Nervous

I had blocked out the next three hours for Jonquinette and her parents and we made good use of every minute of it. We talked about her childhood and Jonquinette seemed troubled to the point where I thought she might lose it a few times as she heard firsthand accounts of things she never did.

37

jonquinette

“Are you ready?” Mason asked me when I opened my door. “We have a tight schedule to keep.”

I blushed. “Yes, I’m ready. Just let me grab a lightweight jacket.”

I was kind of worn out from the therapy session but nothing would have stopped me from spending quality time with Mason. In many ways, being with Mason was probably the best therapy of all.

First, we went to the Atlanta History Center. I learned so much about a city where I had lived for several years. Mason said it was a shame for people to live someplace and have the tourists actually visit more of the museums and attractions. We walked the thirty-three acres of gardens, woodlands, and nature trails after visiting the inside exhibits. Watching the children running through the gardens made me suddenly think about actually having a child one day. In a perfect world, it would happen.

We left the Center and headed to the High Museum of Art. There was an exhibit of African-American art, so we had chosen the perfect day to go there. We walked up and down the ramps, taking in all the beautiful paintings and sculptures. There were several by an artist named Quinton Matthews. I had heard that name someplace, maybe in a news story, but couldn’t recall all the details. Either way, his work was magnificent. In fact, I was so moved by the intricate details of his work that I stopped by the gift shop and picked up a reproduction of one of them entitled Forever in Love.

I was getting tired but was determined to hang, so when Mason suggested going to Zoo Atlanta next, I was all for it. We went to the zoo in Grant Park and saw the giant pandas, Lun Lun and Yang Yang, the zoo’s main attraction. Afterward we went to the petting zoo and had a ball playing with the animals. When we left, I just knew we were headed home but . . .

. . . We drove out to Stone Mountain Park and it wasn’t crowded at all for that time of year. I had always wanted to go there but had no one to go with. Ever since I had lost the baby fat back in high school, I had managed to stay in good shape by watching my diet for the most part. Mason was in great shape, as I had found out firsthand when we made love. I still blushed every time I thought about it. We opted against the cable car and the 1.3 mile hike up the side of the mountain was a breeze. We walked through a canyon of boulders that were covered by chewing gum. It was quite a hilarious sight.

We got to the top, more than 1,600 feet above sea level, and took in the spectacular view. We found a cozy spot where no one else was hovering around and made out for about thirty minutes. It was incredible.

It was getting close to sunset so we decided we needed to head back down while the visibility was still good. We did have time to go pedal boating right quick and we ended up having a race with a couple of teenage boys. We beat them big-time and were out of the boat and chilling on the dock by the time they were tied up.

Mason and I went back home just long enough for us to go to our respective apartments, shower and change. Then we headed back out again. I took three vitamins first. The shower almost put me out, I was so exhausted.

We ended up at Cherry, an eclectic sushi bar on Peachtree Street. We had the Tuna Tataki, which was mouthwatering and shared a glass of American wine. We topped it off with a bowl of cherry cobbler, which we also shared. The inside of the place was classy and completely decorated in red. Apparently, it used to be a residence that dated back to the early 1920s.

By that point, I was tired, full, and ready to go back home and cuddle. But Mason wouldn’t hear of it. He said, “You need to make up for lost time, Jonquinette. There are so many things you should’ve already experienced that you haven’t. Let me help you create more memories. Positive memories.”

I blushed and said, “Okay, let’s go for it.”

“Then let’s go relax and have some fun,” he said, taking my hand and pulling me out the restaurant.

Our last stop of the evening turned out to be anything but relaxing. We ended up at The Punchline, where Sir Laughs-a-Lot was performing. He was one of my all-time favorites. I fell in love with his humor way back when he used to star on Bet You I Can Make You Laugh. Mason had called ahead and made reservations so our little wooden table was close to the front. I almost lost my drink when he told a joke about a woman running into her doctor’s office screaming and complaining about having too much hair on her breasts. When the doctor asked her how much the hair was growing, she said from her breasts down to her penis. That was too funny.

We spent a couple of hours laughing so hard that we were brought to tears and then Mason asked, “Ready to go home?”

I eyed him seductively. “Your home or my home?”

He kissed my forehead. “Choose.”

“Well, since you treated me to a bubble bath last time, reciprocity is in order. Want to christen my tub?”

“Absolutely.”

That’s exactly what we did.

38

marcella

It was time. I was determined not to let Jonquinette and her parents leave my office until I exposed the truth. I had grown to care about Jonquinette, as I did all my patients. But there was something fragile about her that I felt the need to shield. It was actually ironic. I was beginning to identify with the reasoning behind Jude’s actions. Jonquinette was the kind of spirit that people would naturally be drawn toward to shelter.

They all arrived at the same time, instead of separately like the previous session.

“Come on in and have a seat,” I said as they walked in single file. I went to the outer office and told my receptionist to put the phones on night and go ahead and leave for the day. There was no point in her staying since I had no more patients scheduled and I was not going to take any calls.

When I came back in, they were all seated: Jonquinette on the chaise and her parents on the couch.