could respond, Reginald said quietly, “I know about the baby—your mother told me, and she had
every
right to do so.” His stared was firm. “I am your father, and I do have an interest in your well-being.”

Olivia’s mind reeled. She had not taken her murderous glare off of Tracy. “
You told him?
” The words were frozen in ice as she squeezed them through her teeth.

Her mother swallowed. “Olivia, I couldn’t keep it from him. He’s your dad, and he cares about what happens to you. You have to know that.”

Valerie spoke for the first time. “Baby? What baby?”

Olivia felt anger leaking out of her, flowing around like hot lava. Her voice boomed through the room. “How dare you tell him about that? I thought I could trust you—
you’re my mother!
You dared to tell him about the most embarrassing time in my life, after you promised me you wouldn’t?”

“Olivia, just calm down—” Reginald began.

“Calm down? Calm down? Calm down, my ass! Mom, you had no right!” She was now perched on the edge of the chair as if ready to lurch at someone.

Reginald’s voice rose now, as well. “She had every right! Contrary to what you think, I
do
have an interest in the things that happen to you—especially something of that nature. We came here for a reason, and that’s to get help. And as you pointed out earlier, if we’re gonna do that, we have to be open and honest about the real issues. I’m willing to do it. I’m
trying
my best
to do it.”

“Olivia, he’s right,” said Tracy, looking into her eyes.

Olivia stared at her mother. The open hostility undoubtedly sent warning signals off in the back of Tracy’s mind. Anger washed over Olivia in sea waves.
Al
l hell’s gonna break loose in here today
, she thought.

She reclined in her seat, appearing to relax.

The doctor addressed her mother. “Tracy, I commend you for deciding to seek counsel for your family. There are obviously several issues that need to be addressed before the four of you can heal and progress. Of course, it will mean a commitment on everyone’s part. The first thing I would like to do is meet with you all individually, prior to the next family meeting.”

“There’s nothing I want more than to set things right with my family and move on,” said Reginald firmly. “And I’m willing to do whatever it takes to achieve that.”

“Well, if we’re all supposed to be
open
and
honest
here about the issues,” Olivia asserted calmly, “why don’t we do that, then? Let’s disclose all of our issues…get
everything
out in the open…For the benefit of the family, of course,” she added sweetly.