China added wistfully.China looked at me quizzically when I responded: “It would be great if you could fit me in.” I wanted to get into the brisk rhythm that I’d imagined for my analysis. In truth I was a bit taken aback by China’s willingness to have me come right up to her room. I have always wanted to enter my analysts’ inner sancta, but now that I was given access, I was apprehensive. I didn’t want to know China’s inner workings. I wanted to keep her at a distance as the idealized parent who would one day rescue me from myself. I was concerned that her analytic couch was in fact her bed. If we proceeded to undertake a full analysis, and simultaneously began an affair in keeping with the latest trends in analysis, where would I find the time to meet whores? I still hadn’t been to The Gringo.Schmucker was wearing his customary outfit — blue blazer, rep tie, and thick rubber-soled shoes. I wondered if there was a chain of stores that catered to analysts like Schmucker, supplying certified non-descript attire.
