The End

"This has got to stop. I mean really," Susie paused after speaking while the doctor took notes.
"And why do you say that?" The doctor replied.
"What do you mean, why do I say that?"

"Well, Susie, you've said that many times before. Right here on this couch, as a matter of fact. What makes this time different?" The doctor gently lay his pad and pencil down on the table that divided them. He removed his glasses from his crooked nose and folded his arms.

"I have not said that before."

"At least four other times that I can think of, Susie. I can reference my notes if you'd like."

"Why are you such a hard-ass? I'm paying you to listen, not to be my father, Dr. Drummond."

"And where is your father, Susie?"

"Why would you bring him up? We're talking about me, remember?"

"I didn't bring him up, Susie. You did," he said as he reached for notepad.

"You and your damn notes. Do you have to write down everything?"

"It's helpful, yes. Now, back to your father. Where is he?"

"You know where he is. Why are you asking me again?"

"Susie, I'm only here to help. The choice is yours."

A silent fog rolled into the room and Susie could not see through the cloud she was stuck in. The dense silence engulfed the room and the only sound that could be heard was that of Susie's restrained cry. The tears would come for five minutes without words.

"My father is somewhere in England with his wife and kids." Dr. Drummond did not respond. "I just don't understand why he chose them over me."

"People disappoint us, Susie, and we don't do anything to deserve it."

"Like that asshole Cameron. He's, what, like my third boyfriend that completely vanished."

"Cameron is married, Susie, and was therefore never yours."

"I know that, but—"

"He is a married man, Susie. You have to accept that. It was not honorable of him to show such an interest in you."

"It's not like we slept together or anything," she said trying to justify having carried on a two-month romance with someone she knew would never be available to her.

"That's not what you told me last week, Susie. This is a safe space. You can be honest here."

"We only did it a few times, but he said he wanted to be with me."

"Of course he did. Look at you, you're a beautiful smart young woman, Susie."

"You think so?"

"Yes. And how was Cameron different from, let's see here...." he said as he consulted his notes. "Ah, yes, from Rick and Seth."

"Well, they weren't married if that's what you're asking."

"That's not what I'm asking. What do you think I'm asking?"

"I don't know. Can't you just come out and ask what you want to know? And haven't you asked me this before? Jesus."

"Susie, you said you wanted to stop. Based on our previous sessions I think I'm correct in assuming you're talking about dating unavailable men. I'm just trying to get you to see your patterns. Now tell me how they were different."

The fog rolled back in and Susie's eyes swelled with fresh tears.

"I guess they weren't," she said almost to herself.

"What was that?"

"I said I guess they weren't."

"How's that? You said they weren't married like Cameron, so how were they alike?"

"Christ, Dr. Drummond."

The doctor again placed the notepad on the table and comforted her with his sharp grey eyes. Susie could only focus on his haphazard salt and pepper eyebrows.

"It's okay, Susie. You can do it. It's okay." A warm smile lifted the corners of his mouth.

Susie's cry turned into a sob and she let her head fall back on the worn couch and snot escaped from her nose. She did not reach for a tissue as her body released for ten minutes.

"They weren't available to me either," she muffled as her breathing calmed. She finally blew her nose. "Seth told me he didn't want a girlfriend and just blew me off after a few dates and Rick was just here on vacation when we met and told me he wasn't interested in a long-distance relationship. We had a fun week though."

"Do you understand now how all three of these men would never work out for you? How, based on their circumstances, or what they told you should have been a signal for you to not get involved?"

Susie couldn't stop the sobs that crept back again more violently this time.

"Yes," she barely uttered.

"I didn't hear you, Susie."

"I said YES, Dr. Drummond. Did you hear that!?"

He smiled and replied, "Yes, Susie. I heard you loud and clear."