Page 26 of Little Shattered Dreams

I took his hands.

“Close your eyes and breathe with me,” he said.

I closed them.

He continued.

“Breathe in and hold the breath there. Holding. Holding. A few seconds longer. Almost there. Good. Now breathe it out.”

He repeated the same process a few more times.

After the fourth time, he added, “As you breathe out this time, let the breath relieve you of all that is on your mind, all that’s weighing you down. Breathe out the past. Breathe out the present. Breathe out all the toxicity built up within you, the pain and frustration, the struggle. Release it, Georgiana. Release it all, and then bring yourself to this space, this moment, this time, in this room. Right now.”

I wanted to stop.

I wantedhimto stop.

But as I sat there, thinking of my agenda, reminding myself of why I stopped in to see him. I had to admit something to myself. There was something about this exercise, something about the breathing in and breathing out. Something that made me feel …different, and as much as I wanted to fight it, I found myself leaning into it.

We sat in silence for a time.

Seconds felt like minutes.

Minutes like hours.

I wouldn’t have allowed it to go on so long, except that I knew the longer I sat there, focusing on myself, the longer I’d get to discuss Quinn.

So I sat.

“How do you feel?” he asked.

“Relaxed, I guess.”

“Wonderful. I'd like to go a little deeper now and talk about your childhood.”

“What about it?”

“Why did you choose to become a detective?”

It seemed like an innocent enough question, even though I wondered why he’d asked it. And yet, for the first time since I’d arrived at the retreat, I found myself wanting to answer.

“To help people,” I said.

“Your father was a detective. Tell me more about him.”

I wondered how much my mother had already said.

“I'm not sure what to tell you,” I said. “Anything you need to know about my father I expect my mother has already told you.”

“She may have, but I would like to hear it from you. Her experience is not your experience.”

A fair point.

“My father was the best person I’ve ever known in my life,” I said. “I wish he was still here.”

“What made your father a great man in your eyes?”

“He was selfless, always helping those who couldn’t help themselves. Every murder case he took on, he worked tirelessly until it was solved and the victim’s families had closure.”

---