Page 24 of Taming a Menace
I let out an audible sigh when most of the people occupying the seats in the lobby got up and followed the guy into the other room. Not that I was glad the people had to take a drug class, but I was grateful that all of those damn people weren’t waiting ahead of me to see an officer. Once they cleared the room, only me and one other dude sat there waiting.
I took my time reading over the next couple of emails wishing that I had something to write on. My favorite kind of client had reached out to me. Someone wanted a chef three days a week while she was dealing with a new diagnosis of diabetes.
While I wasn’t a dietician, I had enough knowledge to be able to help her go in the right direction. Since she mentioned that she’d gotten my daily rates from my brother Kannon, I knew money wasn’t an issue. She just wanted to improve her health. I was all too eager to help her make the necessary adjustments.
I glanced at the clock while I typed out the response to her message. It was ten minutes after ten. So much for making sure I was on time. Punctuality only mattered to the people on this side of the window. Nobody behind the glass or back in those offices gave a damn about time. By the time someone called my name, I had responded to five emails and beat two levels ofmy crossword puzzle. I looked up to see Franklin’s bony nose leading the way.
“Glover, come with me,” he said, motioning with his head.
Counting backward from twenty, I glanced at the clock and shook my head. It was ten thirty-five.
“You forgot you asked me to come at ten?” I asked as I followed his scrawny ass down the hall to his office.
“I did not,” he clarified.
“I couldn’t tell. I been sitting out there since nine forty-five.”
“And now you’re about to sit here until we hash out what’s going on with your court mandated sessions,” he stated.
“The lady kicked me out,” I said, raising my shoulders.
“I’m aware. Have a seat, Mr. Glover.”
“Frankie, look. If you’re going to violate me, at least let me go get some pussy and eat breakfast first,” I said, never moving out of the doorway.
“Have a seat and let’s discuss our options,” he repeated.
“Oh I got options? Why didn’t you say that?” I laughed a little as I walked further into the office and sat down in the chair.
“Well you only have one option. Since the group settings don’t seem to be your thing, I spoke to my supervisor. She agreed that one on one therapy sessions is our next course of action. You will have to take thirty sessions to fulfill your requirements. The sessions will be?—”
“Wait a minute now. Therapy?” I asked cutting him off before he could go any further.
“Yes, therapy. Court mandated in fact.”
“I don’t need no therapy, Frankie.” I shook my head.
“That’s not for you or me to determine. Counseling was part of your sentence. You fucked up majorly on the anger management sessions. Her notes are filled with how you refused to participate and missed all the sessions that you weren’t late for.”
“I told you I was catching hell getting home at three in the morning and then trying to make it to her classes by nine.”
“Well now your window of time has opened up a little bit.”
“Y’all couldn’t find any other anger management classes to put me in?” I quizzed.
“Didn’t you tell me the classes weren’t working anyway?”
“Yeah, but that’s not why I wasn’t going though.”
“Well now it’s off the table altogether. Maybe therapy will be the thing that actually helps with your anger. Who knows?”
“I don’t need therapy, Franklin. I just need people to leave me the fuck alone.”
“Unfortunately, we have to share the world with other people. You have to learn to adapt to their presence.”
“I hear you.” I shook my head, knowing that there was no way around this shit.
“We are reaching out to a couple of the centers in the area that see our patients. I’ll have them give you a call to set up your appointments. You will see them twice a week for fifteen weeks, then we will go from there.”
