Page 48 of Gideon's Gratitude

“Great, you’re doing great. Can you tell me why you called today?”

“Because I need to speak to a counselor. Like, now.”Or I’ll lose my nerve.

“I hear you, Gideon, and I’m going to do what I can. May I place you on hold for one moment?”

“Yeah, I guess, I mean, sure.”

“Thank you. I’ll be right back.”

The line clicked and some classical muzak started. Nothing obnoxious, but it didn’t soothe either.

Why am I doing this?

Because you want to see the kids.

What if he doesn’t let me?

You can show him you’re trying.

“Gideon?”

I hadn’t heard the click or noticed the music was gone. “Yes.”

“Kennedy has an opening at five o’clock, and will be happy to see you.”

Dread filled my gut. “She doesn’t really have an opening, does she? She’s just fitting me in.”Am I looking for an excuse?

“Gideon, if Kennedy wasn’t able to find you an appointment today, I’d be honest about it. She’s concerned about you and wants to make sure you’re okay.”

“She doesn’t know me.” Oh, God, what if she did? What if Leo had called the woman and ratted about me?

“No, she doesn’t.” Quiet assurance. “But I hear the stress in your voice and conveyed that to Kennedy. If you want to come another—”

“No, I’ll take it. I’ll be there at five.”

“Great. If you provide me with your email, I can send you our intake form. You can send it back and that will prepare Kennedy. I’ll also include information about the counseling center and what you can expect.”

Honestly, I hadn’t gotten that far. Had never pictured myself making the call. “And your address, right?”

“Yes, absolutely.” Her smile lit through the phone and, weirdly, it calmed me. “Now, how are you with dogs?”

“I own one.” Blurted out without thought.

“Oh, lovely. Would you like to bring them?”

“You want me to bring Lucky? To your, uh, center?”

“Well, we have a therapy dog available for appointments, but we’re always thrilled to welcome clients’ pets. I might put my foot down at a full-grown pig, but you never know. I might be persuaded under the right circumstances.”

This was too ludicrous to fathom. “Yeah, I’ll bring Lucky.” Why not? Nothing else made sense these days.

“Great. If you’ll give me your email, I’ll send you the information right away.”

I rattled it off and within moments had said goodbye to the woman. The woman whose name I hadn’t caught. With impatience, I waited for the email to arrive. When it finally did, I clicked and waited for it to open. I scanned it once through before reading more closely. Therapy dogs. Horses. Nothing about pigs. What had she said about pigs?

Okay, calmer.

I opened the document and diligently completed my information. I hadn’t asked about cost, and this was likely to be more than I could afford, but I couldn’t afford not to. I’d figure it out. More days of mac and cheese.

---