Black Beans & Vice (3 page)

"Do I detect the sound of pan pipes?" James murmured softly
in hopes of making Lucy grin. Ever since Jane and Eliot had become such a significant part of his life, Lucy had become more distant around James. She was always polite, but he knew that she
was still coming to terms with the reality that any chance of rekindling their romance had evaporated.

Not only did Lucy place law enforcement at the center of her
life, but she also wanted to be free of dependents other than her
trio of gargantuan German Shepherds. Still, James knew that although the gift of fatherhood had changed him forever (and for
the good), Lucy viewed his new circumstance as a personal slight.
He felt completely fulfilled and as of this point, she did not. Because he understood the crushing weight of loneliness and the
sorrowful feeling of having been rejected, James tried to make his
former flame smile whenever he could.

Unaffected by his attempt at humor, Lucy skirted around the
plush mauve sofa and approached the coffee table. She investigated each magazine closely but James knew she wasn't really interested in the office's reading material. She was merely nervous
and was looking for clues as to Harmony York's personality. Eying
a small, gold-painted Buddha on the receptionist's desk, James had
to admit he shared Lucy's trepidation.

He settled down on the sofa with a copy of Body +Soul Magazine and had just flipped to an article on the best workout for one's
body shape when a pretty woman in her mid-twenties entered the
room from deeper within the cottage.

"Namaste!" She said and, folding her palms together, bowed
her upper body. A curtain of shiny brown hair fell over her shoulders as she did so. Gillian immediately returned the greeting while
the rest of the supper club members merely smiled idiotically.

"My name is Skye," the young woman said. "I'm Harmony's assistant."

Bennett rolled his eyes at the name and Lindy quickly stepped
in front of him. "You're the one I spoke with on the phone. Thanks
for mailing me the brochure. It sure convinced us to give this a
try."

Skye swept her arm around the room in an encompassing gesture. "I'm afraid we don't offer group hypnotherapy. Are you all
here for the consultation?"

"Yes," Lindy answered firmly. "We have the same goal and since
the first session is free, I figured we'd save Harmony's time by coming together." She smiled warmly at her friends. "Besides, we like to
support one another when it comes to our issues with food-"

Gillian interrupted, "So it makes sense for us to embark on this
exciting new journey as one entity. We believe we'll have better
success this way."

Skye digested this rationale for a moment and appeared to
have no objections. "Well, let me just tell Harmony that she has
five clients waiting for her." She gazed at each of them warmly and
then said, "Please, help yourselves to some pure spring water flavored with organic orange slices. I'll be back in one moment"

James watched the poised young lady walk away and then pivoted. "Where is the water?" He found that he was suddenly very
thirsty.

Bennett licked his lips and pointed at a stainless steel pitcher on
Skye's desk. "Man, I could slurp down a lake right about now. Was
that the power of suggestion or what?"

Fortified with glasses of cool and refreshing citrus-flavored water, the five friends made themselves comfortable. They had barely
sipped from their recycled cups when Skye returned. "Harmony
would be delighted to talk to you together. It would be a tight
squeeze in her office so she'll meet with you here, in our Welcome
Space."

Skye dipped her head and walked gracefully to her desk. James
watched her sit with the straight-backed posture of a ballerina.
Her fingers moved with deliberate elegance over the computer
keyboard and her face seemed infused with a serene glow. There
was an air of calm assurance about her, an unusual trait in one so
young. It was as if she already knew the answers to life's most significant questions.

I certainly didn't feel that way when I was twenty five, James
thought.

His attention was distracted by the arrival of Harmony York.
James had expected someone with waist-long hair, a flowing skirt,
and leather sandals. Someone who dressed, looked, and acted a
bit like Gillian. Harmony and Gillian might have been cut from
the same cloth, but while Gillian was outfitted in a vibrant tangerine-colored sundress, which echoed the orange shade of her wild,
frizzy hair, Harmony wore a plain gray suit and a light blue blouse.
Her hair was silver and fashioned in a sleek bob. She was in her late fifties, James guessed, though her age was difficult to approximate as her skin was mostly smooth and shone with the light of
good health.

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you." She went around the room,
shaking hands with her five potential clients and asking for their
names. She then pulled one of the side chairs positioned near
Skye's desk to the center of the room. She sat, smoothed her pants,
and studied each and every one of them. Normally, such scrutiny
would discomfit James, but Harmony's gentle, almost caressing
gaze actually encouraged him to relax.

"Now." She smiled. "Let me tell you what we do here. I will be
your therapist and Skye will take care of scheduling, billing, and
the creation of your daily listening CDs. I'll explain how those
work in a moment. First and foremost, allow me to assure you that
anything you tell me will remain in the strictest confidence. During your therapy session, I'll talk to you, but I will also ask you
questions. I'll be taking notes on your answers, but none of my
movements will interrupt your relaxed state."

Bennett cleared his throat. "So we're not under? We know
what's happenin' to us?"

"Absolutely," Harmony answered calmly. "This isn't sideshow
hypnosis where you're tricked into submitting to another person's
suggestions purely for the sake of entertainment. You will enter a
deeply relaxed state so that your mind can become incredibly focused and alert while your body rests. I will ask your mind to do
something for you and, with repetition, your mind will respond."

Lindy wiggled on her seat in excitement. "Well, like I explained
to Skye, we don't want to be controlled by sugar any longer. Can
you help our bodies to stop wanting it so doggone badly?"

