Page 13 of Blessings in Disguise

“How are you today?”

“A bit better. Coming to see you helps me.”

He knew the feeling.

“How are things at home?”

“Gus is making an effort. I told him I’m going to take steps if it happened again.”

“What steps would you take?”

“Well, first I’d call the police, as you advised. Then, if he doesn’t stop, I’d file for a separation.”

Caleb waited. When she didn’t say more, he asked, “Has he hit you since I last saw you?”

“No. I think he believed what I told him.”

Caleb hoped her husband had gotten the message but abusers relapsed more often than not.

“Hmm. Another thing you could do is find a lawyer and make a connection with them. Plan to hire them if Gus doesn’t stop abusing you. It would be a sort of safety net.”

“All right. Do you have suggestions for who to call?”

“Yes. And she meets with clients who might need her at no cost. A few of my clients use her now.” He got up, went to his computer, clicked into the Resources folder and names came up. He wrote the information down and handed it to Marianne. “I hope you’ll follow through with this.”

“It’s a big step but I’m ready to take it.”

Caleb believed her. They spent the rest of the hour talking about her getting a job. How to stand up to Gus. Calling her friends, who he’d isolated her from. At the end, he knew he’d helped the woman. Which felt good.

At four, he arrived at his own psychologist’s office. Rob had let him in. The space still felt warm and inviting. He sat in his usual spot.

Rob smiled at him. “So, tell me why you’re back.”

“A couple of things I need advice about. One is that I’m counseling a troubled teenager from Pathways. It’s new ground for me.”

“Tell me what you can.”

He briefly described how he and Harlan had met, and in general, revealed some of what was troubling him. Then he told Rob about the sketchbook. Especially the last page.

“What do you make of that one?” Rob asked.

“It’s haunting me. I’m afraid he could be suicidal.”

“He could be, Caleb.”

“Then I’ll have to address it.”

“Just remember he keeps coming back. The drawing could be a cry for help.”

“Yeah. This is all good.”

“Do you want to talk about him more?”

“No, I know what I have to do.”

“You said you wanted to talk about two things. What else?”

He took in a huge breath and let it out. “I met someone.

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