One of my favorite courses was Introduction to Psychology, which is about how the mind works, as you probably know. I was taking it because it sounded interesting and also because I was worried about my own mind and I hoped this course would help me understand myself. Instead it made me more worried. So I decided to see the school psychologist. I made the decision but I kept putting it off and now the year was almost over and this week would be my last chance. I made the appointment Monday morning to see Dr. Pleasant in her office after school that day. I was right on time.
"Come in." It was a man's voice.
He was behind Dr. Pleasant's desk, smiling at me. He was like forty years old, and good looking. Then he stood up and he was better, like six feet tall, trim but well built in a blue cord suit with a powder blue shirt and paisley tie. He came around the desk and shook my hand.
"How do you, Miss Blake. I'm Dr. Badger."
"Um, I have an appointment with Dr. Pleasant," I told him.
"Dr. Pleasant is gone for the year. She went to London this morning to begin her sabbatical. I'll be covering for her till the end of the year, which is till the end of the week, isn't it?" He grinned in a way that made me like him, but I didn't want a man to be my psychologist. On the other hand, I didn't want to hurt his feelings either
"Oh, well I thought I should see a woman psychologist. No offense, Doctor Badger."
"None taken, Miss Blake. Would you care to sit for a minute." He pointed to a pair of facing upholstered chairs by the wall. There wasn't a couch like you see on television. Not wanting to be rude I sat down "for a minute", and he did too.
"May I ask you this, and you don't have to answer if you prefer not to, is your wish to see a female doctor due to a sexual or partially sexual theme of the issues you feel a need to talk about?"
I fidgeted, holding my hands in my lap and pushing on my skirt which was a few inches above my knees. I had the feeling that Doctor Badger was checking me out, but this was one of the reasons I had come. I always feel like guys are checking me out. It's not that I mind. I like it. But I can't tell when it's real or when I'm imagining it. You can see I was a mess. And that was without even scratching the surface of my actual sex life or my crazy family.
Dr. Badger had a warm voice and a warm smile. He made you feel like he would be a great psychologist to talk to. I debated with myself. Maybe a guy would have a perspective a woman psychologist wouldn't, or maybe Dr. Badger would think I was a slut.
"Why do you say it's something sexual?" Had he already heard things about me?
"I didn't say, I asked, but for the record almost everyone who feels a need to talk to a psychologist has a concern related to sex."
He smiled again, so warm and understanding that it made me feel again like I could talk to him and trust him, and when the little voice in the back of my mind said, "Elle, he probably wants to fuck you," I told it to shut up.
"It's me or no one, I'm afraid," he said, smiling and opening his hands. He had nice hands.
"Okay," I told him. "You can't tell anyone about what I say, right?"
"Absolutely right. Unless you confess to a crime everything you say here is privileged. Nothing will be recorded. I may take notes, Miss Blake, but they are privileged as well. No one has the right to see them without your permission."
"Wow." It made me feel important to have a big privilege like that. "Well, I guess one thing I wanted to talk about, Dr. Badger, is that I was wondering if I am having too much sex."
I didn't see a smile, just a blink, maybe two blinks. We looked at each other and then he said,
"What makes you think you might be having too much sex?"
"Cause I have a lot of it, to be honest. I have tons of sex. It's a possibility I was made for sex, Dr. Badger."
"I see." Dr. Badger did a couple more blinks and cleared his throat.
"I take it then that you enjoy sex?"
"Well, yeah, sure. Why would I do it if I didn't enjoy it." I began to have my doubts about Dr. Badger. He didn't have many more chances before I called the whole thing off if he was going ask dumb questions like this. But then I remembered hearing that some girls have sex all the time because there is something wrong in their brains and sex is how they try to correct it, something like that, so he probably was checking to see if I could be that kind of girl. I felt better about him if he was only being thorough doing his job.
"I enjoy sex a lot, Dr. Badger. You could say I love it, actually. And, like I said, I think maybe I'm a person who is made for sex. That's like a concern that I have, because I'm not sure I want to be made for it. I would rather be made for being a writer, like a novelist when I get older. So I wonder what your opinion about that would be, about me being made for sex, I mean. After you hear my problems and whatever."
Dr. Badger didn't blink but his eyes got wide like I was surprising him with my psychology situations. I smiled at him for a change and waited for him to think about this concern of mine and give me his ideas.
"Let's clarify this. If you are in fact made for sex you probably aren't having too much of it. So the first question seems to be, is Miss Elleann Blake made for sex. Now, are these your words or did someone tell you that you are quote made for sex unquote?"
"Did someone tell me that? Well, yes, someone did say it to me but I think he could be right and that's what worries me." I couldn't tell him Grandpa said it.
"It sounds to me like nothing a boy would say, Miss Blake"
Why did he need to know that? "Okay, it was a man," I said, and I gave him a frown to let him know what I thought of his question. He was getting on thin ice again.
"Dr. Badger, can I ask you a question."
"Sure."
"Are you going to tell me about myself at some point or just ask me a bunch of questions. I need to know that, if you don't mind."
He had gotten kind of stiff looking but now he smiled again and you could see his body relax in the chair. "Psychology is all about exploring, exploring the mind, exploring feelings, in order to find where the trouble is," his rich voice said. "We can't talk about the trouble until we discover what it is. Think of it the way you think about Columbus. When Columbus went across the ocean, he was engaged in continuous question asking: what will I see today, what will I see tomorrow, how long before we find land, is that an island ahead, a continent; those savages, are they friendly. He was exploring constantly and right now, Miss Blake, we are in the exploring phase with you."
"Wow, that's great, Dr. Badger. So you are like Columbus and I'm like....."
"The New World, Miss Blake." He grinned. "You are indeed."
I blushed and so did he. He shouldn't have said that last part, and the way he grimaced you could see he felt bad about it but it still hurt my feelings.
"You think I'm a nut."
"Absolutely not, you impress me as charming and forthright."
"Really?"