"I don't need to do this," I moaned.
"Just humor me then," he said, and snapped off the room light. He turned on the projector and put the first shape on the screen. "Please," he said. "The faster we do this, the faster you can relax."
Reluctantly, I responded.
"It looks like the head of an eel."
"An eel, good. And this?"
"Some kind of hose."
"Go on."
"A twisted sycamore limb. . Spanish Moss. . . An alligator tail . . . A dead fish."
"Why dead?"
"It's not moving," I said.
He laughed. "Of course. And this?"
"A mother and a child."
"What's the child doing?"
"Breast-feeding."
"Yes."
He flashed a half-dozen more pictures and then put on the lights.
"Okay," he said, sitting across from me with his notebook. "I'm going to say a word and you respond immediate-y again, no thought. Just what comes first to mind, understand?" I just looked down.
"Understand?" I nodded.
"Can't we just see Daphne and end this?"
"In due time," he said. "Lips."
"What?"
"What comes to mind first when I say, 'lips'?" "A kiss."
"Hands."
"Work."
He recited a few dozen words at me, jotting down my reactions and then he sat back, nodding.
"Can I go home now?" I asked.
He smiled and stood up. "We have a few more tests to go through, some talking to do. It won't be too long, I promise. Since you have been cooperative, I'm going to permit you to go to the recreation area before lunch. Find something to read, something to do, and I'll see you again real soon, okay?"
"No, it's not okay," I said. "I want to call my daddy. Can I at least do that?"
"We don't permit patients to use the
telephones."