Portrait by a patient.(Opening the word hoard)

He's always the same: late; slightly scruffy--never doing up his top button; tie not straight or not there. I like the doctor to be neat, to look as if he's bothered. And it sometimes smells so stale in there, especially if a lot of people have been in on a hot day, so he usually has the window open, but then the traffic is so noisy.

He always seems tense and rushed, as if he really wants to be doing something else and not listening to me. He keeps tapping at his keyboard, or looking at the screen or at my records on his lap. He doesn't seem to look at me very much, although you can't tell with those eyes looking so small behind his glasses, darting here and there.

He seems to listen for a while, although he might be just dreaming or …