On Saturday, Dr. Milligan got up early, telling his wife who was in London with him for the weekend that he wanted to spend some time meditating to prepare for a new client he would be seeing that morning.

By 9:30, Paul was in his office. Minutes before 10, he was standing at the window of his Harley Street off Harley Street office when Martin drove into the complex. He recognized them immediately when Martin got out of the car to help Louisa out. He was transfixed. They were smiling with each other and Martin, of all persons, was attempting to hug her and she was pushing him away playfully. They walked up to the door arm-in-arm.

They made a lovely couple. Paul wasn't a particularly religious man, yet the biblical teaching, about divorce really, sprang to his mind: "What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder."

Martin nodded hello and introduced him to Louisa.

"I believe you two might have met while you were in Truro. Louisa, this is Paul Milligan who helped me and who I'm sure will help you."

The formalities over, Martin declined to sit in on the session even though Louisa held his hand. He motioned to Paul that he would talk with him when it was over.

Louisa was a little nervous. This was her first visit to a therapist. She looked around appreciatively and Paul watched her every expression with an impassive face. She liked his office; it was relaxing, modern and attractively uncluttered with a nice quirky feel. He, for one, was a study. His sky blue, round rim glasses, ponytail, and to die for red clogs, made him look youngish and hip. She liked his kind eyes and believed Martin when he told her that Milligan would help her.

"Louisa, what is it that you need help with?"

"I guess you would call it abandonment issues."

"Not necessarily. Tell me about it."

Milligan's face was inscrutable as Louisa poured out some of what had worried her. She told him what she had told Nigel Singh about her parents abandoning her and a lot more.

"My parents left me to fend for myself, so I had to grow up quickly. My father did his best, but it wasn't enough. Money was always tight. I didn't want anybody to pity me so I learned to hide what was really happening in my life."

"Were there no adults around to help out?"

"I didn't like accepting help from anybody unless I felt they were doing so out of concern and not pity. Martin's Auntie Joan, Mrs. Norton, and her husband were very kind to me."

"So, besides your parents, who else abandoned you?"

"It might not be fair to blame them, but my relationship with men, one especially, didn't go well. I had a lot of disappointing relationship, the worst one was with Martin who walked out on me, shortly before our son was born."

Milligan paused and repeated, "Walked out on you?"

"No, no, I'm sorry. Honestly, I was the one who pushed him away, never told him about my pregnancy until I was six months along and without meaning to, had given him the impression that I did not want him involved with our baby. I really made a hash of things."

Good Lord, Milligan thought, Ellingham had a rougher time than he had let on to me.

When Louisa got to the part about meeting and marrying Nathan, Milligan asked, "Did you love him?"

She hesitated. "Initially, I loved him because he was a good father to my son. James took to him immediately. In time I came to care for him, but I had never stopped loving Martin."

When he didn't say anything, she continued. "I didn't want James to feel abandoned as I did because of my parents. I also longed for a family and had wanted more children but couldn't, not after three miscarriages. "

What a mess, Milligan marveled.

"When I met Nathan, I had no plans to marry him or anyone else. Any thought of marriage died the day Martin left the village. All I wanted from our relationship was a male presence for James."

Seizing the moment when she paused for breath, he asked, "What did Nathan want?"

She was getting a little annoyed with all the probing and answered shortly, "I don't know. We went out a few times, we had a good time and James liked him."

"Hmmm. Why did you marry him?"

"I only agreed to marriage when Nathan said he wanted children, although that was a long shot for someone my age. You see, I have always liked children, that's why I became a teacher. Because I was an only child, I knew how lonely that felt so I would have liked for James to have siblings. Plus, being headmistress, and possibly a mother of two children for two different men, would not have sat well with the School Board."

"That was a long time ago, Louisa. People's personal life hardly matters now as long as the parties involved are happy with their domestic arrangements," he told her gently.

"Despite us trying hard, I was unable to conceive. Deep down I always thought that Nathan had some resentment about that. While James was around, it was never an issue. After James left, I began feeling that I had disappointed him in some way."

She went silent as she remembered their conversation that morning as if it had happened only yesterday. Their latest row had been about the long hours he had been putting in at work.

Suddenly he looked at her and said, "I always hoped you would give me a child."

