She ran up the steps beside me, slamming the door. My eyes focused on the house down the road. Was he really in therapy?
My vision blurred from staring at the house. I stood up and my feet moved without permission. I had no idea what I would say when I knocked on the door, but I needed the truth. I needed to know he hadn’t lied to Frankie.
My hand knocked hesitantly on the door, and I waited. I’d almost decided to leave when the door swung open and a beautiful woman with a long dark braid answered.
“Hi,” she greeted, with a little too much pep.
“Are you a therapist?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.
The woman smiled. “You must be Kat. Please come in.”
She knew who I was? Did they have some kind of weird open relationship? Were they polyamory and trying to add in a third?
“I-I can’t.” I looked down the road at the house we lived in. Frankie was inside and had no idea I’d left. “My daughter doesn’t know I’m here.”
The woman nodded and stepped out onto the porch, pulling the door closed behind her. “Would you like to sit here, or we could walk down and sit on your porch?”
“What?”
Her smile was infuriating. She had answers I wanted, and she knew it. Yet she wouldn’t just answer my question so I could leave.
“Let’s sit on your porch,” she said when I didn’t answer, and stepped down the stairs. I had no choice but to follow her. I couldn’t leave a stranger sitting on my porch with my daughter in the house. Even if she were a woman.
Women could be just as evil as men.
“My name is Haizley, by the way, and yes, I am a therapist.”
We sat down on the front steps, and I couldn’t look at her. Why couldn’t she just answer the question at her door? Then we wouldn’t be sitting here awkwardly in silence.
“Is there anything you’d like to ask me?”
I swung my head in her direction. “Why is Derek seeing you?”
Her smile turned sad. “I can’t answer that.”
I knew that, but it was worth a shot. She wouldn’t be a very good therapist if she told her clients’ secrets.
“Do you know where he is?” I asked next.
“I have an idea, but I’d like to ask you a question first.”
“Are you going to charge me? ’Cause I don’t exactly have money for therapy right now.”
“No charge. First session is always free.” She winked. “Can you tell me what happened the last time you saw Derek?”
I bit my lip. “We had dinner at the diner.” I looked over at her, quickly adding, “It wasn’t planned. My daughter, Frankie, set me up.”
I shook my head, expecting Haizley to say, well... something. But she stayed quiet, so I continued.
“Frankie meets with a friend on Saturday nights; they have dinner together and usually I sit with Cami’s older sister, and we talk and have been getting to know each other.”
“That must be nice. You’re both making new friends.”
“I guess,” I muttered.
“You sound unsure.”
“I don’t have a great track record with friends. Or men to be honest.”
