While we waited for the food, we talked about his current position in football, how he felt about his new coach, his grades, and the Christmas trip that we had been planning. The conversation was going as well as you could expect for a distracted teenager when we were interrupted by someone approaching the table from behind us.
“Hi, Dr. Long. I don’t mean to interrupt you,” The voice that I only needed to hear to know who it was spoke softly. Just as I had thought, it was Breeze standing there, as I turned to her and took her in. She had on a yellow two-piece set that hit her caramel skin just right. Making her look like the finest fucking sunflower.
“Hello again, Mrs. Thompson. How can I help you?”
Before she spoke, she looked across the table from me to Tre and back to me again. She gave a tight-lipped smile and a nod as she realized he was my son.
“He’s your twin. I’m sorry about approaching you after hours, but I was about to call the office and see if I could schedule a third session. I know it may not be formal, but it’s urgent. Is there any way you could let me know if you’re available?” She gave me a bright smile just as I was about to tell her she’d have to call Shareese on Monday. I decided against it, though. The fact that she said it was urgent had gotten my attention.
I took out my phone and went to my calendar.
“The only availability I have next week is actually Monday at 9:30. Does that work for you?” I asked.
“That’s perfect, pencil me in, please. Enjoy your meal, guys,” she said as she walked away just as quickly as she had come.
My son gave me a goofy smile. “So, what’s that about?” he asked as he sipped his lemonade.
“You were sitting right here for the whole conversation; it’s about work,” I responded nonchalantly.
“She looks famous. Like she should be on TV,” he said as he took another sip and put his earbuds in.
I didn’t even bother to tell him to take them out at the table because I had lost my train of thought anyway. What could be so urgent that the Thompsons want to see me again?
I was watching chaos unfold in real time, and no matter what, I was drawn into the plot and wanted to know how it ended. I spent the next couple of minutes going through possible scenarios. The urgency in her tone led me to believe that one of the two had likely backed out of their agreement, and they needed to revisit the topic. Or maybe they didn’t feel ready and needed more sessions.
The waitress came back over and put our plates down in front of us. I motioned for Tre to take his earbuds out and focused on our weekend. I don’t know what has transpired over the last few weeks with the Thompsons, but I'll find out Monday.
***
I blew on the rim of the coffee cup and sipped it. I’m not much of a coffee drinker, but I had to do something to keep myself awake. Yesterday, Tre and I went to an NFL game, and I let him bring two of his friends. I don’t know how I managed to let teenagers wear me out like that, but we didn’t make it in until almost two a.m. Not to mention that I had to make sure they were all up, dressed, and out of the house by seven for the state test, or deal with Deebo, aka Shareese.
My morning had been moving slowly, and I wasn’t really in the mood, but it was Monday. It wasn’t my favorite day of the week, but today gave it a new meaning. It’s the day I had been anticipating since Friday evening.
My first clients of the morning were an elderly couple in their sixties who had been coming to me for five years. They come to me for two months at the beginning of the year and two months before the end of the year. They said counseling was the key to their marriage, that they had been doing it for over 40 years, and that they found me when they moved here.
They basically would come to talk. Today, they had been arguing the entire session about a conversation they had on vacation this past weekend, and despite my being there to mediate and redirect them, the banter between them was funny as hell. It was something straight off a marriage skit, and they were some of my favorite patients to see.
“Dr. Long, Thompson has just checked in,” Shareese peeked her head in the door and called out to me.
“Have them wait a couple of minutes; I need to make a quick call. I’ll send you a chat when I’m ready for them to come back,” I said, looking down at my phone and seeing that one of the guys I had gone to school with asked me to call him when I got a second.
After I called and sent him the resource book that he had requested, I sent Shareese a Teams message and told her that she could send the Thompsons back.
Not a minute later, the door opened and in walked Mrs. Thompson. She was alone and casually dressed. It was a complete contrast to how she had come to her sessions previously; prior to today, she had been dressed in business attire. Today it was another one of those two-piece sets that she had on when we crossed paths at the steakhouse. It was tan, and I couldn’t help but notice the way the pants clung to her thick hips.
“Good morning,” she smiled as she took a seat casually, like she was at my house, and I called her over to come chill.
“Good morning, are we waiting on your husband?” I asked as she straightened out her clothing and set her bag on the couch beside her.
“Actually, no. I wanted to see you without him. I hope that’s okay.” She started as she looked at me.
“That’s fine. Should I start a separate file for just your sessions?” I asked.
“Totally up to you.” She shrugged. I did my best to keep my poker face, but I was confused by what was going on.
“Okay, what brings you by today?”
“I wanted to follow up on the sessions that my husband and I had. It’s been a couple of weeks, and we have decided to move forward with the solo encounter. My issue is that I only have a desire for one man, but I don’t think we should… You know.” Her words trailed off as she exhaled deeply.
