[prompt, What does your partner do that worries you?]
"She answers the phone when I call."
"Why does that worry you?"
"I call at odd hours."
"You said you were a police detective, and she's your partner. You must work odd hours."
"Yes."
"Yes, what?"
"Yes, we work odd hours."
"Well, then why does it worry you that she answers the phone when you call?"
He looks away, pretending to think, but really trying not to think. "She shouldn't always answer the phone."
"Why's that?"
"I call at odd hours."
"You said that."
"Right." He looks back. "I just need something to help with sleep."
"You said that when you sat down."
"I know. So?"
"We'll get to that."
"When?"
"What do you mean by odd hours?"
"I can't sleep."
"So you call your partner?"
"I guess so."
"You guess?"
"Yeah, I guess. I don't… …look, I'm not here to talk about my partner."
"Okay."
He sits for a long silence, and then blurts, "I don't always remember talking to her, but then the next day, she'll say something that makes me think I've talked to her. She can do that, you know. She can know things about me just because we've been partners for a while. But…"
"You just said you don't always remember talking to her. Why don't you remember?"
"I'm not here to talk about that."
"You can't sleep."
"I can't sleep."
"What've you been doing to help with sleep?"
"I'm. Here." He states the words slowly, emphatically.
"What else?"
"What do you mean?"
"You call your partner at odd hours, and you're worried that she always answers. You don't always remember calling."
"I don't want to talk about my partner. I'm not in couples therapy. I need something to help me sleep."
"We'll get to that."
~tbc