The Love Doctors

by Fontaine, Bella

  Today was the first day of filming with our couples. We were supposed to get to the studio for noon, but neither of us seemed to be able to budge.

  I personally didn’t want her to be any more than an inch away from me. So, her sitting between my legs resting against my chest was perfect.

  “What are we going to do, Ivan?” she asked, breaking the silence of the last few minutes.

  I ran my hand over her arm, and the water glistened on her skin.

  “What are we going to do? It feels like I can’t leave you,” she added. “And if I do, I feel like something will change.”

  “I’m going to keep seeing you, Jada,” I promised, and she turned to look at me. “I’m not going to stop. How do you feel about that? Does that scare you?”

  I asked because it scared me, and if it scared me, I knew it would scare her.

  “Yes,” she confessed.

  “Why? Scared you’ll fall for me?” I said that in a purposefully teasing manner, but I was serious, and I could read from her silence that she was absolutely terrified of that.

  “What if I am?” Her eyes searched mine.

  “What if we start with a date, a real one, not a field trip? Then we can have another date, and another and another. You see me, I see you, we don’t put a label on it.”

  “No label? Does that mean you get to see other people?” She narrowed her eyes at me.

  I chuckled. “You don’t want me to see other people? Baby, did you see the women in the audience with the banners?” I joked.

  “That’s not funny, and yes, I did see them. I don’t want you to see other people.”

  “Okay, so I get to be yours, and the poor sap I am will allow myself to join the puppy pack, while you get to be a free bird. Is that how it’s going to be? I’m yours, but you aren’t mine?”

  “No… I don’t want to see anyone else. I just want you.”

  It was progress.

  “Okay, let’s do this. Promise me, though, you’ll have an open mind.”

  She held my gaze and nodded. “I promise.”

  Chapter 24

  Jada

  * * *

  “So, how did you two meet?” I asked, straightening in the chair.

  I looked from Bob to Cynthia Donovan and smiled, hoping that the warmth I was trying to present would take a layer off the artic temperature they’d brought in with them.

  The coldness they’d shown each other was exactly the type I’d expect to feel on the Arctic Circle, and not even the flames of hell could help me right now.

  “I’m not sure that’s a relevant topic to discuss,” Cynthia replied, pushing the ends of her blond ponytail behind her ear.

  We sat together in an office made up just for the show. The camera crew were in front of us filming, and I felt that having them here was distracting.

  I didn’t know how Ivan was faring with his couple, but when I heard that these two were on the show because somebody sent them here, I instantly knew they were going to be hard work. It was like sending an addict to rehab who didn’t want to be there and didn’t want to change their ways.

  I had experience of seeing that with Coop, Olivia’s brother.

  To me, the Donovans were here because they were being respectful to the relative who’d referred them to the show. It was different from the couple who wanted to be here because they wanted to save the relationship they had.

  “Cynthia, it’s a very important question for me because I always think that if something is wrong from the start, or if something went wrong at the beginning, then that’s where we need to take it back to,” I explained.

  Bob seemed to understand while Cynthia continued to have that wary look about her.

  “We met at my cousin’s wedding,” Bob said. “The same cousin who referred us to the show. Her name’s Elaine. She’s Cynthia’s best friend. Cynthia was my blind date. Let’s just say we were a good ending to a blind date. At the time, of course.”

  I appreciated that he was willing to comply. “And what happened after the wedding?”

  “We started dating and got married two years later,” Cynthia answered this time.

  “Do you think that was too quick?”

  “No,” they both answered and that gave me hope.

  Getting them to find some common ground was good. Something to agree on, a little like Ivan and me this morning. Although I knew I took the coward’s way out by not telling him what my heart wanted to say. I wanted to tell him I was his too, but I needed to rein in my emotions and not jump ahead of myself.

  That was me being careful. At least I promised to have an open mind.

  I blinked and regained my focus. It wasn’t time to think about me. This time was for Bob and Cynthia. In an hour, I could go back to thinking about me when I met Olivia for dinner.

  “Okay, so you both agree that you got married at the time you both wanted to?” I asked them. I was happy when they both nodded. “I want to ask why? Why do you agree?”

  That was another of my tactics. Realistically, if a couple had problems at the outset, that was the problem. Like I said, sometimes it could be addressed by going back to it. In my experience, though, it was more often than not that that problem at the outset couldn’t be fixed.

  It was something that would fester in a relationship and make it deteriorate.

  Of course, I was going to relate that something right back to Brian and me. We’d been a lie from the start. A secret relationship that was never serious.

  If I addressed that consideration now with Bob and Cynthia, then I’d move on to the next stage. The ‘What went wrong’ stage.

  “We were in love,” Cynthia replied. “There was no question about that. When I first saw Bob and realized how much I loved him, I knew I didn’t want to be with anyone else.”

  It amazed me that she said that, but her saying that showed something in Bob that I didn’t expect. It was something that flickered in his eyes and the expression he made as she said it. The tension in him softened like he agreed with what she’d said.

  On the TV behind us, I could see the camera man caught that too.

  “Bob, do you agree with that?” I asked him.

