Chapter Three
After they visited with Elaine, they headed outside.
“There’s Upper Sparrow and Lower Sparrow, and that is where all of the clients that aren’t in Main stay.
Most people will stay maybe a night or two in the Main and then transfer over to their counselors’ houses.
The Church doesn’t usually get a lot of medically fragile people because it’s a little farther away from campus, though. And that over there is The Church.”
Tyler was right. It was a church. Or at least it looked like it from the back.
Sitting on top of the hill, there was an old one-room Southern-style church.
Trees flanked one side of it, along with a couple of picnic tables and yet more smoking towers.
In order to get to it, one would have to follow the path over a little covered bridge.
It looked to have a dry creek bed underneath it.
It was a bit of a hike up the hill, but she didn’t mind.
There was something different here. Early morning spring frost still clung to the grass in the bright sun.
It was like it was sparkling. The whitewashed church, even if it was just the back, felt immediately warmer than the area they had just left.
The heat of the sun and the smell of pines mingled in the thicket of trees beside them, all combining into an instant mood booster.
And it only increased from there.
The moment she entered the building, it was a whole different world.
What was once an old one-room Southern church was now divided into offices with one long L-shaped hall.
Directly by the back door was the employee bathroom and a copy-and-fax-machine combo.
The shelves behind it were painted bright blue and were filled with copy paper and an assortment of office supplies.
Unlike the Main building, the walls were bright white and covered in client art.
When they turned the corner to the long hall, the fluorescent lights above shone on the highly polished, yellowed wood floors.
She could see inside a small conference room.
Stacked chairs of different types lined a wall, while she could just make out words on a dry-erase board.
Tips on how to handle anxiety in high-stress moments.
Her heart swelled at that. Posters with encouragement were mingled in with client art.
Farther down the hall was a station filled with coloring pages, markers, and colored pencils.
There were crossword puzzles and Sudoku.
Things that would help a busy mind unwind.
Or help someone reconnect with relaxation.
It wasn’t always about the drug of choice.
It was also remembering what life was like before.
How to have fun or channel nervous energy into something constructive.
Learning things once forgotten, like taking a moment to just sit with silence and stillness.
Tyler knocked on a partially open door. A muffled “Come in” sounded.
She followed him, curious to see who put so much effort into their clients.
“Hey, Kerrie, I want you to meet someone.”
Reese was not sure what to expect, but the size of the masculine woman who stood to greet her was not it.
She had to be at least six feet tall. The hand that shook her hand completely swallowed it.
She appeared to be about middle-aged, if the light lines on her face and gray hair mingling with brown were any indication. “Hi, I’m Kerrie Matthews.”
“Reese Lloyd.”
Tyler plopped himself down in a chair in front of Kerrie’s desk as if he were at home. “Reese is thinking about taking Wilson’s position.”
“Oh, that would be great. Welcome to The Church.”
“Well, I’m still not sure—”
A high-pitched shrill sounded, causing both women to look in Tyler’s direction. He grinned sheepishly as he took out his phone, glancing at the screen. “I need to take this. I’ll be right back, Reese.”
Reese wanted to protest, but he moved too fast.
“Please, have a seat.”
She took the chair Tyler had been occupying while mentally taking in the area. Some stress balls were directly in front of her on the edge of the desk, as well as a bowl of hard candy. The old desk was metal and a drab green, but clean.
“So, is this your first time being an addiction counselor?” asked Kerrie as she leaned back in her chair, perfectly at ease.
“No, I’m not new to this. I worked at Woodwind prior to moving back here.”
A brown eyebrow raised at her. “I’ve heard that’s a nice place. On the fancy side, right?”
“I guess you could say that.” She couldn’t help but look around at the office with mismatched chairs, a desk older than she was, and what was probably a filing cabinet that didn’t open all the way. It was neatly arranged, though. Even the books on the cheap pressboard bookshelf were organized.
“A lot nicer than here, huh?”
Heat flared through her cheeks. “No, no, I mean—”
A deep laugh sounded from the other woman as she held up her hand.
“Don’t sweat it. I know it’s true. I know where I work.
Our clients are not wealthy people. We rely on the state’s grants and state insurance for some.
Despite how the place looks, I promise it’s completely professional.
Maybe not the prettiest, but we give good care. At least we do in The Church.”
“About that, Main felt so, so…”
“Stiff, unfeeling, sterile?”
“Yes, exactly.”
“That’s Main for you. That’s why I love it here.
We’re our own little island. Rarely do we get bothered, but that also means everything is on our shoulders.
It’s worth the trade-off, though. Our clients get the opportunity to bond and build relationships, not just with us but with their fellow peers. ”
Reese sat up straighter. “Really? What does that entail?”
There was something about this Kerrie woman that she liked.
