Dear Journal:
"I went on several walks with sissy this week," I told Dr. Chen after we'd finished with our welcome pleasantries.
“She told me.”
I need to get used to sissy doing therapy now, too. It sucks on a number of levels, but it doubly sucks that her session is the day before mine. She will have already told her side of any juicy happenings by the time I’m on his couch.
“That was nice of you,” Dr. Chen continued.
"It was your idea."
“One you originally scoffed at, if I remember correctly. The fact that you reconsidered shows growth.”
The only person showing growth is sissy. I’ve been sabotaging her exercise with vat-sized Mocha Frappuccinos and taking additional walks by myself late at night to offset my own Starbucks indulgences.
Of course, I didn’t tell Dr. Chen that.
“Did Michelle invite you to go to the gym with her? She said she was going to. I told her I thought that was a good idea.”
My eyes widened in surprise. Then I remembered who we were talking about.
“No, she didn’t,” I said with a chuckle. “And she won’t.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Sissy doesn’t want to be seen with me at the gym. She doesn’t want to be seen with me, period.”
“She’s been taking walks with you.”
“Only because it’s super early and the chances of her seeing anyone she knows are nil.”
“Jessie, I don’t think you’re being fair.” Dr. Chen admonished me with a measured, placating tone that riled me up even more.
“My sister treats me like an embarrassment for years, and I’m being unfair?”
“You have to allow her to change. It seems like that’s what she’s trying to do.”
“She’s just telling you what you want to hear. She’s good at that. That’s why she’s so popular.”
“Jessie, now that I’ve met her, I really don’t think—"
“You’ve talked with her for two hours. You don’t know her better than I do.”
Dr. Chen jotted something on his pad. “That’s true.”
After that, we moved on to a sissy-free subject, and the session proceeded without incident. Then, with about 15 minutes left, he excused himself to use the restroom, leaving his notepad facedown in his chair.
I couldn’t resist a peek. Often, his chicken-scratch is indecipherable, but his recent inscription was clear as a bell--
Recommend family session.
--Jessie