Sunlight drowned the office in bright white. Robert sat in the waiting area on a blue vinyl chair. The office was empty.
“Rob?” Dr. Anderson asked through the cracked door.
“Doc?” Robert removed his hat. “Got a minute?”
“Come on in. What seems to be the trouble?”
Rob closed the door. He looked around. “My ears.” he whispered.
“Trouble hearing?”
“No!” Rob replied. Then whispered, “hearing too much. Voices.”
“What are they saying?”
“Well, they told me to come down here.”
“Maybe I’m not the right kind of Doctor, Rob.”
“Doc, I’ve known you for a long time, no? Well, I ain’t crazy. You know that.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing. But here’s an excellent psychiatrist. Maybe just take a look.”
“They told me you’d say that.”
“Really?” Dr. Anderson looked at Robert’s shirt and felt resignation. “What else did they say?”
“That you’d get the first diagnosis wrong.”
“Why tell you to come down here when they knew what I would say?”
“I’m not sure…”
“But?”
“They said you’d say that too.”
“Pretty smart. What else should I say?”
“They stopped at that.”
“So, from this point forward it’s all new to you?”
“Pretty much. But I know you pretty well, so not completely.”
“Let me take a look.” Dr. Anderson moved next to Robert and peered in the ear. He saw the ear drum, then a spark. He checked his ear-scope and looked again. Sparks everywhere. He felt a shock. He thought he heard something, but wasn’t sure.