The Hypnotist's Love Story

The female first-person narrator says she’s never been hypnotized before but plans to pretend to enjoy it. She describes the hypnotist as a natural-looking woman, and her office is light and airy. She thinks the hypnotist must lead a beautiful, calm life and have a group of supportive girlfriends. The hypnotist asks several questions, and the narrator isn’t entirely truthful.

Over dinner at a restaurant, Ellen’s date says he has something to tell her. He excuses himself and is gone a while. Ellen, nervous, expects he is going to end things. It’s only their fourth date, so tells herself she won’t be hurt, but she likes Patrick. She does a brief relaxation exercise and reflects on her new clients, one a woman with an unexplained pain in her leg, another a woman who wants to quit smoking before her wedding. Ellen has decided she is ready to have sex with Patrick; she’s 35 and looking for a long-term partner.

He returns and explains that his ex-girlfriend has been stalking him for three years. He says she is not violent, but she simply follows him everywhere. He didn’t get any support when he went to the police. She’s a successful career woman, not unusual-looking, and she always pretends they just ran into each other.