“I knew he was a dog guy!” she says excitedly.
“I don’t know that he’s a dog person. I’m just saying that the two of them hit it off.”
“I obviously know what he looks like, but what’s he like in person? Is he really as huge as he looks in pictures?”
“A huge ego,” I mutter under my breath.
“I heard that!”
“You heard nothing.”
“But to be fair, Trina, all ball players have some arrogance about them. They get paid obscene amounts of money for their talents. It’s perfectly normal. You should see how they’re treated on my reality shows. Women fall all over themselves to sleep with them.”
I bet.
“So, is he a dick or just extremely confident?”
“I really shouldn’t–”
“I would never break your confidence, baby sis. You know that. It would just be nice to learn something about a celebrity that I’ve heard first hand instead of in the gossip rags.”
“I’d be violating his privacy.”
“Damn, Trina, I’m not asking for his social security number,” she snaps back. “Just throw me a bone or two.”
“Just because you wouldn’t tell anyone doesn’t make it right to talk about him.”
“I can tell you want to though,” she goads. “Something about him has got you acting jumpy, and it’s not just because you came to your first session hungover.”
Butters finally does her business. I bag up the poop, discard it in a nearby trashcan, and rub her head as a reward. “Good girl, Butters.”
I’ve evaded talking about Dak Warner as long as I can. If I’m going to make it through these next few weeks without getting fired, I need to talk through some of this with someone, and my sister has always been my favorite (and only) confidant.
“Okay, just a little more.”
“Yay!”
“He’s not a dick, but we did have a rocky start. I was late for the initial session and then it all went downhill from there. He questioned my competency as a clinician. And even though he was being nice enough the other day at the park, I can tell that he’s still sizing me up.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah, it’s been embarrassing.”
“Was he mean to you?” Her voice changes to a slightly more serious tone and I smile. My sister will forever be my champion, no matter who the foe is or how old we get.
“A lot of clients can be mean, but I understand that because I know it comes from a place of internal pain over something else. But this was different. I can’t explain it. I felt like he caught me with my underwear down. Like I was exposed. I wasn’t my best self.”
“You have nothing to prove to anyone. The pieces of paper you’ve earned from two universities say you’re more than qualified. It doesn’t matter what he thinks.”
“Well, I mean…it matters a little bit. I want him to at least think I’m competent.”
“Well, hey, then I’m just glad that you’re starting to care again. And guess what? You want to really know what I think?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Put on something that makes you feel like Wonder Woman, go to work, and do what you do best. Don’t let him get into your head. Your job is to fix his.”
“Maybe you should be the one giving him therapy instead of me.”
