“Deep breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting relaxation.I call it Ins and Outs.Let’s start there.In…”
She motions toward her deep inhale.Her chest rises, and her shoulders square.I doubt its efficacy, but desperate to stop the onslaught of tears, I follow her instructions.
“Out…” she breathes softly, watching me.“In…”
Several rounds of deep breathing later, the tension eases away.
“Tears have stopped… good,” she offers a weak smile.“Now, let’s add a muscle relaxation technique that I call Mighty Tighty, Loosey Goosey.”
I groan over the silly name.
She smirks.“Don’t judge.It works.I’m going to say a body part.Then, we’re going to tense those muscles—only those muscles—and then relax them again.Let’s start with our feet.”
My toes curl in my boots as I follow her instructions.Tensing and releasing.Focusing on something other than my heart breaking all over again.We move up our bodies—feet, to calves, to knees, and so on up to our hands and shoulders.By the time we roll our necks, I feel centered.
“Now, close your eyes, and imagine something peaceful,” she instructs.“It could be a place, a garden, a forest, anything that fills you and lets you breathe.”
We stand in silence, breathing and imagining, and she whispers, “Where are you?”
“In a rainstorm.Thunder and lightning.Smells of wet pine and the sounds of battered leaves.The rough bark on the branches of our lean-to.Henry holding me tight,” I respond dreamily, hypnotized by her soft voice.
“Hmm.”She says it just like Dad.
“Where are you?”I breathe out curiously.
“The beach, gritty sand and salty air, warm skin and suntan lotion, and Gil, smiling beside me.I actually got him there recently.That was a feat.He has an anxiety disorder.He tries to hide it, but I know.”
She takes another deep breath, places her hands on my shoulders, and slides them down my arms over my bracelets and rings to hold my hands.“Open your eyes.Feel better?”
“I do.Thank you.”
She smiles.“He doesn’t hate you, Venus.It was a surprise, that’s all.”
“How do you know?”
She drops my hands and holds up her phone.“Henry’s business consultant, Marnie, is Gil’s sister-in-law and my best friend.She’s the reason I knew you needed me.She texted me as soon as you left.”
I collapse to the bed’s edge.“The redhead?”
“Isn’t she adorable?”Ivy coos.“You’ll have to come to a Tripp family game night and meet them all.”
“Um, I thought she might’ve beenwithHenry.It was all so confusing.Is he okay?From his asthma attack?”
“Yes, he’s fine.And Henry’s single… since you’re wondering.”
Another tear slips loose, and I wipe it away.“All I do is hurt him.”
“It’s not your fault.Dad saw your journal and the notes to Henry.It’s his twisted way of helping.He knew you wouldn’t go on your own.”
“For good reason.Henry doesn’t want to see me.”
Ivy’s head tilts as she considers this.“He misses you, too.”
“What?How would you know that?”
“He told Marnie.She told me.Insider knowledge is another perk of having friends.She’s helping him revamp his uncle’s curiosity museum, and you came up when they were discussing the garden.He’s still angry about how you left.You devastated him.I heard he barely made it through his freshman year for all the partying, but he got his act together.He had to?—”
“Dad didn’t report that he was having a hard time—I asked.”
