Читать книгу Klick, the Dick - Milam Smith - Страница 8

Dr. Rivkin read the notes on the yellow pad he’d been writing on, sighed deeply. He glanced at his watch—something he knew better than to do in front of a patient, but Klick was so…rattling—and thought about the different bars at the West Side Stories, the different women waiting. He wasn’t sure where Klick was going with this. But…

“I think I detect a pattern already, Mr. Klick.”

“Yeah? Good. What is it?”

“You seem to have a propensity for violence. You almost seek it out. And you are denying your judgmental side, also. At times you really do seem to think you’re better than someone else.”

“Doesn’t everyone Doc? Sitting there in your leather armchair while I’m on this plastic couch, what does that say?”

“This is my job, I’m being paid by you to make certain judgments for your welfare, correct?”

“C’mon, Doc. You talk like you got a dictionary stuck down your throat.”

“Mr. Klick, let’s not get personal.”

“Okay. Yeah, I wanted to hit that faggot. Sure.”

“Because he was a faggot?”

“No, see, you got it wrong. It was that cockiness. I see guys like that, makes me hot. A propensity for violence? I don’t know about that. But it does seem like it’s the only thing I’m good at, always has been. Although I did have a good singing voice as a kid. In my neighborhood, though, you don’t go around singing unless you’re drunk or loaded. As far as this particular fight, well, I only got rough because Beth was ther—”

“What is it Mr. Klick? Why did you stop?”

“When I mentioned Beth, I thought of something. I didn’t like the thought, that’s all.”

“What was it?”

“I saw myself on a white horse. The White Knight. I remember as a kid going around looking for lost causes at school. Taking up for all the nerds.”

“Were you nerd as a child?”

“Only when I wore my glasses. Take ‘em off and I looked totally different.”

“Acceptable?”

“Yeah. Acceptable. Only, I still didn’t fit in. I was still different inside. I thought most those tough guys were jerks for picking on people different than them. They were boring, really. That’s eerie, Doc. How do you do that stuff. Hey, don’t go getting smug on me.”

“Is there a smuggish look on my face?”

“Yeah.”

“Sorry. Were you thinking of Beth as you returned to your office?”

“Actually, I was trying to not think of her. ‘Course, as soon as I went back I got something that cleared the memory of meeting Beth right away.”

“Oh? Continue.”

”Continue? Right. Well, there was this suit waiting for me….”