First Comes Marriage (Completed & Editing)

Dating. The Assessment.

For the first time in my entire life, I didn’t know what to say. I am never speechless. Today, it seems I met my match in Mel. That girl had presented an iron clad case. She is right. Love is an emotion, but I don’t see why she won’t accept it as a powerful force in her life.

“Before you two started dating, had either of you actually had a serious relationship?” I had been waiting to ask that question, although I suspected that I knew the answer. When they both shook their heads, I finally understood why they are so dysfunctional. They have the relationship maturity of a high school student.

“Neither of you had been in a serious relationship before, and you thought that two months into this one, you should get married? And you wonder why you are in therapy?” This couple doesn’t have the basic foundation for a functional relationship. In fact, I am amazed they have lasted this long. Actually, it should have been impossible for them to last this long based on what they have told me. Whatever it is that they haven’t mentioned, is the reason they are still together. It is about time I found out.

“From the moment you two began speaking, I knew you were hiding something. There is something between the two of you that is keeping you together. It has nothing to do with feelings, but I don’t know what it is. So one of you better tell me what it is, or this is over.”

I didn’t want to threaten them, but this will never be beneficial if they are hiding something important. Their eyes met, each daring the other to crack first.

“Doc, there is something we haven’t told you.” Mel finally cracked under the pressure. Her eyes blue with defeat. “The reason we are still together is the same reason we told you that divorce isn’t an option for us. We signed a contract. Not just a marriage license, but a contract with rules and agreements by both parties.”

Again, speechless. No wonder these two have so many problems. Who signs a contract when they get married? Is that even legal? Apparently the confusion on my face was evident because Mel chimed in again.

“We know, it’s weird. I guess the best way to explain it to you is to tell you about Leap Day. That is the day Jake and I got engaged. Less than twenty-four hours earlier Jake proposed to me, and I broke up with him.” I don’t know if she thought her ten second explanation would clear things up, but it didn’t.

“Mel, just tell the Doc the story of that day. We have done it with every other part of our relationship so far. You tell him, then I tell him, and then maybe in the meantime he can wrap his brain around the situation enough to be able to put a few sentences together.”

I know that I must have looked like this was my first session, but I didn’t even know how to deal with these people. All I could manage to do was nod my head and hope that somehow their story would clear up this mess. Do they think that marriage is a business transaction? I just can’t even comprehend their reasoning, and it appears that Jake understands what I am feeling.

Story time with this couple probably wasn’t my best idea ever. Time to focus; if you want to fix these people, you need to understand them. I repeated my personal motto in my head several times before I finally began to listen to what Mel was saying.

“So, Doc, Jake and I had been dating for a little less than two months…”