Adele -- Week Four

Paul cleans up his couch after a quick daytime visit from Wendy. In his session with Adele, he shares his discomfort with the close relationship Max and Steve share. He's afraid that Max has been keeping it from him to protect him and so, not wanting to put his son in that position, Paul has not revealed the news that he thinks he may have Parkinson's. Paul complains that, unlike his patients, he has no real passion in his life. He assumes that Adele's work is her passion, having looked her up online and found an impressive listing of publications and conferences she's attended, many of which are recent, unlike his. He admits there are times when he feels like he's accomplishing something in his sessions, such as when Sunil revealed his decades-old relationship with Malini. Adele notices that Paul is engaged when describing this moment in a way he hasn't been since describing his dream, weeks earlier. Suddenly, Paul realizes that the dream is set at his primary school in England, where he had plans to join many clubs, but was moved away by his father to Baltimore, where his mother's illness effectively ended his childhood. Adele points out that Paul had enough time to pursue his interests, but caring for his mother was a convenient escape from trying out something new. It's a pattern he still engages in, cutting himself off with fake diagnoses and pre-assigned explanations rather than exploring his potential interests. Paul is struck by Adele's confidence and ability to see through him. He reveals that during his daytime tryst with Wendy, he was thinking about Adele. He notices she doesn't wear a wedding ring and imagines that she understands his loneliness, though he quickly dismisses his feelings as "textbook transference."