  “Yes, I do. I completely agree. It’s true.” Bob nodded.

  I looked at both of them and decided the problem wasn’t the start of the relationship, which was good because that would be the thing I’d hold on to, to try to help them. So… the problem was something else.

  “What happened to change you guys?” I looked at them both. “It’s clear that Elaine must want to save you and sees something worth saving. You guys have been married for twenty years. That’s a long time.”

  The Love Doctor trial show was completely different to the real show that would start in a few months. In the real show, the host would be given a full rundown of the couple and a disclosure of everything. That was all out on national TV for the public to see. Everybody knew everything.

  The trial show, on the other hand, was much tougher, tougher on the contestant hosts because we were expected to feel our way through our couples’ problems. It was all part of the process that helped the public vote.

  Put simply, it was the survival of the fittest, and here I was, not thinking I wanted to beat Ivan and win this. I was actually here thinking I’d really like to help these two. Especially after hearing them talk about how it had been for them at the start of their relationship.

  They were, however, both very quiet now. And that wasn’t good. It gave me instant discomfort and anxiety about what I was going to hear.

  “Well, does one of you want to start with what might have gone wrong?” I prodded.

  “It’s best I don’t speak.” Bob sighed and ran a hand through his short salt and pepper hair.

  “Why would you say that, Bob?” I asked.

  “Because I know what happened and the reasoning behind it, but she maintains her lies. It’s been like that for too long, and I just want her to tell the truth.”

  Now
we were getting somewhere.

  I looked at Cynthia, and the camera zoomed in on her too.

  “Cynthia, do you have anything to say to that?”

  “It’s hard talking about this on national TV with everyone watching,” she answered in an abrasive tone. A tear ran down her cheek.

  “Cynthia, forget the public. We may be on TV, but this is about you. You guys are taking this step to fix your relationship. It sounds like it had a beautiful start.” I nodded. “What happened?”

  “I cheated on him,” she replied barely above a whisper but loud enough for me to hear.

  “Yup. That was what did it for us,” Bob chimed in with cold sarcasm. “She cheated on me with her boss, and the asshole had the audacity to come to my house and tell me.”

  “I was drunk and—”

  “Bullshit.”

  Thank God, this was a show for a mature audience, so I didn’t have to worry about swearing. Lord, I got the feeling with the way Bob looked, we were about to get a whole dose of that, because he looked ready, like he was about to explode.

  “Bob, why do you think that’s bullshit?” I asked, still trying to remain objective.

  “Because it is. She made me believe it was the one time. I forgave her. It happened ten years after we got married, so I figured I loved her too much to lose her. Then I find out she wasn’t drunk and it was a regular thing.”

  Lord, if it was one thing I hated, it was cheaters. My own situation was again something that came to mind.

  “It wasn’t a regular thing,” Cynthia jumped in.

  “Cynthia, please don’t take me for a fucking idiot!” Bob yelled. His skin turned red. “Don’t do it. Give me the respect I deserve. You know how I feel about this. I knew from the start that something was going on with you two, and you denied it. It’s the lie that’s ripped us apart. We’re on TV. Don’t be a liar now. You owe it to Elaine.”

  “Cynthia, do you want to add to that? Or clear anything up. Is Bob right? Has he misunderstood something?”

  While I asked the question, I knew the answer before she opened her mouth.

  “No. He hasn’t, but it wasn’t a regular thing.”

  “Right, so that sounds like you lied about being drunk the one time and sleeping with Alan the prick,” Bob jumped in again. “How many times did you sleep with him, Cynthia?”

  Cynthia covered her mouth as she broke down.

  “Answer the question,” Bob demanded.

  “Five times,” she muttered.

  When he heard that, a tear ran down Bob’s cheek and he looked at me. “Dr. Dane, I know you have your ways, but I couldn’t help but take note of your principle that most men are dogs. It’s not true. Most women are dogs. Women who don’t appreciate what they have. Women like her.” He pointed at Cynthia, stood up and looked at her directing his conversation now to her. “You know what the worst part of this is? I still love you. What the fuck’s wrong with me? Maybe the same thing that made me sterile robbed me of my ability to think straight or took my common sense. That’s why you did it. It happened just after we found out I couldn’t have kids, and you resented me. Fuck you.”

  He stormed out of the room, slamming the door, and in true TV style, the cameras focused on him, then back to Cynthia, who was in floods of tears. I got up and sat next to her, putting my arm around her.

  “It’s my fault. I ruined us. I love him too, but some mistakes can’t be fixed.” She shook her head and continued crying.

  I pressed my lips together.

  This was definitely going to be harder than I thought. If I followed my techniques and methods down to the letter, I’d be telling them divorce was probably the best route for them. Lying for ten years was never good.

  However, this was one situation where I didn’t actually think my techniques would work because they both said something that nullified them completely.

  Bob and Cynthia were both distraught, but they’d both declared their love for each other.

  That wasn’t the signal of the end. It was a cry for help.

  It meant there really was something worth fighting to save.

  I just wasn’t sure I could do it.