Harmony laughed. Her voice was low and melodious. It reminded James of the seductive pitch shared by so many female actresses from the forties and fifties. "Yes, if you're willing. You see,
that's another misconception about hypnosis. You cannot be hypnotized unless you're willing to be hypnotized. Some people want
to change, but they can't trust enough to let go. I often can't get
through to those clients and I have to suggest another method of
treatment for them."

"What other things do people get help for besides food issues?"
Lucy asked with an edge of skepticism to her voice.

If Harmony picked up on the negative tone, she didn't let it
show. "All kinds of things. Many clients want to stop repeating
bad habits like smoking, overindulging in alcohol, gambling, drug
abuse, and even nail biting. Others seek freedom from phobias
such as a fear of flying or of confined spaces. And many want relief
from chronic pain, depression, or destructive attitudes."

Gillian, who had been hanging on Harmony's every word,
sighed in delight. "Oh, this is so wonderful! When can we begin?"

Harmony rose and walked over to Skye's desk. She returned
with a cup holder filled with pens and several pieces of paper.
"Like everything else, we have to kick things off with paperwork."
She distributed two sheets to each of them. "The first is a consent
form. This basically states that you understand the meaning of
hypnotherapy. If, at any time, you wish to stop your session and
leave the hypnotic state, you have the right and the ability to do
so. You are in control." She grinned as Bennett exhaled audibly in
relief. "We will have three sessions together. Every night, as you lay
down to sleep, you'll listen to your reinforcement CD. That's the
gist of this form."

Lucy's pen hovered over the signature line. "Will any of this be
covered by health insurance?"

"I'm afraid not." Harmony shook her head in genuine regret.
"Payment is required at the end of every session and I'd prefer, if
possible, to receive twenty-four hours advance notice in the event
of a cancelation. Once you sign, feel free to schedule your first session with Skye."

"And what's this? Homework?" Bennett joked as he flourished
the second sheet of paper.

Harmony laughed again. "That's just a diagram to show you
how hypnosis works. My goal is to bypass the conscious mind,
which is where your short-term memory operates, and target the
subconscious mind where permanent memory resides."

The five friends studied the drawing for a moment. Gillian actually traced her finger around the rings representing the different
levels of the mind. James watched her in amusement, wondering
whether she'd try to line up an appointment that very day. "So
we're going to retrain our mind's memory into believing it doesn't
crave sugar?"

Harmony beamed at Gillian as though she were a prize pupil.
"Precisely. We're going to rewire your permanent memory in order to get a positive reaction from your short-term memory. In
this case, your short-term memory will wonder if you feel like a
piece of cake. Your mind will check with your long-term memory and come back with the answer, `No, I don't want to eat cake.
That's no longer a taste I'm interested in"'

Whipping out her checkbook and pocket calendar, Gillian
leapt out of her seat and stood at attention in front of Skye's desk. "When is the next opening? I simply cannot wait to begin this inner journey!"

"How's Tuesday at four-thirty?" Skye inquired.

"Sublime!" Gillian shouted.

Bennett rolled his eyes again. "Like a pig in mud," he muttered.

Lindy jabbed him in the arm with her capped pen. "Not the
best of analogies there, Romeo."

Having booked her preliminary session, Gillian practically
skipped over to Bennett, yanked him out of his sofa seat, and led
him over to Skye. "And give him the five-thirty. This way, I can
track him down if he gets cold feet at the last moment."

Bennett shot James a look of appeal. "That's right, my friend"
James winked. "I want you to think about those feet. Especially the
one with the bruised toes."

A scowl bloomed on Bennett's face and James knew his friend
was picturing their failed workout at the gym. "Five-thirty it is,"
he told Skye with the forlorn resignation of one being led to the
electric chair.

JAMES WOKE IN HIS luxurious king-sized
bed in his yellow house on Hickory Hill
Lane in a good mood. The sun was shining, he could smell freshly brewed coffee
wafting down the hallway, and Eliot and
Jane were driving down from Harrisonburg for dinner.

Sliding his feet into his leather slippers, James filled a mug featuring the slogan, "I'm a Librarian:
Assume I Know Everything," and took a leisurely walk down the
driveway to collect the Saturday paper. Sliding the Shenandoah
Star Ledger into his robe pocket, he examined the flowerbed at the
base of the front porch.

According to last night's garden report on the community television channel, Quincy's Gap and its environs had safely moved
beyond the average date for the season's final frost. The announcer
proclaimed it officially time to begin spring planting.

"Work hard now and rest all summer," the Master Gardener
had suggested.

James decided to heed the expert's advice. He sat at his kitchen
table and searched the paper for sales on tulip and daffodil bulbs,
azalea bushes, and phlox. After showering and dressing in his yard
clothes, a faded William & Mary sweatshirt and jeans that had
gone thin in the knees, James hopped into his old white Bronco
and headed north.

He deliberately selected one of the two-lane highways, doubling the length of the drive time to the nearest Lowe's, but as he
eased the vintage truck around curve after curve, he could feel
his spirits rise as the road steepened. In his opinion, there was no
place else on earth as beautiful as the Shenandoah Valley. The rugged line of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the wild forests, and the
crisp, untainted air had always been a source of strength to James.
After driving for twenty-five miles, he pulled over at one of the
lookouts and parked the Bronco next to a minivan filled with a
vacationing family from Ohio.