WONDER | shawmila

twenty.

Time seemed to go by fast once they were back home. Brian and Megan brought Tarzan home to them as soon as they were back.

Their dog was so excited to see his parents that he wouldn't stop barking and jumping and trying to lick their faces. Camila felt herself tearing up as she wrapped her arms around him and felt his tail wagging against her leg.

They went to their respective doctor's appointments as well as couple's therapy for the first time. Camila was nervous, wondering what their new therapist would say when they explained why they were there.

They had to tell her that they went through a minor rough patch. What if she told them they were better off apart?

"What if she's just like Dr. Lawrence?" Camila whispered her fears to Shawn as they pulled up outside her office building. "God, now I'm just thinking of that awful stuff she said—and what I said to you—"

"Then we just find someone else." He said, turning towards her. "We know what we are, Camila. We need someone who respects that and is willing to help us prioritize each other, not just to judge us."

She just nodded, squeezing his hand nervously as they walked inside.

Their therapist was a lot nicer than she'd expected. Dr. Stanton talked to them for a while, getting them to explain how they met, started dating, and what worries they had about future potential issues.

"I want each of you to take this quiz." She handed Camila a tablet. "It will determine your love language. A love language is a way that you prioritize showing affection, it's the way that comes most naturally to you. There are five main ones—words of affirmation, acts of service, gifts, quality time, and physical touch."

Camila had a feeling she already knew what hers was. At the end of the quiz, she wound up with the highest preference in quality time and physical touch.

She knew what Shawn's would be too and wasn't surprised at all when his highest ones were acts of service and gifts.

"Does Shawn give you gifts often?" Dr. Stanton asked.

"Yes!" Camila laughed. "He always wants to give me new clothes or he'll wake up early just to make me breakfast."

"How does that make you feel?"

"To be honest, all the gifts used to make me feel a little weird. It's just, I knew he was spending a lot of money on me and I'd never had that kind of money to just throw around before—"

"It's not throwing it around when—"

"Shawn—" Dr. Stanton looked at him. "Don't interrupt when Camila is talking. You'll have your turn to speak."

"Sorry." Shawn said and Camila could see him shifting impatiently out of the corner of her eye. She bit her lip and tried not to laugh.

"Like I was saying, I wasn't used to that before, but I've grown more accustomed to it now. I don't know if it's because I have my own money now too, or if I've just come to realize that's how Shawn shows me loves me."

"Shawn, now what would you like to say?"

"Oh, just that it's never a waste if I get to make her happy. Otherwise, the money would just be sitting in my account. There's no way I could spend it all."

After a lot of talking, they understood how important it was to allow each other to show affection in the way they wanted.

One thing Dr. Stanton said was that they had to make sure they drew a line between work time and couple time, and make couple time a priority for at least half an hour a day.