On the way out to Kim’s foster house, John looked out the window with a smile. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been a passenger in a car, and he felt strangely safe having given up control to someone else. He felt like someone was taking care of him.
As they pulled up, Kim was sitting on the porch waiting for them to arrive. Seeing the both of them together was quite a site for her, and as she walked over to the car to get in, she couldn’t help but tease them a little.
“Well, well, well, I was hoping this day might finally come. So nice to see both of you, both of you together that is,” Kim said with a mischievous smile.
“Why do I feel like I’m back in the 7th grade again Kim?” John replied with a laugh. “Anyway good to see you, how does Pizza sound for lunch?”
“Whatever you say doctor,” she fired back. John couldn’t help but notice that the way she called him “doctor” was suspiciously similar to the way he addressed Dr. Paul. The synchronicity of this was not lost on him.
As they sat down at the Pizza place, the three of them talked and laughed, and settled in to a comfortable sense of familiarity. John had been a little concerned that this would be awkward for her, but thinking back, he realized Kim had hinted around about he and Stephanie before they were even together. Maybe she was an empath as well?
“Kim what’s been going on since I’ve seen you,” John asked curiously. “So sorry I missed our appointment the other day, but man, I hate to admit it but I’m a terrible driver.”
“Yea, I kind of figured that,” she said laughing. “I’ve been really worried about you and missed talking to you. A couple of things have happened since we last met, some stuff with that boy we were talking about.” Looking over at Stephanie, she continued, “I’m not really sure what I’m allowed to say in front of Mrs. Corcoran, but I have some questions about some stuff and I don’t know who to ask. I guess you could say it is women’s stuff.”
John resisted the urge to chuckle, as he had a good idea about what Kim was talking about. He felt like he was perhaps being gently dismissed from the conversation, but also felt glad that Stephanie was also here to answer any questions she might have about sex, periods, and other subjects that girls are just more comfortable talking to other women about.
“You know Kim, there are a couple of things I want to say,” John said in his serious voice. “I am first and foremost your therapist, and if there are ever things you want to talk about that are just between us, that still stands. If there are some things, some woman things you are more comfortable talking about with Stephanie, that’s O.k. too. Just know that we both care about you very much, and understand if there are things that are easier to talk about with just one of us.”
“Thanks for making that easy John,” she said looking him in the eyes. “So if you wouldn’t mind, could you beat it for a minute?”
And with that John took his cue and hobbled over to the counter on his crutches. He was learning how to use them more efficiently, and decided he was even strong enough to play a game of Galaga which was in the restaurant’s arcade. As he made his way across the restaurant, he looked at all of the families sitting together, and for perhaps the first time in his life didn’t see a life that was utterly foreign from his own. It startled him a little as he looked around and saw white families with Asian kids, a gay couple with what looked to be their adopted children, older people with young children, and nearly every other combination a person could think of. It reminded him that families came in all shapes and sizes.
A half hour and several quarters later, the girls came up arm and arm to see how he was doing. They hit him up for a few quarters, and he laughed when he thought about this ritual from his own childhood. The three of them spent the rest of the afternoon laughing and playing video games, and for a day at least as 3 people who simply enjoyed each other’s company. John knew he was still Kim’s therapist, and that they had a great deal of work to do in therapy, but for now, modeling for her some kind of normal life seemed pretty therapeutic.
Therapeutic for all of them.