CHAPTER 15
*PRESENT*
“Couple’s therapy”
Aaron
“What has made you come to therapy?”
asked the middle-aged woman with curly, black hair.
“Well,”
I started, “we have been having some problems.”
Maya tensed next to me.
“Couple’s problems, I suppose?”
I nodded. “We need to improve our communication.”
“I see. Whose idea was?”
“Mine,”
I replied. She smiled at me.
“And what did you think about it when Aaron told you to come, Maya?”
I looked at my wife. Her face didn’t show any signs.
“I agreed.”
“I see. Have you ever gone to couples’ therapy or therapy in general?”
“We both have gone to therapy, but never together,”
I replied.
“Aaron’s a therapist, too,”
my wife said. The doctor nodded along.
“Are you going to therapy now?”
she asked.
“I am. It helps me be a better therapist,”
I replied.
“I am not,”
my wife answered.
“Why not?”
“Doesn’t work for me. I have tried, but it isn’t really for me.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Aaron asked me to.”
“You feel like you don’t have an option.”
“I do have an option, and I choose to be here because it can make my husband happy.” I gulped.
“What do you do for work, Maya?”
“I’m a lawyer.”
“Do you like your job?”
“I do.”
“Do you like your job, Aaron?”
“I love it. It has hard days, but I truly love it.”
“It’s the first session, and I like to keep things on the surface.”
“Why?”
my wife surprised me by asking.
“Just trying to know where we stand.”
“Why not go straight to the problem? You’re charging us the same amount and we’re here to fix this, not to be delayed with questions and roundabouts.”
“I see. What do you think it’s best to do?”
“You’re the expert. This is what I hate about therapy; there’s never a timeline or solid steps to follow.”
“Your husband is a therapist.”
“Exactly. He helps his patients.”
“Then why don’t you ask your husband for instructions?”
Maya laughed. “Because he’s my husband. He can’t be my therapist.”
“Why not?”
“Didn’t they teach you anything at school? It’s Therapy 101. He’s too invested, knows me too well.”
“Maya,”
I started.
“No, it’s alright. I like to know my patients’ views. We can always do it your way. Tell me what has made you want to go to therapy, Aaron, and what do you expect from it?”
“My wife and I have been lacking communication, and I feel like it’s getting worse. I thought it was a hard phase, but it’s getting worse. And I would like to feel as connected as before.”
“Maya?”
she asked.
“I want the same.”
“How do you think that can happen?”
“If we spend more time together. Talk about our stuff.”
“Then why aren’t you doing it?”
“I’m very busy with work right now. We’ll get back to how we were before as soon as I have more free time.”
“When will that be?”
the therapist asked.
“I have a big case and it depends on how long it takes. If we win and there’s a final sentence, then in a year.”
“How long has this hard time been going on, Aaron?”
“Well, I mean—it has its ups and downs, and it’s not like every day is like this.”
The therapist raised her brows, almost daring me to say it, while my wife was looking at the wall, tense next to me. We were here to get out of this and we needed to communicate. I needed to follow with what I preached. “Two years.”
“Did something happen to be the detonation of this? Maybe a new job, a big fight, a big event?”
“Yes,”
I replied.
“No,”
my wife said at the same time.
“What do you think could have caused it?”
she asked me.
I looked at Maya to know if she wanted to share it. If I thought she was tense before, now she looked like she was going to bolt at any moment.
“That’s for Maya to share.”
“I lost my parents.”
“I’m sorry to hear—”
“I don’t think that has anything to do with us. I’m just busy. I promise to try to get more free time and we’ll be back to how we were.”
“I do think you’ll both be alright.”
“I’m sorry that I let things go as far as I did, Aaron, but I promise I’ll change.”
“My love.”
I gulped. She looked at me worried. “I’m worried about you, too. You’re spreading yourself too thin.”
“Haven’t you heard? I will have more free time, baby. You’ll get sick of me.”
I tried to smile reassuringly at her. “Why now?”
“I learnt my lesson.”
The therapist waited for another reply. Knowing my wife, she was an expert at making people talk under the pressure of silence and not to fall for it. “I saw him cry,”
she whispered. “I made him cry.”
I grabbed her hand. She seemed defeated.
“Do you believe your wife, Aaron?”
“I do.”
Maya exhaled.
“Good. Now, for homework, I was thinking of trying to go slow. I know you want to jump right to fixing mode, but it’s best if we take it step by step. Choose a day, go on a date, and no sex. Kissing is more than fine, but I recommend nothing more. We haven’t talked about your sex life yet, but either way, I think it’s best if it’s off the table at least until the next session.”