The Therapist - Chapter 1

He caught her eye as soon as she sat down at the table. It was the shape and colour that did it; the wide curve and the deep red. Her mouth was watering and she had to look away.  Why did Jake insist on coming back to this place time after time? Yes, the gesture was romantic in that it harkened back to the early days of their relationship. At this point though, the temptation was just too much.

She looked again at her watch. Where was he? Trying desperately not to look at the delicious looking wine glass on the gentleman’s table next to her she closed her eyes and massaged her temples.  Only ninety minutes to her appointment, only ninety minutes. Peeking through her eyelashes she spotted Jake rushing towards the table.  With a sigh, she faked a grin up into his still amazing blue eyes as he kissed her on the cheek. “Sorry I’m late babe, this deal won’t leave me alone.”

“No worries, lover.  I only have an hour though; I have an appointment at 1:30.” She perused the menu, even though she knew everything on it. “And Jake, next time, not here, please?”  She looked up at him and smiled, for real this time, as she caught his gaze over the menus.  She watched as his shoulders fell.

“Geez, Kat, I can’t believe I forgot. Next time I will remember, I promise. Six months and you’d think I could remember a small detail like that.” He smiled apologetically, and she was fixated on that for a minute, then shook her head.  Seventy minutes to her appointment. Her gaze slid one last time over to the glass at the next table.  A good Tuscan red, she’d swear on that. Taking a deep breath, she signaled the waiter over and ordered her favourite thing off Liscano’s menu – their carbonara.

She spent the next fifty minutes reminiscing with Jake, going over the evening’s schedule, worrying about Mitch’s latest escapade with the daycare and trying not to tap her foot or look at the glass anymore. Staying engaged still had not come back to her. “Patience,” she thought to herself, “patience.”

Finally her phone beeped the reminder.  By then Jake had paid the bill and her coffee cup was half empty. “That’s it, hon, I have to go. Can’t be late!” She rose from her chair, dragging her coat and bag behind as she leaned down and kissed him on those lips that had held her attention at the beginning of lunch. “Sorry to rush off, but you know how much I need this.”

“Happy anniversary, Kat. I know you need it, but I wish we were enough.” His tone said so much more than his words and she struggled to suppress her impatience.  He was right, and he was being honest, a lot more than she deserved. He grasped her hand tightly as she went to move past him. “One day at a time, right?”

With one last, wistful glance at the next table’s wine glass, now empty, she bit her lip before smiling down at him, trying to show her love and appreciation for him in her now slightly watering brown eyes. “See you later, lover.”  And then she was out the door.

The blocks couldn’t go fast enough.  She kept her eyes focused straight ahead, ignoring the two local pubs she passed, the two liquor stores and the open air café on the corner of her destination building. “Just need to get to the meeting, just need the meeting,” over and over again went the litany in her head. 

And then she was there, the elevator heading up the flights in no time at all. Down the hall to the brick red door with the brass letters she knew so well.  She wiggled her fingers hello at Nancy briefly on her way through to the inner office, tossing her things on a chair. The desperation was fading a bit, the distraction and comfort of knowing the meeting was at hand doing its work. She hadn’t believed her therapis when he said this would work, but it would appear he was right. Smoothing her long chestnut hair and the pleats of her skirt one last time she grabbed her notebook and went into the meeting room. She took a deep breath and then her seat.

“Hello Channing. My name is Dr. Meyrick.” Reaching across the gap between their chairs, she offered her hand and was pleasantly surprised by her patient’s firm grip. She looked the young man in the eye and smiled gently, smiled genuinely. “Thank you for coming to see me today. I will review the file you created with Nancy after our session. This first hour is all about getting to know each other and seeing if I can be of help to you?” Kat released his hand and opened her notebook. “Now tell me, how long has it been since you returned from Afghanistan?”