"So why are you here?" The counsellor asked as he sat back with his notebook and pen, observing the couple that sat in front of him.
Nicki glanced over at him and after picking up on the fact that he wasn't going to have the first word she began her explanation. "We've reached a point in our relationship where we're considering a divorce and everyone around us suggested counselling so we found ourselves here,"
He gave a nod before continuing. "Okay so before we can really resolve anything, we'll need to go back to the very beginning of your relationship; we need understand where it really began going wrong," he directed his attention to Drake. "Mr. Graham would you like to start us off, tell me about your relationship, tell me exactly how you got to this room today,"
Drake just sighed already not liking the idea of discussing his problem with someone he didn't know. He glanced over at Nicki who just gave him a pleading look, which managed to get him talking. "We met just over five years ago through a mural friend, and I guess you could say things sparked of instantly. From then we made sure to see each other as often as we could and that allowed us to build on our friendship and eventually lead us to becoming a couple." He paused for a moment before continuing. "We were inseparable. Everything was going perfect, and we seemed to have just the right balance of everything in our lives. About a year into our relationship, I proposed, and she said yes. 8 months later, we had the most beautiful winter wedding in Toronto, with all of our family and friends present, and it genuinely was one of the best days of my life," he said with a small smile as he reminisced in their wedding day. "We went to the Dominican Republic, for our honeymoon, where we conceived our first little girl; she's three now, and to begin with the parenting experience was a new one for both of us, so we learnt together and helped each other out whenever we needed to," He paused for a moment. "Again everything was running smoothly and about a year and a bit later we conceived our second and, youngest daughter. She was more unexpected as Nicki had been on birth control at the time but nevertheless she was conceived through love and she was just an additional ray of sunshine to the family when we needed her most,"
"Why do you say that?" The counsellor asked, curious as to why he had phrased it that certain way.
"Before Nicki became pregnant with our youngest, she miscarried." He paused for a moment and watched as she reached for a tissue. "It was a rough patch in our relationship being that neither of us really knew how to deal with it, and not only did we blame ourselves, but we blamed each other and it drew us apart." He looked over at Nicki who had diverted her focus over to a picture on the wall. "Personally I feel that it's majority of the reason that we are where we are today,"
The counsellor nodded and diverted his attention to Nicki. "Do you agree that's where things took a left turn?" He asked her and she just nodded. "But he said that you had another daughter after the miscarriage, did that not draw you any closer?"
She took a deep breath before speaking. "For the most part it did. Throughout my pregnancy, he was very supportive and we didn't seem to have any issues, but after having her I got diagnosed with postnatal depression. That in itself didn't help our situation and if anything hindered our progress, and just lead to more arguments and pulled us even further apart."
"Did you know that she had postnatal depression?" He asked drake.
"Initially no, and I feel like that's where the problem was. Our communication as a married couple was already in a terrible state and, bearing in mind I wasn't aware at the time, I found it hard to communicate with her or even discuss her feelings so that I could understand what she was going through,"
"What do you think was the main cause of this Mrs. Graham, because it clearly wasn't a problem you faced after your first child?" He asked hoping they would get to the bottom of where their problems started.
