43. Chapter 43

Chapter forty-three

Juliette

Monday morning Caleb called Dr. Liu and we pulled Kelsey from school for an emergency appointment. The three of us walked in, Kelsey with her arms folded, and Caleb and I with our heads hanging low. We sat in a neat row across from a therapist whose mouth was agape at the sight of me.

Caleb did the honor of breaking the news, "So, Kelsey caught us."

Dr. Liu raised a single, perfectly shaped brow. "She knows you are dating Juliette?"

Caleb's knee bounced, "Yes."

Kelsey's neck snapped to accuse her father, "She knew?"

Caleb's ears burned as he nodded.

Dr. Liu turned to Kelsey, who had at least had dinner with us the night prior, and asked, "How do you feel about this?"

Kelsey sighed, "I'm not going to make them break up because of me. It's complicated. I don't really know how I feel about it. So, we're here."

Dr. Liu nodded. "I thought you moved out of your old house and permanently into Juliette's?"

"Yes," she said.

I started wringing my hands in my lap because I was the last person in line. The last time I'd seen Dr. Liu she was so proud of me. I was dreading the moment we made eye contact.

My anxiety crested when she glared at me, but then shot a look at Caleb. "Wait, then, where are you living?" she asked him.

"At the old house, still," he replied, bit down on his lip and took a deep breath, "We still haven't picked a new one. "

Dr. Liu finally turned to me and tapped her pen on the pad twice before saying, "I'm sorry. I'm not following."

I smiled, more of a wince, and squeaked, "We're going to leave things exactly the same and see what happens." My voice lilted upwards, more of a question than a statement.

Caleb's reply chased mine, "Except now Kelsey knows that Juliette and I are together. So, we've taken a few steps back."

Dr. Liu's nose scrunched in the way I knew preceded a tongue-lashing. "And you didn't think about calling me at all about any of this?" She pointed her pen at me, "You were my best patient! You always followed up!"

I stammered, "I-I did. But then, I thought I could handle it on my own. Clearly, I misjudged. However, I did exactly what you told me to do! I stopped putting my career first to the detriment," my voice trailed as my reasoning lost steam, "of my love life," I finished quietly.

Kelsey snorted, "Yeah, because you started dating my dad."

Dr. Liu, shook her head and Caleb and I bowed ours into our hands. She scolded us, "I have been in practice for many, many years, and I must say this has made me speechless."

"Sorry. I swear, I'm sorry," I said to the room at large. "We just need your help communicating because Kelsey is struggling with feelings of inadequacy. Trust has been broken. There are a lot of mixed emotions. We're a mess."

Kelsey nudged my knee with hers. "Don't be so dramatic. It's not that bad. We just need your help setting boundaries, and to make this not awkward."

Caleb smiled behind his hand and shrugged, "Yeah, I think we're going to be okay. Eventually."

"Right. I need a minute to collect my thoughts." Dr. Liu studied us for a moment and let out a deep, weary sigh.

Kelsey and I made eye contact. In her gaze I saw hope, and in mine, I begged for her to see love. Things were less tense than Saturday, but more tense than they'd been in months. I turned my palm up in my lap and watched as her gaze dropped to my open hand. I moved it, ever so slightly closer to her and she took it. I clasped my fingers around hers and squeezed.

"She calls me dad, now," Caleb said, his voice low and full of the kind of light you only saw if you knew him. Kelsey's hand squeezed mine subconsciously and I leaned over to look at him. Glare would be a better description. His gaze, however, was on Dr. Liu, like he was trying to get out of detention.

Dr. Liu scribbled something down into her notes and scanned the three of us again. "That's a big step. I'm glad to hear it."

"It's happening too fast," Kelsey admitted in a quiet, timid voice.

Time was a bittersweet and funny thing. To look back six months and quantify all that we'd done in measures of time, would be the work of a madman. That God of Chaos had sat with us and played, unfettered, with our lives. To try and place a numerical value on all that we'd been through in six months would make it seem like so much less. Because time was healing. But it was hurtful. And it was fun. And it was torture. It was chaos and monotony. These six months were measured by falling in love during all the spaces in between.

Time did not feel steady, but it was something we could count on.

"I think we need some time to get used to it," I said, squeezing Kelsey's hand tighter.

"Yeah," she squeezed me back, "Some boundaries and time."

I looked, again, to Caleb who smiled ruefully at me and steadied his bouncing knee.

Dr. Liu turned on her recording device and smiled warmly at us, "Okay. Let's get started then, shall we?"