“You do that when you fall asleep,” Drew whispered.
“I do?”
“Yes. I love it. It makes me feel good, knowing you’re relaxed.”
“I’m relaxed right now.”
“Me too. I could die right now, and I’d die a happy man.”
“Don’t die right now.”
“Why?”
“You promised to play with my…..pussy,” I whispered in his ear.
***
Things were awesome once again, and I was more in love with my family than I’d ever thought possible. Drew kept his promise and never hit me again, not until three weeks later anyway. He wasn’t even mad at me. I knew he wasn’t. He’d just lost a big deal to a competitor. I was just the one he took it out on.
“Morgan, I told you I was sorry. Don’t do this. I hate talking to those flakes. They don’t know how to help us anymore than I do.”
“You promised, Drew. You might like this girl. Celeste and Alicia saw her for a year after they had Vince.”
Drew rolled his eyes. “Celeste and Alicia have a same sex relationship. What the heck is a lesbian shrink going to know about marital problems?”
“Who said she was gay? I don’t even know that. We’re going. You promised.”
“Fine, but I’m not agreeing that I will keep going. If I don’t like her, I’m finding someone else. How old is she?”
“I don’t know. What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Well, you said girl. Girl means young.”
“Do you think Celeste is young?”
“Is she Celeste’s age?”
“Yes. Celeste said she was probably close to the same age.”
“Then yes, I think she’s too young.”
“That’s hypocritical.”
“No it’s not. I don’t think Celeste is young for her field. She’s thirty. She can run a business, but I wouldn’t hire her to be my shrink.”
“Turn right here. I’m not even going to comment on that because it’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”
“Why’s that stupid? Even if Celeste was a fairy for fucked up married couples, I wouldn’t hire her.”
“Park over there. This is never going to work if you don’t take it serious. We may as well just go back home.”
“I’m sorry. No more fairy jokes. Promise.”
“Please give her chance, Drew.”
“I will, but this place looks like they do pro-bono or something. You sure this chick is legit?”
“Celeste recommended her.”
“Why?”
“She says she’s good.” I shrugged.
“What does that mean?”
We both found out what it meant when we were showed to Deidra Wellington’s office. She was a pretty girl, my height, close to my weight with shorter hair. I knew what Drew was thinking when he saw her butch haircut.
“Have a seat.” She gestured towards a gray sofa. She didn’t look like a professional at all. She wore a pink golf shirt and jeans. The other four counselors we’d seen dressed to impress, kind of like Drew did. Deidra wasn’t trying to impress anyone. Her persona made that clear right off the bat.
“I’m Deidra,” she said, offering us her hand. She sat across from us and crossed her legs.
“Don’t you need your laptop or pad and paper for notes?” Drew asked.
“Not on this visit. I thought we’d spend a little time getting acquainted today.”
“What do you want to know? You know our names, you know from the questionnaire that we’ve been married for ten years. We have a son. Aren’t you supposed to ask the questions?”
“Let’s get something straight right immediately, Drew.”
“Mr. Kelley.”
“Drew. Stop it,” I chastised.
Deidra stood and opened her door. “I’m afraid this is not the best idea, Drew. Maybe you should find someone that can suck up to you. I won’t be doing that in this office.”
“Let’s go, Morgan.” Drew ordered, taking my arm and standing.
“No. Drew. We’re not leaving. You do this every time just so you don’t have to talk to anyone. What do you want?”
“Morgan, I am not talking to someone like this. Either we work with a professional, or we don’t do this at all.”
Crossing my arms, I plopped back to the sofa. I wasn’t moving. He wasn’t doing this again. Besides, I liked her.
Drew looked at me and then back to Deidra. She smiled and closed the door when Drew sat, crossed his ankle over his leg, and breathed an exasperated breath.
“Okay, shall we begin?”
The first meeting with Deidra lasted an hour. We mostly discussed our routine. What we did on a daily basis; Drew’s job—what he did for a living—and what we did for fun.