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Dr. Balis:
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Hello, Anna. Please come in.
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Ms. Green:
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Hello, Doctor Balis.
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Dr. Balis:
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You look tired. Have you been getting enough sleep lately?
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Ms. Green:
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Oh, I haven't been sleeping well, actually.
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Dr. Balis:
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Do you still feel uncomfortable in the new house?
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Ms. Green:
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I guess it's better now. I did what you suggested and invited my parents over for the weekend. It was the first time they've stayed over at my place--well, the Professor's place--since I moved away from home.
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Dr. Balis:
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And how was that?
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Ms. Green:
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It was nice. They drove up Saturday afternoon, and I made an early dinner for them. Sunday, they took me out for brunch. It was all very nice.
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Dr. Balis:
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Did you talk about Martin and Kathy at all?
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Ms. Green:
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A bit.
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Dr. Balis:
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And? I feel like I'm pulling teeth with you today, Anna. Are you not in a mood to talk or is there something bothering you?
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Ms. Green:
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I'm sorry, Doctor. I'll try to be more cooperative. Let's see. My mother really wanted to know how I was feeling. And I mean she really wanted to know. So every time my dad stepped out of the room, she rushed over to me and started probing: "How do I feel? Have I spoken to anyone recently? Am I seeing anyone yet?" It's only been a few weeks. What is she expecting? A knight in shining armor? That would be a miracle. Maybe she wants me to get back together with Martin.
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Dr. Balis:
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You sound resentful.
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Ms. Green:
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I guess I am a bit. By the time she was my age, my mom was married already. But that was then. People don't even start looking for a life-partner until they're in their thirties now.
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Dr. Balis:
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You considered marrying Martin.
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Ms. Green:
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And look where that landed me. I'm living alone in a giant house which isn't mine, full of furniture and stuff lurking in the corners which doesn't leave me alone.
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Dr. Balis:
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Hmm.
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Ms. Green:
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You know that chair you told me to move?
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Dr. Balis:
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Yes.
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Ms. Green:
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Well, I did move it and I didn't move it back. But that piece of clean carpet is screaming at me, Doctor. I cringe every time I even think of that stupid patch of wool.
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Dr. Balis:
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I see.
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Ms. Green:
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But don't worry, Doctor. I'm determined not to move that chair back. I'm doing everything in my power to get that part of the carpet as dirty as the rest of the house.
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Dr. Balis:
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Hmm. Wouldn't it be easier to clean the whole carpet instead?
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Ms. Green:
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Perhaps. But it wouldn't be as much fun. Now, I deliberately wear dirty shoes in the house.
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Dr. Balis:
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Hmm.
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Ms. Green:
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But frankly, I just hadn't thought of your clean solution.
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Dr. Balis:
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How about the cutlery?
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Ms. Green:
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I'm using mine now. And it's better. But I had to spend a lot of time drawing charts documenting the original location of all those stupid utensils.
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Dr. Balis:
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I see. But now it's done, and you don't have to think about it again, right?
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Ms. Green:
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I guess. Except that when my parents came to dinner and my mom wanted to help me cook, she couldn't find anything. She is used to where everything used to be--they went over to that house for dinner a few times before.
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Dr. Balis:
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Tell me more about your mom.
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Ms. Green:
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She is fine. She is very sweet, in fact. It's just that she had these expectations of how my life will unfold, and it's not working out that way.
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Dr. Balis:
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Do you think she is disappointed?
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Ms. Green:
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I know she is. A lot of her friends have become grandmothers now, and she wants to be one, too. But she doesn't want me to be unhappy and in some relationship just to get a grandchild. She is just a worrier. But my dad was great and ran interference for me a whole bunch of times while they were there.
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Dr. Balis:
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Do you feel pressured by your mother to be in a relationship?
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Ms. Green:
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Pressured is not exactly right. I just know that she wants me to be with someone...to find someone that I can be happy with. And I want that, too. But I haven't encountered any prospects yet, except maybe...
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Dr. Balis:
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Yes?
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Ms. Green:
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You know how I've always felt about you.
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Dr. Balis:
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Don't even go there, Anna.
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Ms. Green:
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I know.
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Dr. Balis:
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How's work?
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Ms. Green:
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Smooth transition, Doctor.
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Dr. Balis:
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Anything interesting going on?
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Ms. Green:
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I think quite the opposite.
