“So, do you come up with an action plan beforehand? Do you write this plan down and have the other person agree to who’s fulfilling the fantasy?” Dr. Long asked.
“Nah, I don’t want to control it. If we’re going to do it, we just have to trust the other person. Just no friends or family.” Tim suggested.
“That’s fine,” I said quietly.
“So, the final agreement is that you guys do one night only? No friends or family, neither of you will know what the fantasy was or who was chosen to fulfill it?”
“Yeah.” We said at the same time. He nodded and continued to scribble his thoughts.
“What’s the plan for reconnecting after?” He asked, eyebrow raised.
“A vacation?” I suggested, and Tim nodded in agreement.
Dr. Long shot off a couple of questions after that, which I thought were really helpful to the process. He made me and Tim think and discuss things that hadn’t come up during the exercises. After getting over the initial shock of having him be the person to help us get through this, I was actually beginning to be grateful that it was him. He is really good at what he does,and it was no wonder that he had all the accolades that he did. We had some meaningful conversations and even moments of reassurance that I don’t think anyone else would have noticed. By the time the session was over, I felt so much better about everything that had been weighing on me.
“Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, this is the end of your session. I feel like you two have a solid starting point, and the rest of the journey is up to you. If you want to continue your sessions before your solo encounter, you can always schedule another session with my admin. If you want, I can email you some exercises to do after the encounter that help you with reconnection, but I feel confident that you guys have a solid foundation.” Dr. Long said as he stood and silenced his timer.
“Preciate you, doc,” Tim said as they shook hands, and then he extended his hand to help me from the seat.
“Thank you, we appreciate it,” I said. I shook his hand quickly, and then Tim guided me out of the office with his hand on the small of my back.
We walked through the frosted door and out into the office's main lobby, where Shareese was seated, listening to music at a low volume. There was only one other person seated there, in the corner.
“Thank you for visiting Long Term Therapy. Have a great day.” She smiled.
“Thank you, you as well.” I returned the gesture and walked outside.
After we got in the car, the ride was quiet for the most part. I opened my phone and scrolled through a couple of emails. Tim’s hand went to my thigh, causing my eyes to slowly go from my phone to him.
“How do you feel about the therapy session?” He asked.
“I think it went well, don’t you?”
“Yeah, it went better than I thought it would,” He chuckled, and his grip on my thigh became firmer.
Once we reached the stoplight, he leaned over and pecked my lips.
“I love you,” I said as I put my phone in the cup holder and caressed the back of his neck.
“I love you too, baby.” He said as he turned back to the road and eased off the brakes, letting the car slowly roll forward.
We transitioned into a bit of small talk about work and the things we needed to handle on the way there. I don’t know what the future will hold, or if there will even be any encounters, but I knew that we left the office fully prepared to do what we saw fit.
Chapter four
Quentin
The timer rang, signaling the end of the last session. I wrapped up with the clients in front of me, walked them through the front of the office, and out the door. I locked it behind me and went back to finish up my notes and grab my things. I had given Shareese the day off, and I had been on my own all day. Doing everything myself actually made me appreciate how smoothly she made my day run. By 11 a.m. I couldn’t stand the phone ringing constantly, so I redirected all calls to the answering service. Not only that, but I barely knew how to add patients to the new scheduling system she suggested we use. I wanted to tell her thank you to at least show my appreciation, but I didn’t want to risk getting my ass beat for it, so I just decided to add a bonus to her next check.
Checking my watch again, I went back to my office to grab my things and go get ready to pick up my son, Tre. It was my weekend to get him, and I was glad to spend time with him. We normally talked all throughout the day, but it was nothing likethat in person time with him, and even though he wasn’t five or six, I always planned things for us to do during our weekends together. He tried to act like he was too cool for it, but I know he looked forward to it too.
I hopped into my truck and drove down the road when my phone started to ring. I looked down and saw a FaceTime from my sister. I groaned because I already knew she was calling me, so I could do something for her.
“What’s up?” I asked as my nephew came into view. For a second, my frustration was eased when I saw him. But she didn’t let the moment linger for too long when she popped up in the camera.
“Do you see this face? It’s the face of a baby who needs his uncle to come put his swing together.” She said, causing me to chuckle.
“Quiana, where is your husband?” I asked her, groaning because she lived in the opposite direction.
