Couple's Therapy

CHAPTER FIVE

"But, Joe, this is what I wanted! Why am I so upset over somethin' I wanted?"

Dr. Baker set his notebook down on his knee, "Reba, what you're feeling right now is grief."

Flustered, she shook her head back and forth and continued to pace. "No way. I already did all that; the whole grieve over your marriage thing," she said. "Twice now, actually!"

Joe chuckled, "And you might keep doing it for the rest of your life."

She spun, narrowed her eyes, and pointed her index finger at him. "That's not what I signed up for."

"Neither was the divorce, but it happened. You survived," he said simply. "You'll survive this too; you're resilient."

She fell into the sofa cushions and put her head in her hands, "This isn't fair."

He leaned forward, "Reba, life isn't fair. That's life."

She sighed heavily. "I guess that shouldn't really surprise me anymore."

"Did you take some time for yourself like I suggested?"

"I tried," she offered.

"Reba,"

She wiped her clammy palms on her jeans. "No, really! I did," she said. "Up until yesterday, I was fantastic. I even caught a glimpse of who I'm supposed to be now when I was out barhoppin' with Barbra Jean!"

He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. "I'm not even gonna ask."

She pointed at him, "And it's not a lesbian, I can tell ya' that."

Confused, he pursed his lips. "I– what?"

"Although, if I was a lesbian," she continued. "I'd already have myself a girlfriend."

He blinked absently at her.

"And it's a good story, too!" she laughed, then waved him off. "Nevermind, you had to be there."

With his elbow on the arm of the chair, he leaned into his palm, closed his eyes, and sighed.

"Anyway, what am I supposed to do now?" she asked.

Joe scratched his head. "Reba, this is just a setback. What you do now is live your life; for yourself. Do things that you want to do, and go see the things that you want to see." he said.

She nodded. "I did always wanna see Italy."

He gestured toward her, "See,"

"And, it was nice meetin' new people."

"Exactly," he agreed. "Do more of that."

She stood. "You know what, you're right," she said confidently. "I'm gonna do more of what makes me happy; it's my life, I'm an adult, and I can do whatever I want."

Joe laughed, "That's the spirit!"

She looked at him, really looked at him, for the first time. "Thank you," she said softly. "Looks like all I needed all along was a voice of reason."

He shrugged. "When you get too deep in your own head, sometimes you just need somebody to pull you back out. That's not often something we're taught to do. Enter, psychologists."

"Huh," Reba said.

"So, you'll call me?"

She grabbed her purse and nodded. "When I need someone to get me thinkin' rationally again, you'll be the first to know." She moved toward the door, "Hey, make sure to tell Harvard, Yale, and Princeton that they done pretty darn good after all."

He laughed.

She walked out of his office with a smile and a renewed sense of self. Before returning to her car, she stopped for a moment to take a deep breath of crisp fall air.

"I really oughta give Sadie a call," she laughed.

Sadie was actually in town for the week. The two met up the next evening and had a fantastic time at some swanky, exclusive lounge downtown. Reba had the most fun she'd had in a while. It was a delight to talk to someone outside the family, especially after realizing what a hoot it was gossiping about them.

It was also great to hear about Van's accomplishments from a professional in the industry. By the time Reba went home that night, she'd gained a newfound respect for her son-in-law. He worked so dang hard that Sadie was in the process of re-negotiating his contract again. It warmed Reba's heart to know that the two kids who'd gotten such a rough start at life would be more than alright for years and years to come.

Then Thanksgiving came and went with only a little family drama. However, it was Van's spinal injury, and following diagnosis a few weeks later, that threw everyone for a loop. He'd fractured his tailbone, which would have been fine had they not also discovered something called Spinal Stenosis, a narrowing of the spine. Though he had no symptoms just yet, it was a slow-progressing disease that meant he could no longer play football.

Thanks to Sadie and the new contract she'd negotiated, Van and Cheyenne would still be financially alright due to the injury settlement she'd written in if he didn't blow it all in the first few months. Reba had put a stop to that as soon as it had started, and then they were back on track.

Even Brock and Barbra Jean were going strong, and she'd asked him to move back in with her.

Then, a few weeks later, Reba found herself unemployed. As satisfying as it sounded, calling your boss a "Monkey's Butt" didn't go over well. Eugene fired her. Which was okay because she'd kept what Dr. Baker had said in mind; it was just another setback. It's not like working the front desk at a dental office was her dream job. So, she renewed her realtor's license, and with a bit of arm-twisting, she finally convinced Brock to hire her to sell the condo for some experience.

Which was where their relationship issues picked back up.

Again.

Barbra Jean had suspected that Brock was using the condo as a security blanket, meaning he still wasn't ready to commit himself to her and Henry. This had been partially true, but also, because of Brock's pro-golf phase, he'd taken out another mortgage on the condo, rendering any potential offers Reba managed to get him completely worthless, as he now owed more on it than it was worth.

In the midst of all of this, Brock discovered that Barbra Jean had been hiding assets from him for months. Exactly how much, she wouldn't say. Still, it was substantial given that it was enough to cover the mortgage on the condo so that they could take Reba's best offer and sell the place.