River Teeth

The Sound and the Fury

November 6, 2015

"Are you sure you don't want me to go in with you?" Kyle leaned forward, elbows on his thighs. He looked at Stan.

"I'm sure. Maybe in the future, you could. But I think I should be alone this time."

Kyle sighed and looked down at his feet. "I don't want you to feel abandoned."

"Abandoned? How?"

"I just don't want you to feel like I'm not there for you."

"Let me worry about how I feel." He tucked an auburn curl behind Kyle's ear, and added a little quietly, "I know that you love me."

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Kyle smiled, cupping Stan's hand around his own ear now.

Stan smiled back, then looked down at his lap. He said, a touch louder: "I know you love me."

Kyle squeezed his hand. "I do. I hope you keep remembering that." He watched Stan continue to smile at his lap. "Hey," he pulled his sleeve so Stan would look at him, "A lot of people love you."

Stan leaned back and the chair creaked. He regarded Kyle with warm, placid eyes. He let the sentence sit in his ears. A lot of people love you.

"But you're the one who matters the most," Stan said. "Thanks for bringing me here."

A door clicked open next to them, and a woman popped her head out. "Marsh?"

Both Stan and Kyle stood up suddenly.

"Yes, hi." Stan started walking toward her.

"Hi Stan, I'm Dr. Kathy," she extended a tan, manicured hand to him. He shook it gingerly, then turned back to look at Kyle.

"I'll be here when you get out," Kyle said, answering a question Stan didn't need to ask.

"Thank you," Stan mouthed before turning to follow Dr. Kathy behind a large wooden door and into a beige hallway.

Kyle sat back down and crossed one leg over the other, arms stretched out over the metal arms of the chair. It was a small waiting room - dimly lit and playing music that Kyle swore was played during their pre-school nap time. The front desk assistant hummed along to the soft saxophone while stapling papers.

They found this clinic in a withered plaza next to a coffee shop and a building that used to be a dance studio but was now overtaken by an Italian-American retirement club. The old men in there spent all day sitting around a plastic table, playing cards, smoking, and complaining about their wives. After Stan's first few sessions with Dr. Kathy, Kyle felt comfortable enough to leave, and he would often smoke with them until Stan was done. Their anecdotes made no sense, but Kyle found it to be good company. They often tried to give him life advice - some good, some weird, and it always ended with "don't ever get a wife."

I don't intend to get a wife, sir.

Atta boy, with a shoulder clap. Also, you should quit smoking - you don't want to end up looking like us.

Oh horse feathers, Kyle would say, You're the most beautiful men I've ever played cards with.

A big laugh and another shoulder clap.

It wasn't the most ideal system, but using the cheap clinic was a better alternative than having to go to Sharon and Randy for help. According to Stan, if his parents got involved, Randy would surely find a way to make it all about himself. If this idea went south, then they would have to go to their parents for help. He made Stan promise.