  * * *

  “You little minx,” Olivia pouted, shaking her head at me as I walked up to her in the restaurant.

  She was sitting out on the terrace looking like she’d just stepped off the billboard for a fashion ad.

  She had her hair down, straight with blunt edges like she’d just had it cut.

  “I’m so sorry. I really am so sorry. I’ve been a terrible friend,” I apologized.

  I was the one who’d booked the table out here for our dinner date. I wanted to talk to her, and I wasn’t sure how the evening was going to go.

  “Yes, you should be for keeping me in suspense and making me suffer. A text, Jada. A simple text telling me something.” She pretended to pout, then started laughing. “I’m joking. Well, a little. My dad took the babies for the whole weekend, and Sam swept me away to Hawaii. Can you believe that guy?”

  “Yes, I believe that guy. That is exactly the kind of thing he would do. Spoil his wife rotten and treat her like a queen.” I laughed.

  I was really happy for her. Truly happy. If anyone deserved happiness, it was her. We always had each other’s backs. Always.

  “Thank you. I’m dying to hear about you though.” She brought her hands together, and her glossy red nails sparkled against the little lights above us. “I know you spent a substantial amount of time with Ivan. I told you he liked you. I wasn’t wrong, was I?”

  “No, you were not wrong.”

  “So, spill it, girl.”

  “Somehow, we went from enemies to these two people who can’t get enough of each other.” I should have sounded more excited, but it was just as Ivan said: I was scared to fall for him.

  While he was joking about it the other day, I thought he’d have to perform some kind of miracle to make that happen. Days later, and look at me now.

  I was the woman who wanted him for herself, the woman who told him exactly that, and here I was, counting down the hours until I next saw him.

  Lunchtime tomorrow just before another filming session with a couple I didn’t know what the hell I was going to do with.

  “You don’t sound very enthusiastic. That’s exciting, Jada. It’s supposed to be exciting, but…” She looked at me and gave me that assessing stare again.

  She’d been doing that since she was five, so I knew her mind by now. I’d had twenty-nine years of practice.

  “But what?” I wanted her to say it.

  “You’re scared. Jada, I’m gonna say that you should try not to be. I’m not relationship girl.”

  “Yet out of the two of us, you’re the one who’s married with two kids, and you made better decisions with guys than I did. Even with the ones who you weren’t serious about.”

  “No, I wouldn’t say that, Jada.”

  “It’s true, Olivia. People call me The Love Doctor, but I’m not. I’m not that at all, and quite honestly, I have no idea what the hell I’m going to do on this show. The couple I got, I think they can be fixed, but I don’t think I can do it.”

  “Jada, you’ve always told me that if you start something believing you can’t do it, you won’t do it, or if you do it, it’ll be half-assed and never as good as if you’d believed in yourself. What is this?” She reached across the table and took my hand. “What’s going on? This isn’t you. You’re Jada Dane, for God’s sake.”

  I laughed but wiped away the tear that ran down my cheek.

  “I feel like everything I built was based on one bad experience, and now I have to start over.”

  “Did Ivan say something to you?”

  “Ivan said a lot of things to me. Olivia, everything he says has this beauty about it. Did you hear his answer on the show on Friday?”

  She nodded. “I sure did, and he inspired me just from his speech.”

  “He told me a lot, and I think it’s wonderful that
he wants to take his own inspiration to help others. I can’t say that about myself.”

  She tensed. “Okay… so, here’s me doubling back on our conversation from three years ago. I’m following up on then, and I’m following up on last week too. What happened to you, Jada? What happened? I feel like I’ve been brought in at the end of an act, and I’m trying to guess what I missed, but really, I need to watch the play from the start.”

  She was right, and it was time to talk.

  I pulled in a deep breath. “It’s definitely time I told you. The whole story.”

  “Tell me.” She chuckled and looked around. “You booked the terrace table. You’d never book the terrace table unless you wanted complete privacy.”

  I nodded. “You’re right.” I stopped for a moment and remembered how I’d told Ivan. I thought a good starting point was to say the exact same thing. “Back in college, I… I had an affair with my professor.”

  “What?” Her eyes turned to saucers.

  “Yeah… I know I give off this sassy character that belies she owns the world, but I’m not like that. Olivia, I may have had crushes on my teachers before, but I would never have gone there with this guy if I didn’t think I was serious about the way I felt about him. I’d never fallen so hard for anyone before, and I’m frightened to be that way with anyone ever again.”

  “What happened? Jada, tell me.”

  “I got pregnant, then I found out he was married with kids and… His wife, she paid me a visit and …” I froze up just like the night when I was talking to Ivan.

  “Oh my God. Jada.” Olivia’s hands flew up to her cheeks. “I can’t believe that. You got pregnant?” I could see she was trying to keep the shock out of her voice but couldn’t. “Jada, what happened to the baby?”

  This was the part I could never get past, could never explain, because I always wondered what I could have done differently.

  Maybe if I’d run faster, maybe if I’d screamed louder for help. Maybe if I…

  I didn’t know.

  I honestly didn’t know because the truth was, none of it should have ever happened.