Therapy was pain and healing mixed in one.
Sometimes it felt like someone was picking at the skin of your fresh wound while forcing you to sit still through it and at other times it felt like you could feel ease seeping into your bones from the relief of dead weight.
Six sessions.
Jason and Liz had been to six individual couple session and three joint sessions with Tiara for co parenting and this was their fourth.
This session was one of the painful ones because it was Liz confronting then about their infidelity and it felt like pepper was being poured on her wound.
Liz hated this session.
She hated all the things she had found out. Things like finding out that it wasn't just one kiss. That Tiara had kissed him the first time and he had come home and not tell her.
The tension in the room was so thick you could slice it with a knife.
Their counsellor was the first one Liz had ever seen without glasses. All the ones she had ever met had glasses that they usually perched on their nose that Liz had joked about it to Jason on their first arrival.
"How does it make you feel knowing that your husband couldn't trust to tell you the first time Tiara kissed him?"
Liz shrugged not knowing the answer to give the woman.
Jason knew his woman enough to know she was locking him out and that the session was hurting way than she was letting on.
He placed his hands on her laps to hold her hand but she removed her hand sharply and Jason sighed deeply.
Tiara cast her face down ashamed,feeling so bare with the sharp glance Liz threw her.
The audacity of the woman to be kissing her husband and acting so meek throughout the Los Angeles trip felt like a slap to Liz.
"Have you forgiven him for what happened?" The counsellor asked again. Liz chose this time to focus on the potted plant that sat at the far end of the room admiring the broad and green leaves and wondering the amount of dedication it took to keep a thriving giant pot as that.
"I already said I did in the last meeting." Liz finally answered softly.
"It doesn't make sense that you can forgive him but not her. Two of them were involved." The counsellor answer and Tiara shifted for the fifth time. She was so uncomfortable.
Jason's phone began to beep. The more it rang the more he kept silencing it without viewing who was calling till he could no longer ignore it. It was army business and he excused himself to pick it when he returned without speaking Liz knew he had to leave and breathed harshly in relief. At least today's torture session was over or so she thought.
"Alright you can leave, we will continue the session without you." The doctor declared and Liz felt like strangling the older woman.
She was angsty. Every old hurt was resurfacing and she was starting to regret saying she forgave him. Because why did it feel like the scars was still there? As heavy as it was the first time she found out on that hospital bed.
Jason got up to leave and contemplated bending to kiss her cheek as a show of support. He could see the tension in the way she squared her shoulders and in the way she kept grinding her jaws and digging her fingers into her palm. He knew his woman enough to know that beyond that coldness in her eyes she was hurting.
So even though the gesture wasn't going to be appreciated he bent to kiss her forehead as quickly as he could and darted out muttering quick words of prayers underneath his breath that she wouldn't kill him when he returned.
"So where did we stop?" He could hear the therapist ask in order to continue the session.
*******
The room was very dark when Jason stepped in and he sighed again.
It was just seven in the evening but Liz was in a foul mood from the earlier therapy session.
"B," Jason called out in the dark when he entered their bedroom.
"Hmm," Liz answered and he switched on the main room light flooding everywhere with its brightness.
Adele's soulful music flowed gently from the background adding to the room's ambience.
"Hey." He greeted with a small unsure smile.
"Welcome." Liz answered gently.
"I brought food. He announced raising the nylon bag with all her favourite things to eat. He had drove almost an hour to get her the spicy barbecued meat mixed with plantain in pepper sauce she loved so much.
"Thank you." Liz answered not showing the slightest bit of enthusiasm.
He dropped the nylon beside the bed and sat beside her to loose the laces of his shoes. After this he removed his shirt throwing it to the laundry basket that sat beside the door and moved to shower.
When he returned in shorts and a round neck with a towel with which he used to wipe his short hair, he went straight to sit beside her on the bed tucking his legs under him so he sat yoga style facing her.
He was pleased to see that she had sat up and was finishing the last bits of the food he brought her. At least she still had an appetite.
He took his own plate and they ate in comfortable silence.
After eating he went back to brush and slid into bed beside her.
"We need to talk."
****
Happy new year guys!!!!
I pray all the blessings you need, God will grant you.
Love,
Orex.