Oud-Zuid evenings, usually booked a week before the flight by couples who already know which night of the working week is free.

Conference weeks run to a printed agenda, and a couple reading one together can generally point at the single evening nothing has been scheduled into. That is the evening she is asked for, often before either of you has left home. Italian and English are both available, and she settles on one inside the first minute of a room rather than asking which. At twenty-six she has learned that the partner coming back from a full day of sessions wants less conversation at the door than the partner who spent the day walking. Two hours with one therapist between you is 720 euros, which is where most couples in her district end up.

Beatrice decides which bookings she takes and may decline any of them; she sets the limits for what a session includes, says what they are, and may end a visit at any point, as the terms set out.