How Do You Love Someone?

Chapter 2 - Daddy Never Told Me How To Feel

“A psychiatrist, you went back to school and got a degree in psychiatry?!” Sarah yelled at her dad.

“Yes I did, so now I can understand all of your teenage mental thoughts” Her dad said smiling.

“Yeah good luck with that”

Sarah’s dad was 46 and balding, had no real purpose in life and never kept a job for more then 3 weeks. He was a big child and always smelt of baby powder. Whenever Sarah came to visit he was always watching his favourite show, House.

“So are you working at all? And I mean a real job, not some random factory or McDonalds, a real job?”

“Yes I do and you will be proud of me” he said with a grin.

“Okay tell me”

“I’m working from home!” He said proudly

“Wait, wait, wait, your working from home?”

“Yes”

“Doing what?”

“Psychiatry” He said staring at the TV screen.

Sarah could see that he dad was intent on making this his new job. The only problem was he had only left a year ago and even a normal degree takes 4 years.

“Look I even have it in a photo frame!” he said standing and pointing at the large frame on the wall.

“Dad this degree looks fake and I’m pretty sure you can’t get it in only 1 year.”

“So I payed four hundred dollars to get my degree, its still legit”

“They give you a fake document and then they scam the money out of you”

“I don’t care this is what I’m doing”

“Alright I’m not arguing with you” Sarah sad staring intently at the fake degree on the wall of his office. “So exactly how can you afford this place anyway?”

“I have lots of money!” Her dad said laughing hysterically.

“How?”

“I have lots of clients”

In her mind she was thinking about all of the messed up people that would be so desperate to see her dad. She could imagine what advice he would be giving them. This was a major problem. Especially with the fact that the last time that she saw him he decided to put his large purple underwear on his head and called himself superman. Her father was not someone who could ever give advice on anything.

“Dad have you been giving advice to people?” She asked curiously.

“Yes I have, and they all appreciate it.”

“Has it actually helped anyone?”

“I think it has…” Her dad said questioning himself.

“What do you mean by I think it has?”

“Well the people have never come back, so I’m guessing I gave them great advice and now they’re all fine!” he smiled proudly.

This could not have gone well. How many people leave with advice and never come back. Sarah was hoping that all that happened was that the clients realized that her father didn’t know what he was doing and they left and never came back. If it were because of the advice that they had been given then her dad would be in a lot of trouble.

“I have a question.”

“Shoot!” Sarah’s dad said still smiling proudly.

“Do you prescribe medication at all?” Sarah asked worriedly.

“Why yes I can, why do you need something?”

“No…”

“I can give you happy pills..”

“No dad I don’t need happy pills!” She yelled at him.

“Okay but if you need anything, just come to me” he smiled.

Sarah knew that if her dad could prescribe medication that things could seriously go wrong. He didn’t know anything about them and his degree was a fake. And watching shows like House would not make him a doctor.

“Dad, you do know you’re not a doctor and this is a fake degree right?”

“I am a doctor and don’t worry about the degree.”

“You could be prescribing things that are going to make people worse then what they already are!”

“Look I know what I’m doing, and if you don’t like it then you will just have to leave and come back when you can understand that what I am doing, is helping a lot of people.” He said and waved for her to leave the room.

An awkward silence filled the room as they stared at each other. The face that he was giving her she had never seen before. As though he had actually grown up and was forcing her to do something. Sarah started walking out of the room and stopped just before the door.

“You do know that one day something will go wrong because of this.”

“When that day comes you can say I told you so” he smiled “but that’s not going to happen.”

“Well if it does, I’ll just look at you and say ‘How do you feel about that?’” Sara smirked and walked out the door.

On the couch next to the front door was a lady. She had bright green eyes and long brown hair. Sarah stared at her with amazement and walked up to her slowly.

“Who are you?” Sarah asked

“My name is Gemma, I’m here to see Andrew, I have an appointment with him.” She said with a hesitant smile.

“Oh okay, yeah umm he will see you now?” Sarah stared at her hoping that she had said the right thing. It is what she had seen in movies after all.

“Oh goody!” Gemma said as she walked in through the door of the office.

Sarah stared in astonishment at how such a young lady would go to her father for help. As she turned and shook her head, she walked towards the door and in the background she could here her father asking ‘And how do you feel about that?’.