Page 43 of Tinley's Daddy
“Purple.” I didn’t buy her explanation but didn’t push her on it either. I wasn’t ready to go down that road. Besides the obvious, Josh deserved a much better little than me.
She grabbed the purple book and handed it to me. Then she skipped over to her desk and pulled open a jar. She took out a few pens, came back over to the corner, and sat in the chair. She handed me a pen, a marker, and a highlighter. They were all purple.
“The belt in my picture is what I would call a trigger for you. Triggers instantly take us back to something awful or good associated with it. It can be a word, an object, a person, or a situation. While we know, it’s not the same, our brain can do some funny things with triggers.”
“Like burst into tears?” I wiped my nose. “It’s so crazy.”
“Yeah, the brain is a strange organ and really gross too.” Dr. Maria shivered.
I giggled. She held out her hand and helped me up.
I flipped through the book. The cream paper was lined with purple lines.
“When you come across any triggers, even if just in your mind, I want you to write it down. Write about what the situation or object brought to mind and how it made you feel.” She squeezed my shoulder. “This is just for you. You don’t have to share it with anyone unless you want to.”
She headed toward the door.
My feet wouldn’t move.
Dr. Maria stopped and twirled with a flourish, her skirt settling down around her.
“Can I meet with you again?” I stared at my shoes. “I mean, if you have time.”
“Of course.” Dr. Maria skipped back to stand in front of me. “I’d love it. We can schedule a session?—”
“Oh, I’m sure you are expensive.” I couldn’t just use her because she was a friend of Josh’s. “I don’t have any money to pay you.”
“Hey, Tinley, don’t worry about that.” She placed a hand on my shoulder. Her warmth crawled down my arm. I liked being near her. “I don’t need to charge you right now. I would love to help, and I also like you and would like to be friends, and I don’t charge my friends.”
“Are you sure?” I flipped through my new journal. “You might get bored hearing about all my issues for free.”
“Bored!” Dr. Maria huffed. “My mother used to tell me all the time I was too nosy. I had to know everything. Well, now it’s a job requirement. I get paid to be nosy and lucky for my patients, it’s illegal for me to gossip about it. I get to keep all the secrets of others to myself. It’s weird, but it’s my love language.” Dr. Maria curtseyed and grabbed my hand and led me out the door.
I shuffled behind her.
Josh remained on the couch facing Dr. Anna. She had her hand on his arm.
Heat flared in my face. Why was she touching him?
“You two finished up?” Dr. Anna stood.
Josh followed. His smile lit up his whole face and it was directed at me. It lessened my ire.
“Yep.” Dr. Maria bounced over to her Mommy.
“Are you okay?” Josh took my hand.
“Yes.” I nodded and squeezed his hand. He squeezed mine back.
Dr. Maria and Dr. Anna moved behind the desk and were talking to Josh. I picked up on bits and pieces but couldn’t concentrate. I stared at Josh. His thumb rubbed across my knuckles as he discussed something with the doctors.
“Tinley.” Dr. Maria handed me a card. “Here’s all my info, including my cell number. You can call or text me any time and we’ll schedule our next session for Friday morning at nine a.m. If you’re not in the city, we can do it on Zoom. Okay?”
I took the card and flipped it over. The appointment date was written on the back.
“You ready?” Josh tilted his head.
“Yes.” I nodded.
