“Good. The new store is doing great. My dad is thrilled as well.”
“Have you talked to your dad anymore about the bitch?” Josh asked.
I shook my head. Dad didn’t need this mess to worry about.
“No. My dad doesn’t need any more stress.” I pulled a slice of pizza off the tray and reached for my beer. I was eager to move the topic away from my dad. “But I heard from my attorney this afternoon.”
“And?” Josh asked with his mouth full of pizza.
“Elise changed her plea again.”
“What?” Josh blurted out.
“Seriously?” Brandon’s thoughts mirrored mine, and I nodded. “She’s doing a great job showing everyone what a fucking whack she is.”
“That’s their plan, I think,” I added.
“To show the court she has a screw loose?” Josh questioned.
“Yeah. My attorney thinks Elise’s defense team is trying to show that she’s out of her mind, basically.”
“I doubt it’s much work for them,” Brandon said.
“Tabitha thinks the same. I’ve been talking to her about it too.”
“Mmm, Tabitha.” Josh raised his eyebrows.
I rolled my eyes at Josh while the three of us laughed.
“Since you brought her up, how is she?” Josh inquired.
“She’s good.”
“Have you thought about having another session with her?” he continued with his questions.
“I definitely want to. I was hoping this court shit would be done with by now. I don’t want to have all of this on my mind when I step into a room with her again.”
“That makes sense.” Josh took a long sip from his beer mug. “But the last time I saw you after coming out of a room with her, you looked really settled and relaxed.”
“I was, no doubt. We’re getting there. Things take time, and I’m not rushing, but I’m still making progress.”
“You are, Andrew. You’re right not to rush. Speaking of progress,” Josh began and then looked across the table to Brandon. “Have you told Andrew, Bran?”
“What’s up, Bran?” I asked him.
Brandon was a constant work in progress. We always tried to acknowledge his steps and nurture him when it was needed. Brandon still wasn’t able to sit with his back to doors or in the middle of a restaurant with people around him. James said things would get better and fade away over time. Hopefully, in time, he’d relax around social settings more.
“Josh is going to take me out in the ocean tomorrow with James,” Brandon said shyly. I could hear a hint of excitement in his voice, but the tension radiated off his body and could be felt.
“Really?” I asked and glanced at Josh. Brandon confirmed it as Josh nodded.
Brandon had extreme anxiety around water because of the time he’d spent in the kink house. He’d suffered water torture and was nervous just with the threat of rain. Going into the ocean, which was basically in James’s back yard, would be monumental.
“That’s awesome, Bran!”
“He’s nervous, but I got him a full wetsuit today, and we’re just going to go out a little way,” Josh explained.
“The wetsuit will help,” Brandon added.
