Their Very Special Marriage Read Online Free

hours earlier than usual—was a common symptom of depression.
    â€˜OK. It’s just it’s a bit hard to get to sleep.’ Teresa bit her lip. ‘I lie there and think.’
    â€˜Is anything particular bothering you?’ Rachel asked gently.
    â€˜No.’ Teresa sighed and her shoulders sagged. ‘Yes.’
    â€˜Tell me about it. Maybe I can help,’ Rachel offered.
    Teresa looked torn between wanting to confide and afraid that it would make things worse. Rachel had a fair idea why her patient was worried. ‘Remember, whatever you tell me is confidential. I’m your doctor. I’m not going to gossip about you in the playground. Nobody in the village will hear a word from me,’ she said quietly. Teresa’s face cleared, and Rachel knew she’d guessed correctly. She waited, knowing that it was best to let the patient set the pace.
    â€˜It’s my husband,’ Teresa blurted out. ‘I think he’s having an affair.’
    Ouch. Just what Rachel had half been thinking about Oliver. ‘What makes you think that?’
    â€˜He’s been distant with me lately. And he’s working late every night. And he snaps at me and the kids. Then he can be so loving... I thought maybe he was worried about something at work. But then I read this article, and I recognised the signs.’
    You and me both, Rachel thought grimly. I bet you read the same article I did. ‘Just because you did a quiz in a magazine and the results weren’t very nice, it doesn’t mean Dick’s definitely having an affair,’ she reassured Teresa, though she was sure her words sounded hollow. ‘You’d be much better off talking to him about your worries. Thelonger you leave it, the more anxious you’re going to get, the worse you’ll feel and the more likely you are to end up having a hell of a row instead of discussing it calmly.’
    â€˜So you’re not going to give me antidepressants?’
    â€˜Antidepressants can be useful in cases of clinical depression—they change the chemicals in your brain,’ Rachel said. ‘But I think in your case, Teresa, they’re not going to help. You’re upset for a reason—a good reason—and the way to help yourself feel better again is to tackle the cause of what you’re worrying about. If you don’t want to talk to Dick about it on your own, talking to a counsellor’s a good start. It’ll help you find some common ground with him.’
    â€˜I don’t know if he’ll agree to go.’
    Mmm. Rachel could dish out the advice, but she couldn’t take it herself. If she asked Oliver to go to marriage counselling with her, he’d probably look at her as if she’d grown three heads. ‘Then why don’t you get your mum to have the kids for the night, sit down with Dick and talk things through with him? If you tell him how you’re feeling and listen to how he’s feeling, too, you might be able to see a way through it together. It might be that he’s got problems at work, he doesn’t want to worry you about them, and he doesn’t realise how he’s being at home.’
    â€˜Or he might be having an affair,’ Teresa said glumly.
    â€˜If he is, then taking antidepressants isn’t going to change anything. You need to talk to each other,’ Rachel said gently. She looked up the numbers for the nearest counsellors on her computer, wrote three of them down and handed the paper to Teresa. ‘Before you talk to him, you could have a word with one of these. They can give you some tips to help you discuss things without making it a confrontation.’
    â€˜I suppose.’
    Rachel reached over and squeezed Teresa’s hand. ‘You might be getting yourself worked up about nothing. Give ita try. You can always come back and see me again if it doesn’t help and you’re still feeling low.’
    â€˜What about St