I shot Aunt Maddy an angry look but didn’t contradict her. It was true she had made an appointment for me with Dr. Rubenstein for this afternoon. I just hadn’t decided yet whether to keep it.

“My mom just loves her,” Felicity said. “She really helped after my brother died.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said. “I didn’t know you lost your brother.”

“We’re not supposed to share personal information with clients,” Felicity replied. “One of the many rules I no longer have to follow. My brother died of an overdose. My mom was devastated. She felt like it was her fault, that she’d failed him somehow. Dr. Rubenstein really helped her. You seem like she’s helped you too.”

“She did.” Regardless of how I felt about Dr. Rubenstein at the moment, I had to admit I was a lot better now than I was when we’d first met, and I had to give her credit for that.

Felicity pulled out her phone and thumbed the screen until she found my contact information. “I’m texting you a link to my videos. If you like them, please share with your friends.” We hugged goodbye, then Aunt Maddy and I resumed our walk along the beach path.

For a few minutes the only sounds we heard were the seagulls’ calls and the waves crashing on the wet sand. I knew Aunt Maddy held back for as long as she could but, eventually, she cracked. “It sounds like Dr. Rubenstein really knows what she’s doing.”

I stared at her over the top of my sunglasses. “Really?”

“Please, Grace. If you won’t do it for yourself, then do it for me.”

Apparently, the willingness to emotionally blackmail one’s family is an inherited trait.

Aunt Maddy insisted on driving me to my appointment with Dr. Rubenstein. I didn’t think it was worth arguing about, so I agreed. I figured she’d just read a magazine in the waiting room during my session. Aunt Maddy had other ideas.

Chapter 40

Dr. Rubenstein and I both stared after my aunt as she walked down the hall ahead of us and entered my therapist’s office.

“Are we having a joint session today?” Dr. Rubenstein asked me.

I shrugged. “If we are, it’s news to me.”

We both followed Aunt Maddy inside. I took a seat on the couch, but not in my usual spot since Aunt Maddy was already sitting there. Dr. Rubenstein stood by the open door. “I’m sorry, Madeline, but this is Grace’s session. I must ask you to leave. But I’d be happy to make an appointment for you if you’d like to see me as well.”

“I think I should stay,” Aunt Maddy said.

“Why is that?” Dr. Rubenstein asked.

“I’m the one who convinced Grace to come today. I’d like to see for myself what goes on here.”

Dr. Rubenstein turned to me. “This is your decision, Grace.”

“Do you ever do joint sessions?” She and I had only ever met one-on-one.

“Yes, for marriage counseling and family therapy. And I will allow another person to join an individual session, if a client requests it and I think it would be helpful. But it’s something we normally discuss in advance. While this is highly unusual, I’m not opposed to letting your aunt stay if that’s what you want.”

I didn’t see any downside in letting her stay, especially since I’d only agreed to come to shut her up. “It’s fine,” I said. “It’ll save me the trouble of telling her what happened on the drive home.”

Dr. Rubenstein cracked a smile. “As you wish,” she said and shut the door behind her.

It felt weird being back. Not just because Aunt Maddy was there too, but because she was sitting in my usual spot. I’d never sat on the other end of the couch before. It gave me an entirely different view of the room.

Dr. Rubenstein spoke first. “I’m glad you decided to come back.”

“I didn’t,” I said. “Aunt Maddy made the appointment.”

“Yes, but you decided to keep it and you didn’t have to.”

“You can thank Felicity for that,” I said.

Dr. Rubenstein cocked her head to the side like a dog. “Felicity?”

“She was my patient advocate at the Wellstone Center. She’s the one who referred me to you.”

Dr. Rubenstein nodded. “Oh yes, Felicity Tran. I didn’t realize you kept in touch with her.”

“I don’t. We ran into her at the beach this morning. Did you know she got laid off and now she’s an influencer?”

“No, I didn’t know that.”

“She mentioned her brother died of an overdose and that you really helped her mom. I guess that’s why I came back.”

Dr. Rubenstein nodded but remained silent.

After maybe thirty seconds, Aunt Maddy said, “Aren’t the two of you going to talk?”

Dr. Rubenstein smiled patiently. “Grace will speak when she’s ready.”

Aunt Maddy turned to me. “What are you waiting for?” She tapped her watch. “Time’s a ticking.”

“You’re the one who wanted to come today. Why don’t you talk.”

So she did. She started to tell Dr. Rubenstein about my evening with Jake but she got the details wrong, so I jumped in and finished the story, then told Dr. Rubenstein about my visit from Brian Sullivan, his drowning, and my conversation with his family at the wake.

“That’s a lot,” Dr. Rubenstein said.

“It is,” I agreed.

Then we sat in silence again as Aunt Maddy glanced back and forth between me and Dr. Rubenstein. “How long are you two going to just sit there and stare at each other? Isn’t this session only an hour?”

“Fifty minutes,” Dr. Rubenstein replied. “Maybe you should talk, Madeline. You seem to have something you want to say.”

“I think you should tell Grace she needs to go to the police.”

Dr. Rubenstein turned to me. “Is that what you want to do?”

“No, because they’re not going to believe me. They’re going to think I’m delusional, just like Brian’s widow. And you.”

“I don’t think you’re delusional,” Dr. Rubenstein said. “In our last session I merely pointed out that there were alternative explanations for the things you were upset about.”

“And now?” I asked.