Page 17 of That Summer
“She was.” Her mouth twisted into a sour expression. “That’s not me. That girl was everything and had the world before her. Anything she wanted was within grasp. This girl, the one sitting before you, has none of that. Everything now is a stretch. An impossible one.”
“Let’s focus on that for a minute. This other you, the before you, was a happy-go-lucky lady, am I correct?”
She nodded.
“And this current one, is depressed, going through some serious withdrawal issues, and I’m not talking about the drug issues which we will get to in a bit. Do you find it hard to make it through the day?”
Her eyes widened, and she stared at him.
“That’s what I figured.” He sat back in his chair but leaned forward. He tapped the pencil some more. “Let me ask you something. Are you happy to be alive?”
Chapter Five
Where the hell did that come from? Of course I’m happy to be alive, you idiot. Sure, there was a long time after the accident where I waited for death and, in fact, welcomed it, but like everything else, death too avoided me. That was then, this is now.
She stared at the shrink in shock. “Yes, I’m happy to be alive. Of course I am.”
He leaned back, a small smirk on his wide face. “Good. Then that makes your homework easier.”
“You’re giving me homework?”
What kind of sick shrink dispenses homework? Where are all the drug dispensing shrinks? Why can’t I see them?
“Yes. If you plan on coming back, I’d like to meet with you twice a week.” Standing, he walked over to a bureau tucked in behind the chair, and opened a drawer. “I think we can make some great progress.” With a piece of paper gripped in his hands, he walked back and sat across from her. “Your homework.”
She read the top line.
Fifty things that make me happy.
“Is this a joke? What is this?”
“I want you to go home and fill it in.”
“For real?”
“Absolutely. I think you have some deep-seated depression along with a few other concerns, but I see a lot of bright spots. Rather than focus on the negative, we’re going to punctuate the positive. Draw on it.” A chubby finger pointed to the paper. “But only you can tell me what needs to be on the list. And it can be anything. Something small or something huge.” He nodded at her. “This list will be a lot of work.”
She read it over again, unable to concentrate on the two columns of twenty-five lines.
Fifty is totally doable. Hell, I’ll even shoot for a hundred just to prove something to this idiot.
“When do you want it finished by?” She folded it and tucked it into her purse.
“Our next appointment. Check with the receptionist if there’s anything available on Monday or Tuesday. It’ll give you time to work on it.”
She stood. “I assume we’re done?”
“For today.”
She extended her hand. “Thank you, Dr. Navin.”
He eyed her. “See you next week?”
“If I can finish the list.” She forced a smile and left the office.
“Fifty things? Easy enough to do,” Kaitlyn said at the entrance to the clinic.
Aurora wasn’t sure if Kaitlyn came to all her appointments to make sure she actually went, or if it was to support her. Regardless, since Kaitlyn’s trip to Russia, Aurora hadn’t missed a single one. And as Lucas worked daily from nine until two, he couldn’t escort her to therapy. Thank goodness. He would’ve insisted on driving. It was after all a prime training session. The only shrink availability was late morning and Kaitlyn claimed she could use the walk since she felt she’d packed on a few pounds on her holiday. Whatever therealreason was, she was grateful for the company on the long walk.