The reason Roth was so good at seeming to be a good counsellor was because he had quite a lot of patience. He found other human beings fascinating, and he considered himself a student of human behaviour. "I like to think I've done some good," he said, smiling a little. "But it's more than just nightmares. There's more than enough going on at the moment to give the most stable among us anxiety, isn't there?" he asked.
He could see the young man, who still hadn't bothered to share his name, was relaxing slightly. The prickly sorts were the most rewarding, of course, because they were the most difficult.