At least that’s the part he seems to want to play.
“Welcome to session two…Dak.”
Again, we sit in silence, which is driving me absolutely bat shit crazy, but I’m not Katrina today. I’m Wonder Woman. So I do what I’ve been trained to do and sit in the silence until the client lets me know where he wants to begin.
I sit back in my chair and cross my legs.
A power move.
He frowns.
I bite down gently on both of my lips, keeping them shut, in an effort not to say anything.
He continues to frown.
I start fidgeting, twisting my mom’s favorite bracelet around my wrist, remembering that today this is a powerful talisman. Just like Wonder Woman’s, this bracelet is all powerful because it is impenetrable to bullets, fire, energy blasts, and Dak Warner’s vexing effect on me.
It works.
“So what are we going to talk about?” he asks.
Inwardly, I smile triumphantly.
At least I think it’s inward.
“Normally, as a therapist, I wait for a client to seek me out. I wait for them to tell me what they want to talk about. But since this is a unique situation, one which is required in order for you to keep your job, I thought we could revisit my suggestion about visiting the stadium. Maybe we could start there.”
Dak shifts in his seat uncomfortably.
“That will take longer than forty-five minutes.”
“I’ve made sure to book my next client later in the day.”
I can see him mouth the word fuck.
For someone dying to get back out onto the football field, his reaction is curious.
“You don’t want to go?” I ask.
“I didn’t think therapy would include having to attend field trips. Is this some sort of thing you want to do to understand me better?”
“The visit isn’t for me. It’s for you. It’s going on two weeks that you’ve been away from your teammates and away from football, right?”
“Yeah,” he replies reservedly.
“Tell me a bit more about that. What has that been like? Being away from football.”
“There’s no other way to put it but to say that it’s been hard. They have fined me before, but never suspended me.”
“Is that what you’ve been–suspended? That isn’t my understanding of what’s going on with you.”
“They can call it whatever they want, but I’m not allowed to practice or play with my team until they get the okay from you. It’s not optional. It’s mandatory. So in my opinion, that’s a suspension.”
“I see. And how does that make you feel?”
He sighs and doesn’t answer.
“Does talking about your feelings make you uncomfortable?”
