Every Memory Repeats

Chapter 5

John found himself knocking on the door to Isabella's loft early the next morning. A look of surprise came over her face, quickly followed by a huge smile, "John! I wasn't expecting to see you!"

John stepped inside, saying, "I needed to speak with you about something."

"Do you want some coffee? I just made a fresh pot," she said, walking into the kitchen area, and taking two mugs from the cabinet.

"Yeah, a cup of coffee would be nice," John said, shrugging out of his jacket.

"So," she said with a smile, handing him his mug. "What did I do to deserve this surprise visit? I thought we were meeting for lunch."

"Marlena said, that you told Roman she was seeing me as a patient," John said, deciding to be direct with her.

"Oh, I may have mentioned it in passing," Isabella said casually. "I ran into him on the pier the other night."

"Isabella, that's my business. Why would you tell him that?"

"I thought he knew already," she said defensively.

"Marlena doesn't discuss her patients with anyone, except her colleagues."

"I just assumed that her husband would know that she was seeing her ex-husband as a patient. It was an honest mistake," she said. "Would you like me to make you some breakfast?"

"That's the thing," he said, putting his mug down on the counter, and giving her a hard look. "I'm not sure if it was an honest mistake."

Isabella was surprised that John had said that. She seemed to think the conversation was over. "John, I was walking on the pier, and ran into Roman. I casually mentioned that you were back in therapy, trying to learn more about your past. That's all."

"But there's no reason to tell him that. You know he can't stand me. You know he might have a problem if Marlena were my doctor! Why would you tell him anything?"

Isabella looked away. She began to rummage through the fridge, and finally pulled out some eggs and bacon, "The baby makes me so hungry."

"Don't change the subject," John said.

"I'm not. I'm making breakfast. I don't know what more you'd like me to say. I mentioned it to Roman. I'm sorry. When did you see Marlena, anyway?"

"Last night, when she was picking up the twins," John said.

"And she just happened to mention to you, that I'd told Roman you were doing therapy with her? Why would she do that, unless she was trying to start trouble?" Isabella said haughtily, trying to deflect from what she had done.

"She was concerned that my fiancé was sharing information that I might not want shared," John said, feeling himself get angry.

"You give her too much credit, John," Isabella told him.

"I feel like you intentionally told Roman I was seeing Marlena for therapy to cause problems. Causing an argument between Marlena and Roman, might lead to her dropping me as a patient." John watched as Isabella's eyes flicked away from his for a moment, and he said, "That's what you were hoping for, wasn't it? You have been absolutely incensed over the fact that I am determined to learn about my past, but the thing that infuriates you the most is that Marlena is helping me do it? Isn't that right?"

Isabella slammed the bacon onto the counter, "How many psychiatrists work at that hospital, John? How many? And she's the only one you can see?"

"She's the only one who knows me. She's the only one I trust."