A Lover's Lament
“Sometimes in life, we have to go with our heart instead of our head,” Dr. Perry says, offering me a gentle smile “We have to trust that our heart will lead us on the right path, even if it’s not the path we originally expected to be on.” I nod, waiting for her to continue, waiting for her to give me the confirmation that I’ve already given myself. She smirks and shakes her head. “You’re not stupid, you’re human, and you’re in love.”
I suck in a sharp breath.
In love?
Am I in love?
Don’t get me wrong, my feelings are still strong … but in love?
“Don’t think too hard about that.” Dr. Perry scribbles something on her notepad before dropping it on the table between us. “It’s just an observation and not something you should be scared of. You’re an incredibly intelligent woman, Katie. You just managed to get off track, but I’m not really worried about you.”
“You’re not?” Really? Because I’m sort of worried about me.
“No.” Dr. Perry shakes her head and pushes a chunk of hair behind her ear. “You’ve got an amazing support system. I’ve watched you grow stronger every single time you’ve come in, and you’re starting to make tough choices without getting overwhelmed. Plus, when you walked in here earlier, you looked lighter than I’ve ever seen you look. You looked happy.”
“I am happy.”
“Good.”
“Can we talk about Wyatt now?”
Dr. Perry tosses her head back and laughs. “Absolutely! Let’s talk about Wyatt.”
“Am I leading him on by going to dinner with him?”
“No,” she states firmly. “You know what you want, and that’s Devin. What you’re giving Wyatt is closure, and I think it’s something that he deserves.”
Well, I didn’t think of it that way. “Closure, huh?”
“You didn’t get closure when Devin left you. He just took off, and you were stuck behind to pick up your own pieces.” I cringe when her words bring up an onslaught of memories—bad ones—but I get where she’s coming from. “It seems Wyatt still needs closure, and maybe one last dinner will help drill home the fact that you haven’t changed your mind.”
“Alright.” I nod. “How about Bailey?”
“Who’s asking the questions here?”
“You are,” I say, grinning.
“More than likely, Bailey feels guilty for the way she’s been pushing you on top of everything you’ve gone through. Cut her some slack. She’s your sister.”
“So next time I see her, I just hug her and tell her I love her?” Because that’s really what I want to do.
“I bet she would love that.”
“I bet you’re right.”
“Now it’s my turn.” Dr. Perry folds her hands in her lap, and the smile slowly falls. “Let’s talk about Andrew Drexler.”
The first thing I notice is that when she says his name, I don’t instantly panic. My body doesn’t freeze up and my blood doesn’t start to boil. “What about him?”
“Have you read his letter yet?”
It’s sitting on my dresser at home. “Nope.”
“Is there a reason why you haven’t?”
I’m scared. “I haven’t had time.” My words come out more like a question and less like the statement I was going for.
Dr. Perry notices. “Haven’t had time or haven’t made time?”