The Marriage Counselor

1. Oh. There you are.

Samantha

The marriage counseling wasn't even her idea, yet she's the one who actually decided to show up. 45 minutes early to be exact. The girl can't help it, she's a ball of anxiety. She just couldn't stand another second of pacing around the house, chewing her thumb nail, glancing at the time every five minutes. It's a new place, she reasoned, so of course she wanted to give herself ample time to find it. Fortunately- or unfortunately, she hasn't decided yet- the counselor's office is a lot closer to the house than she expected.

She's been sitting in the car inside the parking lot of the place, biting on whatever is left of her nails as she surveys the building. It's big, despite only having one counselor, made up of mostly glass windows. In the weeks leading up to their appointment, she searched the internet for this guy and his work. Dr. Henry Good. Plenty of positive reviews and recommendations, interviews, features, awards, Henry Good has certainly made a name for himself in the psychology world. Yet there doesn't seem to be a single picture of this man. In 2018, the age of technology and social media, this is the one counselor in the entire world without a face. It's been eating at her what he looks like. Ever since she found out the appointment date, she's been conversing with this imaginary counselor in her head. She's thought all about what he might ask, what she wants to say, and more, what Cody might say.

"I've been talking to my dad and brother about this. Did you know mom and dad did marriage counseling? I had no idea. They think it might really help us. They even recommended a guy..." 

It was one of the first things Cody had said to her after his trip to Italy for three weeks. She asked how the flight was and he threw that at her. Of course he told his family. Just another thing to hang over her head.

4:45 pm, the dashboard of the matte black Mercedes reads. She sighs and takes another look around the empty parking lot. Cody has a habit of being late for everything. If nepotism wasn't a thing, she'd question how her husband managed to be such a successful business man. She used to find it enduring. A cute little quirk of his. Oh, he just lives in the moment, he hates watches, he's a talker... He couldn't even make it on time to the wedding. At the time, she took comfort in the fact that they were so opposite in punctuality. It meant they needed each other. They balanced each other out. He was the yin to her yang. That was 7 years ago and now she doesn't know what to think.

She tries calling his cell phone. It doesn't even ring. Instead it goes straight to the voicemail she's heard too many times. "Hello. This is the voicemail of Cody Chambers. I'm sorry to have missed your call. If you need to schedule a meeting, please contact Stephanie at...."

"It's me," She says, trying to keep her tone light. She hates being the nagging wife. "I'm just calling to check where you are. I'm here at the.... counseling... office.  I made sure Stephanie had all the appointment information just in case you forgot. I'll text you the address just in case. Anyways, I hope I'll see you soon.... Love you..."

4:50 pm. She hangs up the call and shoves the phone in her purse. She could just leave. She doesn't have to do this. It's marriage counseling. It takes two people to do this. They can just pay whatever the cancellation fee is. And if Cody even thinks about lecturing her about this, she won't bite her tongue this time.

Maybe it's a test. She wouldn't put it past her husband. He wants her to exceed his expectations without ever communicating them. Somehow she managed to make it this far. She also can't find it in herself to start driving. The thought of abandoning the session on such short notice makes her stomach twist with guilt. Good girls respect people's time, her mother always said.

"Fuck you, mom," She mutters before reaching into the glove compartment for the thing that'll get her through the next hour of this session. She quickly retrieves the flask and shakes it to test its contents. It's definitely something you'd see an alcoholic do, keeping a secret stash of vodka in the car. She doesn't care how it looks. This stash has saved her plenty of times. She never drinks and drives. Instead, she'll take a big gulp to calm her anxiety before a party, an engagement, a dinner, dealing with her in laws. She only drinks enough to get a nice buzz going so whatever happens or whatever passive aggressive comment is said just bounces off her like rubber.