Learning Love-Chapter Three

Remy shot up and gazed around the dark interior of her new bedroom shaking, “I hate nightmares”, she said, as she pulled the covers closer to her chin. In it she was being chased by a masked man in an alley shouting something she couldn’t decipher and telling her, to stop, stop. Stop what, she thought. Darcy said this might happen, Remy sighed thinking on how her therapist from San Francisco said she might experience some aftermath struggles because of the divorce. When she said aftermath struggles I never knew she meant nightmares. I wonder what Dr. Fraud would say about Tasker.

“Remy Laurent?”

Remy looked up from the People magazine she was reading and found a tall, skinny black woman smiling down at her from the doorway.

“Yes, that’s me”, she replied hesitantly, not wanting to draw attention to herself amongst the other people waiting. She put down the magazine on the table in front of her and stood up.

“I’m Darcy Froud, nice to meet you, come right this way to my office.” She led with confidence to a room several doors down on the right; it read Darcy Froud, Ph.D.

Remy stepped in, contemplating whether it was too late to make a run for it. Ever since Addison had helped Remy find her apartment after she split from Cooper, she had been urging Remy to go see Dr. Froud. Apparently she was a genius at finding your true feelings about your relationship and using them to find a solution for your future, so you can either move on, or mend it. In Remy’s case it was to move on-and quick.

“So Remy, have you ever been to a therapist before?” She looked at Remy, expecting a yes, since the majority if not all had received prior care one way or another.

“Actually…no, I’ve never been to one.” Remy contemplated using the bathroom as an excuse to leave, but stopped herself by thinking that a hundred dollars is too much to walk out on.

“Alright well, I see in your chart that you’re 23 years old, a graduate of USC Berkeley, and are currently unemployed?”

Remy fidgeted in the leather seat, uncomfortable with the forwardness of the therapist. “Yes, that’s right.” She looked down, unable to make eye contact.

“And the most obvious, you’re recently divorced, otherwise why would you be here, right. So let’s get started. How old were you when you married, what is his name?”

Remy looked away from her gaze and breathed, “Cooper, Cooper Gartier.”

“Right and where did you meet Cooper?”

“We met at a local bar near campus my sophomore year." Remy looked away, and sighed, very uncomfortable with the therapist.

The therapist furrowed her brow, "I can see you're uncomfortable, can you tell me more about that?"

Remy looked at her and smiled a half smile, "It's just, I've never done this before, I feel a little trapped."

"Alot of my clients respond this way initially, it takes time to be comfortable. Why don't you just tell me what's on your mind."

Remy sighed again, and took a deep breath. "I mean, I came here to work things out in my head, ya know, try to understand why I acted or why I did things, and when. I just don't know where to start."

Dr. Froud nodded, and continued by saying, "Since you've stated this is for yourself to overcome the divorce, tell me how it was with Cooper, you know during the marriage, or really begin where you feel is appropriate."

Remy sighed and looked upward towards the ceiling and busied herself with the circling of the overhead fan before answering. “I was never more in love.”