Robert sat down on the black leather couch across from Liz who leaned back in her seat, crossing her legs, her hands folded in her lap.
"Hello Robert", she greeted politely and half smiled at him, her voice soft and welcoming as always, as she tucked a strand behind her ear, "How do you feel today?"
He shrugged and scratched his neck.
"I'm okay", he answered then, "Not worse than before."
She nodded slightly.
"Would you like to talk about anything specific?", she wanted to know.
He shrugged again, avoiding her gaze.
"Everything we talk about is inconvenient", he mumbled sarcastically, "Just go ahead."
She coughed slightly.
"Well", she said then, "There's something we should talk about. Urgently. I think it's the root of your actual condition, Robert."
"As I said, just go ahead", he repeated apathetically.
She swallowed hard and took a deep breath.
"Your drinking problem", she continued calmly, "Robert, you're an alcoholic."
He raised his head, regarding her closely.
"Umm", he muttered quietly and ran his fingers through his hair, "I don't have a drinking problem..."
Suspiciously, Liz raised her eyebrows and quickly looked at me for a second before she looked back at Robert.
"Okay, maybe I have a little alcohol problem", he admitted then and crossed his arms, "But it's okay. I can control it."
"That's what you call control?", I asked in surprise, "Robert, you're drinking every evening before you go to bed. You're drinking every morning when you wake up. You're drinking because you think it'll make you feel better. But it doesn't. The truth is, it only makes you feel worse."
I carefully reached out for his hand, gently stroking its' back with my thumb.
Liz regarded us closely, never keeping her eyes off Robert who was nervously moving from the left to the right on the couch.
Suddenly, he chuckled and buried his head in his hands.
"Well, I might have a drinking problem. I've already had some alcohol problems earlier but..."
He took a deep breath as his hands started to shiver again.
"I met Kate in a very dark time of my life", he explained quietly, staring down at the ground, "I was dark. And she helped me. She really helped me getting through those struggles. I know, I'm a very complicated person who's really awkward to handle. But somehow, she managed to deal with me. She reached out for my hand and led me out of the dark. She showed me the beauty of life and how to enjoy it, enjoy the little things... She saved me."
I recognized his eyes had filled with tears in the meantime.
"But now I'm alone again. I fell down into the deep dark hole I've crawled out with her help", he continued after a second, "That darkness, it's still in me. I'm surrounded by the same darkness I've been used to before she brightened my life. Everything is dark and empty without her. And that's the problem. Because when I'm alone, all those bad feelings grow on me. The darkness and the emptiness. The blame and the guilt. And the only way to escape is... To drink. It makes the pain go away. At least for a short time."
A single tear streamed down his cheek but he quickly wiped it away.
"Alcohol doesn't soothe your pain, Robert", Liz said with her welcoming voice, making him feel comfortable again as she moved to the edge of her seat, unfolding her legs again, "Have you ever tried something less detrimental to distract yourself?"
He stared out of the window.
It has already become dark outside although it was only 5 p.m. But it was winter and sunset happened to start earlier than usually. Regarding the environment closer, I recognized the first snowflakes falling down, covering the streets and trees under a white blanket.
"Robert?"
Quickly, he looked back at her, running his fingers through his messy dark brown hair.
"No, not really", he admitted honestly and faked a smile, trying to hide his insecurity.
"Well", Liz suggested and shrugged, folding her hands in her lap, "How about going jogging?"
Immediately, I started to laugh. Then I recognized a slight smile on Robert's lips.
"Robert doesn't go jogging", I mumbled and chuckled.
"Kate always wanted me to go jogging", he added then, "She always tried to convince me but this was the only thing I never did for her. She went jogging every morning. It was some sort of ritual for her to start the day. But not mine..."
He laughed quietly, shaking his head.
"What about now? Maybe you've changed your mind..."
Robert looked at her with his sad caramel eyes but didn't answer her.
"You could give it a try", she kept encouraging him, "Not necessarily jogging but you should do something instead of drinking to distract yourself. Like jogging. Or dancing, swimming, whatever you prefer."
He shrugged and they remained silent for a while.
"Yeah, I could", he eventually agreed with her, nervously scratching his neck, "It won't kill me, right?"
He chuckled, slightly shaking his head.
"No, it won't", Liz repeated, her voice soft and calm, "And Robert?"
Slowly, he looked up to her and their eyes met. A smile appeared on her lips.
"I'm proud of you", she continued then, "A few weeks ago, you would have thrown me out of the window just for suggesting distraction. You might not recognize it yourself but you've already made a huge advancement. I'm really proud of you, Robert."
She half smiled at him, tucking another strand behind her ear.
He nodded slightly. And although he'd never admit it, he felt flattered because of her kind words.
"Will I see you on Monday?", Liz asked as both got up and she showed him to the door.
"Yeah, I'll be there", he answered and put on his dark grey scarf and his black coat.
Suddenly, she regarded him closely from head to toe.
"Or do you have anything else on your mind?", Liz wanted to know but he shook his head.
She nodded hesitantly.
"Have a nice weekend, Robert", she then waved goodbye before she closed the door behind him.
Robert walked down the stairs, closing the last buttons of his coat before he stepped outside where his messy dark brown hair was blown by a cold breeze, making him shiver immediately.
Little snowflakes constantly fell and landed on his coat, slowly melting before they irretrievably disappeared.
After walking a few minutes, Robert pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
"Guy?", he asked then.
"Robert", I heard Guy Ritchie's voice, obviously happy and surprised at the same time, "What do you say?"
"I'll accept the job", Robert finally declared, "But first, I have to finalize something. Something that's really important for me."
He looked up to the sky, narrowing his eyes because of the bright winter sun.
"Sure, take your time", Guy agreed with his conditions, "Just call me when you're up to start."
"Of course", Robert said before he hung up again.
Immediately, I linked arms with him, laying my head on his shoulder.
"It was the right choice, Robbie", I whispered quietly and closed my eyes.
"I assume you're Kate", the British man in front of me greeted politely and offered me his hand.
I nodded quickly.
"Kate Deveraux", I introduced myself and smiled at him.
"Jude Law", he countered and softly kissed my knuckles, making me blush immediately, "Nice to finally meet you. Robert has told me so much about you. It seems like I've known you for years already."
"Is that true?", I asked, raising my eyebrows as I turned around to face Robert.
"Thanks for embarrassing me, man", he said sarcastically.
"Yeah, he's talking about you all the time", Jude continued and couldn't stop laughing.
"Just keep going", Robert mumbled and sighed.
I gently laid my hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat against my fingers before I stood up on tiptoes and placed my lips on his.
"No need to worry, Robbie", I whispered quietly, "That's actually cute."
"Ah, really?", he mumbled and kissed me again.
"God, stop", Jude interrupted us and we both started to laugh, "Take a room!"
Robert threw his coat and his scarf on the ground as soon as he was back home, strolling upstairs.
He passed by our chamber, slowly walking towards the room at the end of the hallway. The room, we used to avoid because of all the memories and pain we associated with it. The room that still had her name written on the door.
Robert stopped in front of the wooden door, slowly running his fingers over the five letters covered in dust.
I recognized the twitch in the corner of his mouth before he faked a weak smile and entered our bedroom to finally get some sleep.
But I remained behind, still staring at the five letters on the door, thinking of the room with the rosa walls and the little bed inside. Choking a scream as I remembered how many nights I've spent in there, crying. I had felt like I was drowning. I couldn't breathe and used to wrap my arms around my body tightly like it would have helped to catch my breath again.
The only- yet most important- thing I've learned during that time was...
Time heals all wounds.