Page 66 of Back to You

“Yes ma’am.”

“Damn right.”

He hugged her on his way out of the office, and pointed his car toward the address Lake had given him.

He wasn’t sure what to expect, but it wasn’t the old house he arrived at. He double-checked the address, then noticed a sign in the front yard that said “Caldwell Psychology.” This was the right place, then.

Ethan headed in the front door where he found a lovely sitting area next to a receptionist’s desk. He checked in, and was told Sarah would be right with him.

He heard the unexpected jingle of dog tags right before the golden retriever turned the corner.

“Well hey, buddy,” Ethan said, surprised to see the dog in an office. “What are you doing here?”

The dog regarded Ethan for a moment, then walked over and set his head on Ethan’s knee. He turned soulful eyes up and met Ethan’s head on. They were still locked in a staring match when a woman’s voice called out.

“Ethan Thompson?”

“That’s me.” He stood up, and the dog stood with him. He walked over to the woman, aware of the dog shadowing his every step.

“Hi, I’m Sarah, and that is Chauncey. He’s an emotional support animal. Are you okay with dogs?”

“Ah, yeah, I’ve never really been around them. But he seems like a good dog.”

“Sometimes he focuses in on people who are in extreme emotional turmoil. He’s really impressive. He seems to have focused on you. Would you be at all interested in him joining our sessions? It might help you.”

Ethan glanced down at Chauncey, who was still staring. “Why do I feel like he’s looking into my soul?”

“Yeah, he’s like that.”

“Sure, I’m fine with him joining us.” He hoped she had a lint roller.

He followed Sarah back to her office and dropped down in a comfy chair. She took the chair opposite him.

“I have all your intake paperwork, and it says you’re here because you recently got out of a long-term relationship and you’re struggling.”

“That’s right.”

Chauncey resumed his position at Ethan’s knee, staring at him as though to say, “Tell me more.”

So Ethan did. He explained how he’d ruined the best thing that ever happened to him by putting his job first for so long. He shared how wrecked he’d been since the break up, how all he did was work, how little he ate or slept. He looked into Chauncey’s eyes as he spilled his guts, and felt a little calmer.

“So you put the blame for the relationship failing solely on your shoulders?” Sarah said.

“Yes. I mean, I was the one working such long hours and neglecting Brandon. It was my fault.”

“Rarely is the breakdown of a relationship entirely the fault of a single person,” she said. “I understand that your work played a huge role in the break up, but it’s our job to root out the cause of these issues, so that we understand everything that’s at play here.”

They talked for a while, just going over Ethan’s background and history. He saw her eyes sharpen when he talked about his parents and their neglect, and figured that she was planning to focus a lot of time on that. He wasn’t surprised.

Throughout the session, Chauncey gave him his full, rapt attention. It was as if the dog understood every word he was saying, and those big liquid eyes seemed to say “It’ll be okay.”

Once the session came to an end, they set up recurring weekly sessions. Sarah stood to walk him out, Chauncey following at his heels. When he got to the door, Chauncey gave him a single bark. Ethan imagined it was his way of saying, “We’ve got this.”

He left feeling just a bit lighter.

***

Brandon stared at the TV. “What is happening here?”

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