The Ever After by Sarah Pekkanen

Author:Sarah Pekkanen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-06-04T16:00:00+00:00

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Chapter Fourteen

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THE THERAPIST’S EYES WERE large and soft. They seemed to regard Josie without agenda or judgment.

Her office was in the basement of her home, which made going to the appointment less intimidating than it would have felt if Josie had to visit an impersonal building. To get to the private entrance, Josie followed a stone path that wound through a side yard filled with herb gardens and a bird fountain.

When Josie walked through the door, she saw two chairs and a small table containing magazines in the waiting area. Even the magazines were nonthreatening and homey: Reader’s Digest, Cooking Light, and Highlights for Children.

When the therapist opened the door to her inner office, Josie glimpsed a cozy-looking beige couch, a coffee table, and a fabric-covered chair in the main seating area. A far corner held a wooden desk and a second chair. Bookshelves lined the walls, filled with heavy volumes addressing various psychological issues: coping with anxiety, raising explosive children, thriving in the aftermath of divorce.

Josie sat down on the couch and put a crimson chenille throw pillow on her lap, running her fingers over the soothing fabric. The therapist—“Call me Sonya,” she’d said during the initial phone call—settled into the chair and crossed her legs at the ankles. She gave Josie a smile. Her voice and manner were unhurried. “What brings you here?”

Josie looked into Sonya’s understanding eyes and began to tell her story, the words streaming out of her like water from a faucet.

“I asked him to leave,” Josie concluded. “But I don’t know if I want a divorce right now. How would I tell the girls?”

Sonya nodded. “You need some space from Frank, so you’ve asked him to leave. That’s a good step.”

Sonya spoke slowly and soothingly. Her hands remained still in her lap. Her gentle eyes were steady on Josie. The tight knot Josie didn’t realize she’d been carrying around in her chest eased a bit.

“It’s hard to feel all this uncertainty.” Josie reached for a tissue from the box on the coffee table and dabbed at her eyes. “I keep bracing myself for Frank to unload another bombshell. And when I think about divorce and what it will do to the girls, I just feel frozen. But I can’t even bear to look at Frank. How could I ever be married to him again?”

Sonya nodded again and Josie had the feeling that no matter what she said, Sonya would validate her. Not even Josie’s revelation about calling Ron had provoked a reaction. But then, Sonya saw women like her every single week.

“You don’t have to decide that this minute,” Sonya said. “All you know right now is that you need more time to decide. That’s okay. That’s good. You’re going to take the time and make a careful decision.”

They talked for a while longer, then Sonya told Josie their time was up. “For your homework this week, I want you to do three things that used to make you happy. Can you do that?”

“I can’t imagine anything making me happy right now.

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