The Marriage Counselor volume 2

3. A Mother's Love.

Samantha

It doesn't take long for the Connecticut house to feel like home. A testimony to Henry's interior decorating skills—certainly— but more so the fact that when he's around, everything feels right in the world, like things might actually turn out okay. Even if they're not or they won't.

She finds herself sleeping a lot more than usual. There are times she feels guilty, like when she misses breakfast or falls asleep during a movie at 8:30 at night. To no surprise, Henry's understanding; carrying her to bed, tucking her under a blanket, placing water near her in case she gets thirsty in the night. He theorizes that maybe she's sleeping more because her body's coming out of the constant fight or flight mode she's been in for so many years. Perhaps she finally feels safe enough to rest. She wouldn't be surprise if that's true. How easy it is for her to fall asleep now, feeling him at her side and being able to reach out in the night after a bad dream.

So this random Tuesday is no different. She awakes tangled in the bed sheets with drool dried to the side of her mouth. It had been a very deep sleep. She hadn't even stirred when Henry woke up and got out of bed as she normally does. Lately her dreams have been so vivid, so intense...

The way the sun threatens to bleed through the closed bedroom curtains, she estimates it's mid afternoon. Her cell phone clock confirms that when she takes it off the charger. Immediately the screen lights up, revealing a single notification. A text message from Henry. Usually if he doesn't catch her awake to say good morning, he will send her a text message to wake up to.

Good morning, beautiful. I hope you slept well.
I'll be on and off calls for a good portion of the day. Help yourself to some coffee and fresh fruit when you wake up.
I love you.

The text leaves a smile on her face as she holds the phone to her chest as if it were him. After a few moments of savoring the morning, she goes over her to do list for the day. She needs to take Red to the vet for her vaccinations, then she wanted to go shopping for some things around the house, and for ingredients to make dinner tonight.

When she's not sleeping, she's found other things to fill the days. Like taking Red to the local dog park, keeping up with the house chores, going grocery shopping, preparing dinner. Playing housewife is a familiar role, one that she resented before, when it was for a man who only ever saw the negatives and her flaws. But with Henry, she wants to take care of him, to serve him in the ways she can, to be the kind of wife he deserves. It makes her feel useful at a time she feels incredibly useless.

Henry's been encouraging her to continue on her path of healing, but never pressuring her decisions. He seems to believe in her. So she's started therapy again; this time with a nice elderly woman named Sarah. The two meet once a week, with Sarah coming to the house to conduct their sessions. It's taken some time to build trust on Sam's side but she is grateful for the woman's endless compassion.

She's taking the time to try to learn more about herself. Maybe that'll make it easier dealing with the press' and the Chambers constant character assassination. She's reading, painting, she's even gotten into gardening. One day she woke up and decided she wanted to build something from scratch, something beautiful. She had casually mentioned it at breakfast to Henry. The next day he'd surprised her with all the tools and supplies needed to build the garden of her dreams.

Their meetings with Hansen have decreased more and more, as him and his team focus on ramping up for the trial— whenever that is. And when he does meet with them, he tells them only what they need to know. Then there's the meetings with Paul, usually they happen at his and Rebecca's house with plenty of alcohol available to cushion any bad news.