Lucy

She reads a room in the first minute, whether you want to talk or whether the day has been bad, and adjusts without ever having to ask twice. Her pressure is firmer than people expect from someone her size, and she works with plenty of gel and long passes that never let the warmth drop away. Six years here have left her fond of the middle of the city in exactly the way residents usually are not. English, spoken dryly; ninety minutes and two hours are her ordinary bookings, and she is straightforward about an hour being short.

Lucy 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.