Taking long deep breaths, Ella stared at the ground for several minutes.
“Please, Ella, say something.I can’t believe how quickly this night has gone south.All I have thought about since I got your text this afternoon was having you here and sleeping with you in my arms.Let’s just take a step back.Maybe the UALR thing is a bad idea, but give me a little credit.I am trying here.”Ben took Ella’s face in his hands and lifted it so she had to look him in the eyes.“Please come back to bed.Let me hold you.We won’t talk about this anymore tonight.Your doctor’s appointment is first thing in the morning.I will clear my calendar and come with you.We can have breakfast afterward.No more talking tonight.Let’s go to sleep.We will revisit this conversation later when we are both more calm.”
Ella thought she was pretty calm for someone whose whole life was being dismantled, but she did not say that.Instead, she nodded, put her phone and water bottle back down, and crawled back into bed.Ben joined her under the covers and quickly wrapped her in a solid embrace.Ella would have said that after such an awful fight, she would take hours to fall asleep, but pregnancy had changed her sleeping habits.She was out like a light in minutes.On the other hand, Ben lay awake, holding his wife and worrying long into the night.Things were not going the way he assumed they would, and he had no idea what to do about it.
The next morning, Ella was up and dressed before Ben.When he walked into the kitchen to fix his coffee, he saw that Ella had already done it for him.Handing him a cup of coffee with cream and sugar as he liked, Ella gave Ben a sweet smile.He felt hopeful that maybe they had moved past the events of the night before.
Ben’s wishful thinking ended when Ella said, “I think we should see a marriage counselor to help us figure this out.”
He spit his first sip of coffee halfway across the room.“A marriage counselor?Are you crazy?We just got married.Why would we need to do that?Only people who have been married forever and headed for divorce need something like that.That is not us.We are fine.We just need a little more time to figure this out.”
Giving Ben a direct look, Ella responded, “Ben, I am serious.I want us to see a counselor.It might help us find a middle ground.”
“Well, I think that is stupid.I am not going.If you feel you need to go and talk to someone, go ahead, but leave me out of it.I did all that counseling stuff after my parents got back together.That was enough for me.”
Ella continued to give Ben a look that told him she was not messing around.“Ben, I mean this.We are going to do this, and we are going to do it together, or I am going back to California.I will leave once the study is done and have the baby out there.Either this is a marriage of equal partnership where both parties get a say, or it is not.You decide, but just know, I mean it.Either we at least give a therapist a try, or I am out.Your call.”
Ben stood looking at Ella for several seconds without blinking, then said, “Fine, you set it up.I will go one time, and one time only.When you see how useless it is, you remember who made us go.”With that, Ben poured his coffee down the drain and headed for the door.
As Ben was about to walk out Ella asked, “Hey, I thought you were going to go to the doctor with me and to breakfast afterward.”
Ben stopped in his tracks.He had evidently forgotten about that.Turning, he said, “The doctor’s visit.Of course.I forgot.Let’s go in two cars.I will follow you to the clinic.As far as breakfast goes, I have lost my appetite.”
Ella knew Ben was pissed about her forcing him to see a therapist with her, and she wondered if she even wanted him to go with her to the doctor.They would be doing another scan today, and Ben loved watching John on the screen.She considered telling him not to come.But Lynn’s words about not keeping score flashed through her mind.She had just dropped a bomb on him that she knew he was not going to take well.Deciding to cut him some slack, she gave him a kiss on the cheek as she passed him on her way out the door.Keeping all tone out of her voice, she added, “It is my seven-month scan.I know you will love seeing the baby.”
Giving Ella a look and deciding to drop his own attitude, Ben replied, “Yeah, I will like seeing that.”
Ben followed Ella out of the condo and locked the door.Ella knew that he was not completely over being mad at her, but at least he had agreed to counseling.She prayed it would be as helpful for her and Ben as Lynn had said it had been for her marriage.If not, Ella was not sure what their future would hold.Therapy had to work.It was all they had left.
Chapter 27
Little Rock, Arkansas
Ella set up an appointment with a counselor in the office Lynn had recommended.In the meantime, a tepid peace descended over Ben and Ella’s relationship.Both of them seemed to be walking on eggshells around each other.Ben continued to drive to Des Arc on the nights he could.Sadly, those nights were fewer and further apart.Ben worked crazy hours, killing himself on the campaign trail and working on his final senior project at night.That involved a ridiculous amount of writing and editing.The night before their first therapy session, Ben was set to return to Little Rock.Then all hell broke loose.
Ben was at a campaign event near the Missouri border that was set to end around 10:00.The plan was to fly back to Little Rock on his father’s plane.Unfortunately, a massive thunderstorm grounded all flights.By the time Ben realized they would not be able to fly home, he was frantic.He tried to find a rental car, but the rental companies were all closed.He had no options but to stay and wait out the storm with the rest of the crew.Ben had never dreaded a phone call as much as the one he made to Ella letting her know that not only was he not going to make it home that night, but he was not going to make their first counseling session the next morning.The call went as Ben expected.Ella was hurt, frustrated, and more determined than ever to walk away from their marriage if things did not change.
Ella found herself at their first marriage counseling by herself.She was nervous walking into the therapist’s office which was housed in a doctor’s complex in West Little Rock.The walls were all painted a soft gray.It reminded Ella of a dentist’s office, only without that dentist’s-office smell.Being their first appointment of the day, Ella was the only person in the waiting room when a tall, lanky man in his mid-thirties with a massive man bun opened his office door and called her name.
Shaking his hand, she said, “I am Ella Carrington,” then followed him into his office.
“Jeff Daniels.Nice to meet you.Make yourself comfortable.I was under the impression this was a couples session.Will your husband be joining us?”
Looking down embarrassed, Ella said quietly, “No.Ben was held up.I tried to reschedule, but you did not have anything for a few weeks.I work in Des Arc, and it is hard for me to get away.I thought I would come today anyway and see if maybe we could get started on figuring out some of our issues.”
Jeff gave Ella a comforting smile and motioned for her to sit in one of the chairs in front of his desk.She chose the one closest to the window, and he sat next to her.
“Before we get into all that, let me explain how I usually like to work with couples.I prefer to meet with both partners on the first visit to get a sense of what they expect to accomplish from therapy.Since your husband, Ben, right?”Ella nodded.“Since Ben can’t join us today, why don’t we start with whatyouhope to accomplish with couples therapy.But before you launch into that, I must ask you something, and I hope it does not offend you.How old are you?You look entirely too young to be married, much less expecting a baby or in couples therapy.If you find that question too intrusive, you don’t have to answer.I just think knowing your age might enable me to help you better.”
Ella gave a small laugh, “I am not offended.People have been asking me about my age my whole life.I am twenty.I am from Napa and graduated from Cal Poly Tech in December.”
“Twenty and already graduated college?Wow!That is impressive.”
Ella shrugged.“Thanks.”She did not attempt to explain that she had a super high IQ or that she graduated high school at sixteen.When Ella did not offer any more personal information, there was a short lull in the conversation.
Shifting in her seat, trying to find a more comfortable position to sit, which is not easy at seven months pregnant, Ella began to wonder if Ben had been right about coming here.Maybe it was a waste of time.
Clearing his throat, Jeff looked at Ella and said, “Okay, since we have gotten that awkward question out of the way, let’s move on.Tell me why you are here.Why did you and Ben decide you needed couples therapy?”
