Carstairs demanded without preamble.
'I hope so. It's not an exact science and there won't be miracles overnight,' Ginger cautioned. 'There will be a lot of hard work, not least for Tess. She needs to know she has understanding and support.'
'We don't know why she's doing this to us.' Mr Carstairs shifted from foot to foot, puzzled and angry. 'Tess has never been any trouble before.'
Ginger curbed a flash of irritation. 'Tess isn't doing this to you. She's not being naughty or vain or difficult or silly. She has an illness and she's hurting emotionally. If we don't help her now, she could become very ill indeed.'
Tess may have been given everything money could buy but what the girl needed and wanted most of all was some love. From what Nic di Angelis had told her, and she had been able to piece together from Tess today, the parents had high expectations in terms of academic achievements and future prospects, dismissing the girl's own dreams and wishes, leaving her feeling overwhelmed, unheard and unable to measure up.
With low self-esteem, feeling swamped and ignored, Tess had responded by punishing herself and exerting control in the only area she could— her food intake.
'Your daughter is pretty and intelligent, but she is also very unhappy and lacking in self-worth,' Ginger continued, watching for Tess's return to ensure she did not overhear the discussion. 'It means a commitment from you to bring Tess to us once a week for the regular appointments she needs. Sadly we have no residential places at the moment.' Another reason why she was so angry at the department closure next year and doubly determined to open her own clinic. 'We have a good success rate here and we'll do everything we can to help Tess.'
'Thank you.' Mrs Carstairs was clearly taken aback, the seriousness of her daughter's situation slowly sinking in.
Mr Carstairs cleared his throat, a frown of dissatisfaction on his face. 'Friday, is it, you want to see Tess again, Dr O'Neill?'
'That's right.' Ginger smiled as Tess rejoined them, her movements slow and listless. She rested a hand on the girl's narrow shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze. 'Friday mornings at ten o'clock, weekly for the foreseeable future. We'll need longer for the first few appointments as Tess will be meeting more of the team who will be working with her and setting up a treatment programme.'
'What about school?' Mr Carstairs posed a further complication, showing his doubt about Tess's need for help. 'I don't want Tess falling behind with her academic work.'
Reading the girl's tension under her hand, Ginger remained calm but firm. 'I'll talk with Tess's head teacher in strictest confidence, but we've never had any problem with schools being unwilling to cooperate in helping improve health and well-being.'
'Thank you, Dr O'Neill.' Mrs Carstairs flashed a glare at her husband. 'We'll do all we can. We want our daughter to be well, too.'
Hoping harmony would prevail and they would all be working together to support Tess, Ginger watched as the unhappy family left. There was a long road ahead and today was just the first step on that journey. Returning to her room, Ginger made a few more notes to discuss with her team before Tess returned on Friday and then called in her final appointment of the morning, hoping she could regain her focus and banish the painful images and thoughts of Cameron that were a constant distraction.
Head down, lost in thought, Cameron made his way back to his car. It was Wednesday, exactly a week since he had first seen Ginger on the train to London and his life had irrevocably changed.
He couldn't get her out of his mind. He had been through an unhappy marriage and acrimonious divorce, he had suffered an unimaginable loss from which he'd wondered if he would ever recover, but he had never experienced the kind of disappointment and soul-deep ache that had been with him since Ginger had walked away from him.
Was she right? Did the fact that they
'I hope so. It's not an exact science and there won't be miracles overnight,' Ginger cautioned. 'There will be a lot of hard work, not least for Tess. She needs to know she has understanding and support.'
'We don't know why she's doing this to us.' Mr Carstairs shifted from foot to foot, puzzled and angry. 'Tess has never been any trouble before.'
Ginger curbed a flash of irritation. 'Tess isn't doing this to you. She's not being naughty or vain or difficult or silly. She has an illness and she's hurting emotionally. If we don't help her now, she could become very ill indeed.'
Tess may have been given everything money could buy but what the girl needed and wanted most of all was some love. From what Nic di Angelis had told her, and she had been able to piece together from Tess today, the parents had high expectations in terms of academic achievements and future prospects, dismissing the girl's own dreams and wishes, leaving her feeling overwhelmed, unheard and unable to measure up.
With low self-esteem, feeling swamped and ignored, Tess had responded by punishing herself and exerting control in the only area she could— her food intake.
'Your daughter is pretty and intelligent, but she is also very unhappy and lacking in self-worth,' Ginger continued, watching for Tess's return to ensure she did not overhear the discussion. 'It means a commitment from you to bring Tess to us once a week for the regular appointments she needs. Sadly we have no residential places at the moment.' Another reason why she was so angry at the department closure next year and doubly determined to open her own clinic. 'We have a good success rate here and we'll do everything we can to help Tess.'
'Thank you.' Mrs Carstairs was clearly taken aback, the seriousness of her daughter's situation slowly sinking in.
Mr Carstairs cleared his throat, a frown of dissatisfaction on his face. 'Friday, is it, you want to see Tess again, Dr O'Neill?'
'That's right.' Ginger smiled as Tess rejoined them, her movements slow and listless. She rested a hand on the girl's narrow shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze. 'Friday mornings at ten o'clock, weekly for the foreseeable future. We'll need longer for the first few appointments as Tess will be meeting more of the team who will be working with her and setting up a treatment programme.'
'What about school?' Mr Carstairs posed a further complication, showing his doubt about Tess's need for help. 'I don't want Tess falling behind with her academic work.'
Reading the girl's tension under her hand, Ginger remained calm but firm. 'I'll talk with Tess's head teacher in strictest confidence, but we've never had any problem with schools being unwilling to cooperate in helping improve health and well-being.'
'Thank you, Dr O'Neill.' Mrs Carstairs flashed a glare at her husband. 'We'll do all we can. We want our daughter to be well, too.'
Hoping harmony would prevail and they would all be working together to support Tess, Ginger watched as the unhappy family left. There was a long road ahead and today was just the first step on that journey. Returning to her room, Ginger made a few more notes to discuss with her team before Tess returned on Friday and then called in her final appointment of the morning, hoping she could regain her focus and banish the painful images and thoughts of Cameron that were a constant distraction.
Head down, lost in thought, Cameron made his way back to his car. It was Wednesday, exactly a week since he had first seen Ginger on the train to London and his life had irrevocably changed.
He couldn't get her out of his mind. He had been through an unhappy marriage and acrimonious divorce, he had suffered an unimaginable loss from which he'd wondered if he would ever recover, but he had never experienced the kind of disappointment and soul-deep ache that had been with him since Ginger had walked away from him.
Was she right? Did the fact that they
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