“I can only imagine that your husband has been a great support to you,” Mr. Ludwig says and I nod, looking out the window. A mother is pushing her newborn in a stroller as they’re heading for the park and my heart clenches with longing. Someday, Alec and I are going to have babies too.
“My husband means everything to me,” I say and for some reason Mr. Ludwig seems pleased with that, scribbling something in his notebook. “Any woman would be lucky to have him.”
Mr. Ludwig grunts. “Then you consider yourself to be lucky?”
Nodding I murmur, “I do. But...” I bite my lip, “Alec has promised me to find my friend but so far nothing has come out of it.”
“And how does that make you feel?”
“Like he doesn’t want to find him to begin with,” I reply, my voice suddenly hoarser than usual.
“Your husband seems like the kind of man who will do anything to keep you happy,” Mr. Ludwig says and I can’t argue with that. “But say hypothetically that he doesn’t manage to find him. Would that make you hate your husband?”
“No!” I say with heat, my eyes widening. “I could never hate him. No matter what he does.”
“Good, very good,” Mr. Ludwig says and I frown. He quickly clears his throat adding, “Last time we spoke you mentioned something about having an eerie feeling when walking through your house.”
Shuddering at the reminder, I pull the sleeves off my sweater further down my arms then tuck my arms behind my back. “Well...yes,” I slowly say, sighing, “I don’t know how to explain it. It’s just that sometimes it’s like the whole manor moans and wails and sometimes I hear these strange, breathy little sounds, like the place is haunted...”
“If you don’t mind me asking, when exactly did you move in?”
“About a month ago,” I say and he bites his lip.
“Could it then be that you are simply unfamiliar with the place? After all you are used to living in a dorm with a ton of other girls and now you have switched it for a big manor where you live alone with a man you barely even know.” Mr. Ludwig releases his lip from his teeth. “Anyone would find the adjustment period a little trying.”
Shrugging I say, “I guess...”
“You don’t have any plans on moving out do you? Divorcing your husband?”
Baffled I stare at him. “Of course not.” I wouldn’t dream of divorcing Alec because of our unnerving house. “
He nods looking relieved and sometimes I find him oddly interested in my marriage. My married life is not so much the problem. The bigger problem is that my friend is out there somewhere enduring I don’t know what, while I’m safe and warm and worrying whether I’ve done enough to help him.
“Do you sleep well at night?” Mr. Ludwig continues and I feel a tinge of remorse.
“I do.” It’s automatic and thanks to Alec tiring me out physically. “Probably better than I should. To be honest, it makes me feel a little bit guilty.”
“Because of your friend still being out there on his own?”
“Yes.”
Mr. Ludwig bends forward, looking serious. “If you don’t mind me asking, how come you care so much about him?”
“I’ve always been like that,” I reply, “always cared a lot. When I was kid, I would take care of baby crocodiles that didn’t have a mom, drag them into our house and let them stay in our bathtub much to my parent’s detriment. Caring too much comes naturally to me. That’s just how I am.”
Mr. Ludwig grunts and I add,
“I blame it on me being a cancer.”
Stopping with the scribbling, Mr. Ludwig looks up, his eyes horrified. “You have cancer, Mrs. Dolokhov?”
Inwardly I sigh. “No, I am a cancer. As in the zodiac sign.”
He looks so confused, I can’t help but to laugh on the sly. Mr. Ludwig straightens then throws a glance at the clock then one on his phone.
“I’m seeing another client soon,” he says and I reach for my coat, standing up, “same time next week?”
Maybe. Unless Alec until then has managed to fulfill his promise.