The Hypnotist's Love Story

Ellen thinks that Saskia looks sporty and attractive as she cheerfully greets them both by name. Patrick is upset that Saskia knows Ellen, and Ellen “felt as though she had actually been part of a wicked conspiracy with Saskia” (171). For the first time, though, Ellen is angry at Saskia for interrupting what should have been Ellen’s perfect moment. She loves the engagement ring and asks to try it on. Patrick realizes Ellen said she was pregnant.

Saskia tortures herself by imagining a beautiful wedding and a blissful future for Ellen and Patrick. Saskia thinks there is no one in her life who would mourn her when she’s gone. She remembers how Patrick said he was keeping her forever, and she considered them as good as married. She thinks, “I’ll make sure they always know I’m still there, looking in, peering through the glass, tapping on the window. I will never go away” (174).

Patrick tells Ellen if they marry, she will have to accept Saskia as part of the package. Ellen says she can. Patrick is excited about her pregnancy. He says they’ll have a beautiful little girl with blonde hair like Ellen, and Ellen reminds him she’s not blonde. She remembers that Colleen was blonde, though.

Their friends and family are thrilled for them. Patrick and Jack agree to move in with Ellen. She feels both amazed and terrified. She expects “Deborah” will cancel their appointment, but in a way, she hopes to see her. Ellen wants to confront Saskia, and also, she loaned “Deborah” a book. Secretly, Ellen admits she hopes Saskia will see that Ellen is nice and simply step aside.

Saskia’s car breaks down and she calls Ellen to explain she won’t make their appointment, but finds herself unable to speak. Ellen knows it is Saskia anyway.

Saskia had been looking forward to the appointment; she wanted to see how Ellen would react to her. She wanted to ask about their sex life. Saskia fears she can’t act normal again if Ellen already thinks she is “crazy” and should get on with her life.

Rosie knocks on Ellen’s door. She’s smoking a cigarette. She explains she went through with the wedding to Ian, despite her realization that she didn’t love him, because she saw an ex-boyfriend, a man who hurt her, kissing a new woman. She didn’t want to be with the ex, Rosie says, but she couldn’t stand the thought of him moving on. She asks if Ellen can hypnotize Rosie into loving her husband.

Ellen meets her mom for lunch and learns that Anne is dating Ellen’s father. Anne says she always had a crush on David, and he is back in Sydney after his marriage ended. He was shocked to learn about Ellen and wants to meet her. Ellen isn’t sure why she feels so unhappy about her parents being in love.

Saskia learns from her neighbor that he is moving out of their duplex. He wants to start a café and meet someone to share his life with. He says a nice family is moving in. Saskia is upset.

Ellen returns home and wishes she could tell her grandmother, who always felt like a mother to her, that she is about to meet her father, David Greenfield. Ellen sees that Saskia left her book and a flower outside her house. She’s approached by a new client, Alfred Boyle.

Ellen feels guilty telling her mentor, Flynn, about her news, because she suspects Flynn cares about her. Flynn dislikes Danny’s hypno-parties, which he thinks are cheap and flamboyant.

Ellen is dismayed at the boxes that Patrick keeps bringing to her house and leaving in the entryway. She reflects she had always equated messiness with love, but she’s made anxious by the boxes piling up. Patrick promises he will move them.

Patrick informs Ellen that, the last Sunday of every month, he and Jack visit Colleen’s grave and then go to see her parents. He’s convinced he told Ellen about this ritual, but Ellen insists he never mentioned it. Ellen feels tense because she has noticed Patrick talking about Colleen more often. Patrick wants Ellen to go with them that Sunday, but she’s already made plans to meet her father. Patrick asks if she could simply meet her father another time, but Ellen’s mother is very tense about this meeting. Ellen feels resentful that Patrick would prioritize his plans over hers. When he leaves the room, Ellen throws a saucer from her grandmother’s china set against the wall.

Saskia feels that everyone else is moving and “[she’s] the only one standing still” (209). She watches Patrick load his truck and recalls spending time with Jack and being mistaken for Jack’s mother. She remembers when they fed Jack pizza for the first time. Patrick confronts Saskia while she sits in her car outside his house, and Saskia realizes, “He was going all knight-in-shining-armor, protecting his fair maiden from the dragon. Me. I was the dragon” (210).

Ellen regrets breaking the plate that belonged to her grandmother’s china set. Her mother calls and asks if they can change her date to meet Ellen’s father. He and Anne are going yachting for the weekend. Ellen feels hurt but says it’s fine. She’s upset about how irritable she feels. Some of Patrick’s boxes break open, and Ellen spots a photo album of pictures with Colleen. She wants to ask Saskia if Patrick is still in love with his wife.

Alfred Boyle is an accountant who has a fear of public speaking. In their session, Ellen does an age regression with him and Alfred recounts a time in preschool when he was embarrassed when he tried to console a sad girl by sharing a snail he found. Mary-Kate is her next client, and since Mary-Kate seems so sad, and Ellen knows they are both single, she suggests that Alfred try to console the next sad woman he sees. She arranges to leave Alfred and Mary-Kate alone together.

Ellen feels awkward when they reach Colleen’s grave and notes Patrick brought daisies, Colleen’s favorite flower. She reminds herself that he’s brought flowers for her, Ellen, many times. Patrick says he would like to introduce them, so Ellen kneels on Colleen’s grave and says hello. She thinks she’ll never get the grass stains out of her white pants.

Patrick continues to mention Colleen frequently, especially discussing her pregnancy, and Ellen wishes they were experiencing her pregnancy together for the first time. She imagines how Julia will react when Ellen tells her about kneeling on Colleen’s grave and talking to a dead woman.

Saskia reflects that Patrick will be with Colleen’s parents. She remembers meeting them, too. When she thinks back, she realizes, “That Saskia really does seem like someone else, someone I knew well, someone I quite liked—but not actually me” (234). She never thought she would be 43, childless, and a stalker. Earlier, Saskia had a craving to make Anzac biscuits. She went to the supermarket, and Ellen and Patrick were there. Ellen saw her and made eye contact, but Patrick did not.

Saskia reflects on how the stalking started. She felt at a loss not taking care of Jack and was concerned Patrick wouldn’t remember certain things, so she called to remind him. Patrick was cold to her, and Saskia wonders if hating him is one reason she can’t seem to stop loving him. She thinks that if she’d been able to ease her way through the transition, or if he’d ever talked to her and listened to how she felt, things might be different. She wonders if she is the minor character in the hypnotist’s love story, or the villain.

As they drive to Colleen’s parents’ house, Patrick mentions that he has to work later. Ellen had made plans with Julia but now realizes she will have to cancel and take charge of Jack. She tells herself she should be nice and not resentful. She asks Patrick again about moving the boxes, and he says he’ll do it.

Saskia wants to spend her Sunday watching television, but the family who moved in next door—a couple with two kids, a boy and a girl—invite her over for a housewarming. Saskia compares them to Labradors, lively and friendly. She tells them she has a party to go to and gets dressed up. When she leaves the house, she has nowhere to go. She thinks, “Once I was a mother and a wife and a friend and a daughter, and now I am nothing” (247). She thinks if she moves on, it will prove Patrick right, and they weren’t meant to be together. She goes to Ellen’s house, which is locked, but Saskia guesses where Ellen keeps the key.