She could feel how genuine she was when talking about The Church.
This woman cared about her clients. She got up every day to work with people who had had a hard life.
Brought herself to their level. She could see herself working with Kerrie.
Running their little island to create an environment that was beneficial for the clients and gave them the room to be treatment-focused instead of program-focused.
That was something she didn’t like at Woodwind.
The clients didn’t get as much time together.
It was more individualized and not in a good way.
They didn’t form the bonds they did at Turtle Grove.
Treatment had been more separated. The togetherness wasn’t there.
“Exactly how much would we be on our own?”
Kerrie shrugged. “I haven’t been down to Main in two weeks, and Tyler has visited once since Wilson left, and that was, I think, just to gauge how I was handling it alone.
Thankfully, our assistant here, Jayvon, is very helpful, and Wilson’s caseload was reduced more and more as he got to his final day. ”
That didn’t sound bad. Not at all. “I assume I won’t get a full caseload right out of the gate.”
“No, they’ll probably tack a few on at first, then add more over a couple of weeks if you’re keeping up well. Our clients are together at all times, so you’ll learn mine, and I’ll learn yours, so I’ll be here to help you. We’ll be a team.”
A team. That was one thing her last employment lacked. While everyone was nice to each other, it was a solitary environment. She had never really had any friends there. Acquaintances, yes. Superficial friends and colleagues, definitely. but never actual friends.
Footsteps began sounding behind her, chatter filling the hall quickly. She looked at Kerrie for an answer.
“Group’s over. They’ll have a short break, and then they’ll do Video.”
“Hey, Ms. K, are we meeting this afternoon?”
Reese turned to see a young man with wide blue eyes brimming with energy, if the bouncing from foot to foot was any indication.
“Yeah, I’m planning on it. Did you get your worksheets done?”
The young man produced a green folder, holding it up proudly. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Great, I’ll page Franklin or John on the walkie-talkie when I need you.”
“See you then.”
She watched him leave over her shoulder. More men filtered past, curious looks on their faces at the new person.
“Sorry about that. I try to keep the door open unless I have a client so they can feel like they have access to me.”
“No apology needed. I like that policy.”
Tyler reappeared, strolling right into the office as he pocketed his phone. “I’m sorry I had to step away. I trust Kerrie kept you entertained?”
She smiled politely at him. “She did. We were discussing how The Church is run.”
“Mostly on its own. I don’t have to worry about it up here much. I just have to make sure Kerrie doesn’t run herself into the ground with overworking.”
Kerrie rolled her eyes, which only made Reese like her more.
They continued talking for a little longer.
Long enough for the clients to go back to the next session, which turned out to be where they watched an educational video.
Reese was led back outside with Tyler and Kerrie.
It was shaping up to be a beautiful day with a clear blue sky and not a cloud in sight.
“Well, I hope you liked The Church. I think it or Tindle Street are the best on campus, personally.”
Tyler smirked at that but didn’t say anything. Reese was getting the idea that there were cliques as far as the counselors went.
“Thank you for sharing with me, and it was nice to meet you,” she said, and she meant it. She liked the woman.
“Hey, Kerrie,” a smooth voice called from behind her.
Reese turned to find the source of the voice, and her heart stopped.
A woman, dressed in a tight gray T-shirt and blue jeans with a few stains, strode up the ramp, a confident swagger to her hips that held a tool belt.
An actual tool belt with a hammer and other things one puts into it.
When she drew closer, Reese couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the perpetually droopy-lidded brown eyes that locked onto her for a tense moment, then traveled down her body like she was the main entrée of the woman’s last meal on earth.
Jesus, how many lesbians are on this campus?
The woman tilted her head as she raked her hand through her brown locks that looked like something out of a ’90s boy band. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“No problem, Matty. Are you here to fix the picnic table?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The Southern drawl that accompanied the “ma’am” made Reese’s knees weak. It startled her. When was the last time she had a physical reaction to someone? She usually ignored attraction, pushing it back as far as she could get it.
“Thank you for getting to it so fast. If you need anything, just let me know.”
“Good seeing you, Matty,” said Tyler.
“You too, sir.”
The dark-haired woman nodded at the group, then slid by them to go to the back of the building.
“Well, if that’s all, I think I’ll go back inside. It was nice meeting you, Reese.”
“You too, Kerrie.”
Tyler motioned for her to walk with him back to the Main building. As they passed the woman named Matty, their eyes locked once more before Matty tore away, focusing on the table where a board on the bench seat appeared to be lifting up from the base.
“So, not to pressure you, but what do you think? Would you like to join The Church?”
She cast a glance back over her shoulder, lingering on the white building and just briefly on the maintenance woman. She was surprised to find herself nodding. “Yeah, yeah, I think I’ll take the position.”