Requiem of the Ivory Bride: An Ode to the Seven Deadly Sins

Interlude I

He cleared his throat, terse lips signifying their judgement. "So how do you feel Janeli's bad habits have affected you?"

What does he care? Is there to deal with the aftermath of a binge? He had no idea what I've had to see, what I've had to clean up. Bags of vomit and more food containers than I care to count.

I sat there, suffocated, unsure how truthful I should be. I mean, I want to be honest. Believe me, I want to be whole again, healed, fixed, something. Yet this "professional" across from me sits on his mighty throne and passes judgement before his mindless audience.

"Well, I'd say they have made me unhealthy, too." I shrugged. That should pacify him for now - I admitted I saw myself going down with the ship.

He leaned back now, bringing his fingers together at the tips. Clearly this was my sign that a major thought was coming and I should be ready for his supreme wisdom.

"How do you feel you can cleanse some of this toxicity from your life? As you say, Janeli's habits also make you unhealthy."

Exhaling sharply, I looked down at the patterns of the rug on the floor. How do I answer this? If it's not Janeli's binging, it's her fucked up relationship with Brenden.

"I know I can choose not to participate in a binge. But Brenden is also a part of my life, I can't just ignore the emotions he goes through every time she denies him," I replied. Is this going anywhere? I mean, Brenden's not easy to talk about and after all - I wasn't really here for him.

Why am I even trying to fix my wretched self again? I'm certain he's going to condemn me to hell.

"That's fascinating," the psychotherapist ever on the hunt for a new case study perked up. "You don't feel the binging affects you as much as the emotional toll. How does Brenden play into this?"

Well, shit. I set myself up for that one. Brenden's not as hard to talk about as the others, but still... I know he has some major crap to deal with. But if I can keep the doctor's interest, maybe we'll finally get around to what I'm really here to talk about. So, instead of being my snarky defensive self, I decided I'm going to give the good doctor what he wants. More drama to fill up the pages of his yellow steno pad in his contemplative, condemning office.

How many others had come before his throne to only be tossed away?