She had lashed out in pain. "Would you have been home more often then? I gave you a child, Nathan. I gave you James. I gave you a family. I gave you the best years of my life."

"Louisa, that's not what I meant. I'm not blaming you. I just thought that if we had been able to have a child together, our child, we would have another child at home when James left for London."

"A thought wasted," she retorted.

They never spoke about it again and over time it became the elephant in their marriage.

Paul watched Louisa intently. He knew she was deep in thought and wondered what in her marriage had caused the pain that now crossed her face. He was struck by how much she seemed to love Martin. She too had gone through rough times and for them to be back together, was nothing short of a miracle. Their baptism by fire would make them a perfect fit. They deserved to be happy together. He suddenly found himself getting mushy about what had to be the love story of his career and had to steel himself to stay clinical.

"Why did Nathan marry you?"

"He said he loved me, and he did. He was an only child and he too wanted a family."

Louisa told Milligan about her constant worrying, the sadness when James left and Nathan's death.

"I know James had not abandoned me, after all he was only a five-hour train ride away. Nathan didn't mean to die and leave me alone. But … it felt that way. "

"How did Nathan feel about having Martin in his marriage?"

Her face blanched. "What? What do you mean?"

He repeated. "How did Nathan feel about having Martin in his marriage?"

"What made you ask that? I never thought about it that way. Do you think he felt that way?"

When Paul didn't answer but looked at her encouragingly, she tried to describe her relationship as accurately as she could.

"When I met Nathan, I didn't have to tell him what had happened between Martin and myself. The whole village knew and made sure he knew, even before we began dating. We never discussed him. He had a few telephone conversations here and there with Martin, but they never met each other. Nathan had urged me to make my peace with Martin and to have a shot at love again, I think he meant with Martin, when he was dying. That was so farfetched that I never gave it a thought. I never thought of Martin as being in my marriage."

"Why not? You just said you loved Martin. Did you love him as you loved Nathan?

"I don't know … I loved them differently?"

"What do you mean, Louisa?"

"I don't know," she said with tears rimming her eyes.

Paul excused himself and left the room, returning with a glass of water for her.

"Let's take a five-minute break. Think about what was special or different in how you loved Nathan and Martin."

Paul turned away from her and busied himself writing in his notebook. Louisa sipped slowly. She didn't like the turn of the conversation but still felt that Paul could help her. When they resumed the session, Louisa motioned that she was ready to talk.

"I loved Nathan because it was easy to get along with him. I was comfortable with him. He didn't have any posh airs about him. He was just your regular, sport-loving, easy-going guy and a teacher like myself. He made me laugh. Martin … well, he was different. He appeared to be this unattainable person but with me, the few times we were together, he was gentle and kind. He made me feel like this amazingly special woman."

She blushed when she said, "He was, still is, an amazing lover."

"Amazing lover? Yet you burst into tears when you're in bed together?" Paul probed even deeper.

The part that caught his attention was when she told him about being so happy in bed with Martin but feeling sad because she thought the relationship might not last.

"You call it your happy/sad feeling. Do you honestly believe Martin will abandon you again, although he never did as you just told me."

Truthfully, shaking her head slowly, she said, "No. But I have no control over my thoughts. They just pop into my head and overwhelm me no matter how hard I try to think differently."

The session over, Milligan invited Martin to rejoin them. He noted how Martin's eyes softened when he looked at Louisa, how he smiled easily and how much younger it made him look. He saw Louisa slip her hands into his and how he leaned over to kiss her on her cheek without any self-consciousness.

So the problem is with her and not him. This is going to make things easier, he thought.

Martin told Milligan that he and Louisa had just gotten engaged and he wanted to be sure that she was comfortable with the relationship every step of the way. Milligan assured them that he would see Louisa in his London or Truro office, whichever was convenient to her. Looking at them with a twinkle in his eyes, he said, "A few visits should resolve the matter. I too want to make sure that after waiting so long to be together, you both enter your marriage with everyone in the best of health."

Seeing where he was going, Louisa blushed. Martin just smiled and looked at Louisa.

He is smitten, then. Big time, Paul thought.

Privately, when Louisa went to the loo, Milligan spoke with Martin doctor to doctor.

