Whispers that Scream

Chapter Six

Adam

Monday morning, Adam sat in his white F-150 truck on his way back from the hour-long commute to New Orleans. There were no therapists located in Magnolia or Jupiter that specialized in his issues, so New Orleans was the only option for him. He had been in therapy on and off for years and had only made small strides so far, but he considered small improvements better than nothing.

His truck crawled down St. Charles Avenue losing the race against the street cars that were lucky enough to not have to deal with traffic like the motorists. Giant oak trees lined the road on each side, filtering out the direct sunlight and creating a broken pattern of light and shadow on the road. After every therapy session, he would stop at a local sandwich shop to pick up a muffuletta to treat himself. He avoided the more popular shops like the plague, but he had found a few places that weren't packed with tourists and still made a quality sandwich.

Traffic slowed to a crawl, then stopped completely, giving Adam the opportunity to start munching on his sandwich. It was bigger than his head and he struggled to hold it and get a bite into his mouth. He finally succeeded, and the tartness of the olive salad and cured meats exploded flavor into his mouth. He normally didn't take to strong flavors like this, but olives were an exception, and the muffuletta was an olive lover's wet dream.

Bored and stuck in traffic, he considered the argument that his therapist had been attempting to convince him of during their hour-long session.

"Maybe, this new neighbor is an opportunity for you Adam. The worst that can happen is that she doesn't like you, and you can get the peace and quiet you wanted anyway."

Adam barely heard Dr. La Rose because of the ear-grating sound of his pen tapping on his notepad. Tap. Tap. Tap. Adam's eyes were laser-focused on the pen, and he flinched every time the pen hit the pad. Tap. Tap. Dr. La Rose said something else, but Adam didn't hear him lost in his own world.

Am I quick enough to grab the pen before he reacts? He has to be in his late 50's. No way he's quick enough to stop me. Maybe I could cause a distraction first? Take him by surprise? 

Dr. La Rose cleared his throat, and the pen tapping stopped. "Adam? Are you listening?"

Adam forcefully severed the connection between his eyes and the pen and returned his gaze up to Dr. La Rose's shoulder. His peripheral vision picked up the large grey mustache hanging over the man's upper lip and partially blocking his mouth. How did he eat?

"Yes, I'm listening. You conveniently left out the pain of the rejection in your scenario.

"Adam, you have to take the risk and drop the mask sometime. Maybe, dropping it for one person in a controlled environment is the best place to start?"

Adam had left the session not fully convinced which was the norm for him. A blaring horn almost gave him a heart attack, and he noticed that the traffic had begun to move except for him. He pressed the pedal in a panic and jerked forward faster than was needed. His heart was beating hard, and his face flushed with embarrassment. He somehow was able to grip the muffuletta in one hand and reach over with the other to turn the volume up on his truck's radio. A fast-paced country song blasted out of the speakers, rattling his empty Dr. Pepper can in one of the cupholders. Luckily, he had bought a second Dr. Pepper as a backup. The music helped him to focus his thoughts, that otherwise, would run all over the place in different directions, leaving him far behind.

He understood the reasoning behind the therapist's argument. It would be better to practice with his new neighbor than with someone at work where there could be consequences to his livelihood if it went poorly. It also was a rarity to find himself one-on-one with anyone, and a group of people would be a much more difficult setting for his experiment to take place. He decided he would ask her, and let the chips fall all over his feelings if need be. He started to sweat as he played out the scenario in his head, and he leaned forward to get closer to his maxed-out AC.