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Dr. Balis:
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What do you mean?
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Ms. Green:
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Well, when our programming team was first chosen for the millennium bug project, it was great. We got all sorts of perks during and after. I'm even looking at getting a huge bonus this quarter.
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Dr. Balis:
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So what's the problem?
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Ms. Green:
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Well, the problem is that I'm part of the millennium bug team.
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Dr. Balis:
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I'm not following you.
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Ms. Green:
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Well, now the SII Mole has been released. There has been a lot of good publicity, and people seem to like it. I have to say that I feel a little like a proud mom when it comes to the Mole. We have little cartoons of the Mole character that we designed all over our cubicles. It's kind of cute.
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Dr. Balis:
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Hmm.
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Ms. Green:
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The Marketing Department doesn't seem to like it as much as we do, though--something about it being a bit oversexed. But Lloyd, I'm told, likes it just fine. He has one hanging in his office.
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Dr. Balis:
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I see. But what does this have to do with your obvious feeling of unhappiness regarding your job?
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Ms. Green:
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Well, that was fun. But now every Tom, Dick, and Harry wants a customized version of SII Mole for their organization.
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Dr. Balis:
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Big demand?
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Ms. Green:
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You can definitely say that. And since I was on the original team, I get the privilege of being on the Mole customization team. At this rate, I'll be doing Moles until I turn eighty.
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Dr. Balis:
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Hmm.
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Ms. Green:
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I'll get paid well, but I don't stand a chance of doing anything fun ever again.
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Dr. Balis:
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I guess everything has it's downside.
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Ms. Green:
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Yeah. At least I'm busy; that helps a lot.
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Dr. Balis:
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Are you still having imaginary conversations with Kathy?
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Ms. Green:
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Yes.
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Dr. Balis:
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Do you feel like you're reaching closure with respect to that relationship?
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Ms. Green:
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Let me tell you about my dungeon, Doctor.
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Dr. Balis:
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Smooth transition, Anna.
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Ms. Green:
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Well, the boys at the office kept bugging me about all that S&M crap. So I invited them to come and see. We got together last Tuesday evening and had a party.
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Dr. Balis:
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Really?
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Ms. Green:
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It wasn't a real S&M party--none of them really had a clue about that. So I don't feel like I have violated the Professor's covenants or anything.
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Dr. Balis:
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Of course not.
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Ms. Green:
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No, really. It was more like a field trip into a S&M culture. I got dressed up in my little leather outfit and demonstrated the many toys Professor and Eleanor are into. It was a ball. David was very funny. He felt that since he had actually been to one of these things before, he got to act as my assistant. He even tried to dress the part. He wore these leather pants and jacket, and a pair of cowboy's boots. No shirt. When I saw him, I just had to laugh. But he tried. It wasn't close, but he tried.
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Dr. Balis:
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Did your co-workers enjoy the field trip?
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Ms. Green:
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Very much. I showed off the shoes that Martin gave me. I'm sure they'd seen stuff like that before, but probably never on a real live person. And I did a paddling demonstration--David volunteered.
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Dr. Balis:
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I see.
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Ms. Green:
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That was my favorite part. That boy deserves a beating.
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Dr. Balis:
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Anything else?
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Ms. Green:
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No. We ordered pizza and watched a movie I rented.
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Dr. Balis:
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What movie?
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Ms. Green:
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It was sort of an S&M tutorial. I picked it up at the store.
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Dr. Balis:
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Kathy's store?
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Ms. Green:
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She no longer works there.
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Dr. Balis:
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How did it feel to go back there?
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Ms. Green:
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Strange. I half expected to see Kathy there.
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Dr. Balis:
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Did you want to see her?
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Ms. Green:
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I don't know. But she wasn't there. There was some idiot running the store. He didn't even know where anything was. I had to help him out when a customer asked him for some assistance on locating hypoallergenic lubricant.
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Dr. Balis:
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Hmm.
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Ms. Green:
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It's late, isn't it?
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Dr. Balis:
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Yes, we are out of time.
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Ms. Green:
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I can see that. Well, I better be going then. I'll see you next week, Doctor.
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Dr. Balis:
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All right, I'll see then. Goodbye, Anna.
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Ms. Green:
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Goodbye, Doctor.
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###
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Doctor Balis' Notes on this Session
Transcripts of Anna Green's Communications