"Louisa is suffering from a mild depression, as I'm sure you know. It could get worse given her history. I'm glad you caught it in time. You know Martin, being the brilliant diagnostician you are, you would make a fine therapist. Ever thought about a career change?"

The horror on Martin's face was answer enough.

Wiping off the smile that was creeping up on his face, Paul got serious.

"She wouldn't need medication, just a few sessions to help her face her long-standing fears about being abandoned, guilt about Nathan's death and the sense of loss for the life she had. Resolving those issues is what she needs to begin married life with the greatest chance for the best outcome."

He didn't tell Martin that Louisa's marriage to Nathan had its dark moments and that their last few years together had been difficult, especially with Nathan's illness. That would have been a breach of patient confidentiality. Plus, he had seen his fair share of marriages gone wrong and theirs seemed fairly normal.

"Is there anything practical that I could do to support your treatment?" Martin asked impatiently even though he understood that Milligan was taking the correct course of action.

"I don't need to remind you that London was the place where she had to face the prospect of being a single mother and from where she fled back to the village. If as I suspect, she's going to live with you in London … "

"We haven't crossed that bridge as yet," Martin informed him.

"Then concentrate on taking her out to experience diverse sides of London, places and events that you can enjoy as a couple. That would help to erase those negative memories. I know your job involves a lot of travel, is this still so?"

"God, no, I couldn't keep up that pace forever. My assistants do a fine job of trotting around the globe. Louisa and I enjoy going out, she especially, and we have explored London quite a bit."

Louisa re-entered the room then and both men turned to smile at her. She looked at little unsure. However, her face broke into a smile when Martin reached for her hand and pulled her towards him.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"Yes, yes" Louisa answered in relief.

Turning to Paul, she shook his hand. "Thank you so much. You gave me many things to think about that had never crossed my mind."

"Please don't think too much about what happened today. We'll take it slowly and go at your pace."

The session over, Martin and Louisa bid their goodbye and left Paul thinking that this was one of his most rewarding sessions in a long time.

I wish them a long and happy marriage, they deserve to be together, he thought as he watched Martin settling Louisa in the car before going around to his side and driving off.

Suddenly he wished for the comfort of his wife, closed up the office quickly and texted her to meet him for lunch at one of their favourite Italian restaurants around the corner from their flat.

Louisa didn't say much during the drive home. Martin was his usual non-talkative self, though he did notice her unease and finally asked, "Is everything alright?"

"Oh, I'm fine. The session has just worn me out."

When they got home, Louisa said she was tired and went upstairs for a nap.

"I'll bring you a glass of water," Martin offered. He knew the first therapy session would be brutal and wanted to make sure that Louisa wasn't going to ditch the idea. Maybe it hadn't gone as well as Paul had said.

By the time, he got upstairs Louisa had changed into her pyjamas and was under the duvet. Looking at her carefully, he noticed that she looked very tired.

"Are you sure you're just tired. Is there something else?"

"Just tired. I didn't sleep well last night. I was worried about going to see Dr. Milligan."

Martin had been preoccupied with last edits on a paper he was preparing for the British Medical Research Council and had spent a good part of the evening in his study. By the time he had turned in for bed, she was asleep and he fell into a deep sleep immediately. To think that she must have tossed and turned while I was lying beside her dead to the world.

Mentally kicking himself, he sat on the bed besides her deciding how best to find out how she was really feeling.

"Tell me truthfully, not the details, that's private, how was it really?"

"I don't know. This was my first experience and I hated it. Dr. Milligan was kind enough but he just sat there and made me spill my gut. It is not that he asked many questions, although he did, but that I felt the need to give so many answers. I couldn't stop talking. "

"Talking is good, Louisa. I had the same experience with him and with the psychiatrist when I came back to London. It's hard work, but worth it."

"I suppose" she said, not sounding convinced. Louisa had been especially rattled when Paul asked how Nathan felt about having Martin in their marriage. Perhaps, she had not been such a good wife, after all. Chances are she had brought on his illness. She knew she wasn't thinking rationally but she still couldn't shake the feeling. So many perhaps and chances she groaned to herself

Seeing the despair in her face, Martin rubbed her back to comfort her

"Stop worrying. Have a nap. Lunch will be ready when you get up. The world looks better when you're rested and there's and something in your stomach."