A Room of Their Own Rakefet Yarden (top 10 novels of all time TXT) 📖

the same time I was getting closer. It was hard for me to contain it all, but I also felt a kind of relief trickling into me.

“And Dani . . . I also realized that I need to ask for your forgiveness,” she said in tears.

“Forgiveness for what?”

“For not protecting you. It might be that deep down, I knew what he was doing to you. When the whole mess with his students and with that girl from the hospital started, I wasn’t surprised at all. It was clear to me that it was the truth, not just false accusations. After he and Grandma left for New York, and while Dad was causing an uproar and trying to clear his name, I knew that it was the truth. There wasn’t a shadow of a doubt. But when you started withdrawing inwards, I saw that you were suffering, and I couldn’t be there for you. I couldn’t protect you, and I’m sorry. I’ve been a terrible sister.”

She was sobbing. A flood of tears washed over her face. I’d never seen her like that. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t understand where it had all suddenly come from, without any warning, where she’d kept it all this time. It was only that same morning that we were at the ranch together, and everything still seemed normal and fine.

I touched her. I tried to comfort her, but there was no real comfort there. Guilt is an unbearable, abysmal emotion. “I don’t blame you, Tali.” I’d felt the need to call her by a nickname, to get closer to her. “You did what you could at the time. And you, too, were hurt and suffering.” She seemed to calm down a bit. “But, how did Dad react when you told him?” I asked.

“I don’t really know. He seemed to be angry. And then I thought that he felt guilty. But I have no idea what he really felt. He was just quiet. It was pretty terrible. I so wanted him to say something.”

“It’s strange that he hasn’t spoken to me about it yet. When did you tell him?”

“About a week ago, two or three days after you got out of the hospital.”

Wow, a whole week, I thought to myself. I wonder what he’s planning to do . . . He usually doesn’t waste any time, and he calls immediately, and then continues to call until he gets the answers he wants out of me.

Since my release, I’d really wanted to tell him already, to finally free myself of the secrets, but I kept postponing the conversation. I was afraid of the questions, the probing. I didn’t expect silence, though, and that confused me.

“Are you happy about your decision to sign yourself out of the hospital?” Tal suddenly changed the subject.

“Oh, yeah, I think I am. I know that I wasn’t able to stay there anymore. I feel better now.”

“Great. That’s good, really good.” She gave a little smile while staring at some far away spot. I knew that she wasn’t really with me.

Registered Mail

Once I saw the notice taped to my clinic’s front door, I realized that my lunch break at the café would be replaced by standing in a long line at the nearby post office.

The clerk handed me a white envelope with a tired smile. “Addressed to: Ms. Rotem Golan.” I stared at the name badge on the clerk’s blouse. “Thanks, Avishag,” I said. She awakened somewhat by the sound of her name, and leaned forward a bit in acknowledgement. I quickly peeled open the envelope.

“The complainant: Dr. Arik Freedman. The accused: Ms. Rotem Golan. Summoned for trial due to . . . and in accordance with slander laws, on behalf of the deceased, Prof. Amnon Freedman, for planting false memories . . . revocation of therapist’s license . . . one month to retract, otherwise the lawsuit shall proceed.” My eyes sped over it all. “Please inform of your decision as soon as possible. Signed, Dalia Freedman, Attorney-at-Law.”

I hadn’t expected that at all . . . I gathered that Dani’s parents had been told. Not that I’d expected a bouquet of roses at my clinic once they’d heard that his father had molested his daughter, but still − a lawsuit? Threatening me with taking away my license if I don’t deny Dani’s story? Isn’t that getting a little bit carried away? What do I do now? Call my insurance broker and get my legal defense on board? Call Eyal first and hear what he thinks? Or just go home, draw the curtains and go to sleep? Wait, and what about Dani? What’s happening with her right now? Maybe I should check that first.

“Do you really think so, Dani? Do you really think we should forget about this whole thing?”

Dani looked at me, filled with guilt, embarrassed to her very core. “What do you want me to do, Rotem?” She’d been worried about her father suing me from the very beginning. And that’s precisely what he ended up doing.

“They’re bringing some professor from the United States to testify, an expert at planting memories. They’ll . . .”

“For all I care, they can bring Freud out of his grave to testify! This isn’t anything new. He, too, had given in to the pressure and retracted his acknowledging of incest − he said that women were hysterical. Those days are gone. Your parents may not lack for money, but they do very much lack the truth. That, too, can’t always be in two places at once. Not everything can be bent, interpreted, and squashed according to one’s convenience.”

“But . . . what if your license gets revoked?” she asked hesitantly.

“Then it’ll be an opportunity for a career change. I’ve always wanted to be a writer . . . Come on, Dani, revoking a therapist’s license is no easy feat, especially since they need to prove something that never happened, such as memory planting. We are not giving up! I’m sticking