No More Do Overs - Sequel

prologue.

Camilla and Aubrey sat next to one another on separate leather chairs. Camilla's anxiety was through the roof as she made a dent in the arm rest with her freshly manicured nails. Aubrey remained silent. He cleared his throat a few times to prepare himself but other than that, he was...content?

They never thought they'd end up here.

70% of relationships improve after couples therapy.
It was worth a try.

"I guess the first thing you guys can do is just tell me your names and why you think you have to be here" the therapist smiled. "I'm Nicola by the way"

"Nice to meet you" Camilla forced a smile, loosening up ever so slightly. "You go first" she gestured at Aubrey. He furrowed his eyebrows together.

"I'm Aubrey, uh, I guess we're here because Camilla feels as though I don't listen to her and things only ever happen how I want them to happen"

"Interesting way you worded that" Nicola made a quick note in the notebook in front of her. "I asked you why you think the pair of you are here, and you chose to say why Camilla wants to be here"

"I don't really have a reason, I'm here because my wife wants to do this" Aubrey shrugged, squinting his eyes at Nicola for a second and remaining composed.

"We'll come back to that" Nicola nodded, then gestured towards Camilla to speak.

"I'm Camilla, I feel like we're here because things have changed so much. We've been through a lot and I feel like because of that, my husband kind of makes me...feel unloved" Camilla spoke, but lowered her tone when she drew to the end of her sentence. Aubrey's head shot round to look at her, before shaking his head and turning back around.

"I make you feel unloved?" Aubrey said, not bothering to look at her, but instead staring into space.

"I never said you make me feel that way on purpose" Camilla replied, clearly feeling bad. "I just mean, with how things have changed it's like we've drifted kinda and you make me feel lonely sometimes"

"We have two kids and we run two businesses, so I'm sorry if I don't spend as much time with you as you want" he harshly said.

"We have two kids but I stay home with them, I clean, I cook, you go to the restaurant and ever so often our other business, that we really don't do anything with. So it's not really we, it's me and you"

"You know how to make me feel bad, you know that?"

"The only time you wanna talk is when you wanna have sex"

"Don't say that shit, don't even do this with me right now" Aubrey looked at her.

"Let's pause this before it turns into an argument" Nicola put her hand up to stop them. "How long have you guys been together?"

"Married nearly 3 years, but together 13 years" Aubrey answered.

"Have you guys ever split up?"

"Couple of times" Camilla raised an eyebrow, counting on her fingers.

"May I ask why?" Nicola bit the back of her pen.

"I went to jail for a little while, we were together for half of my sentence then we broke up...the second time, I-, well an incident happened and Camilla didn't want to be with me"

"Incident?" Nicola raised an eyebrow, looking at Camilla.

"He cheated" Camilla blurted out, wanting Aubrey to feel nothing but guilt in that moment. She felt that his reaction to what she said was completely out of order.

"Oh" Nicola stared at the pair of them momentarily. "I apologise if this is a trigger but I have to ask...was this a one off thing or an affair?"

Aubrey looked over at Camilla before answering. "Definitely a one off thing, meant nothing but I feel like Camilla didn't process it until a while after"

"What do you mean by that?" Nicola shuffled.

"We reconciled pretty quickly after it happened, she was mad and I got that, almost like we moved past it instantly but I noticed maybe like a year after, specifically right before our eldest son's birthday it became something she started speaking about more. Asking questions, wanting to relive it"

"Is that a fair statement, Camilla?" Nicola asked.

"Yeah it is, but to be honest, Aubrey has always had the experience of seeing a good side of me, I've been fiercely loyal to him, even in situations I didn't need to, granted that was my decision but I still feel like I'm always giving and giving to him. That whole year was crazy for me, i didn't process much until later and I felt somewhat betrayed again"

"I understand both your perspectives. Aubrey assuming you'd moved past the situation due to the ability to return back to normal interaction" she gestured to Camilla. "But also, Camilla had not taken the time to understand the severity of the situation and how she'd feel in the long run. I think this comes down to communication, with the main areas being completely transparent and listening to one another" Nicola gestured to Camilla.

Camilla nodded in agreement.

"How long after leaving jail did you guys reconcile?" Nicola asked

"Not that long, maybe three or four months" Camilla responded, noticing Aubrey was being quiet. He was using this moment to determine what would transpire after this and whether he'd even bother coming back to therapy.

"And this was based on you initiating it, or Aubrey?"

"Yes Aubrey, both times" Camilla answered once again. Aubrey stayed silent. Nicola picked up on this and made note.

"Let's divert the conversation, start with what you guys love about one another?" Nicola looked at them.

"I love everything about her" Aubrey said, letting a smile twitch on his face. Camilla kept her head straight but smiled briefly.

"Be specific"

"How caring she is. The way she loves our sons, and the way she loves me"

"What do you love about Aubrey?" Nicola asked Camilla.

"Probably the same thing. One of my favourite things about Aubrey is how he remembers everything about me. I could tell him that sunflowers are my favourite flower and I'd wake up to a dozen bouquets of them in my room. He does a lot of grand gestures"

"Well, that's very sweet" Nicola smiled at them both. "Now, what's your least favourite thing?"

"Her communication" Aubrey wasted no time to answer. "She has these times where she's upset and it's almost like she wants to read her fuckin' mind, when she could say what she's upset over"

"My least favourite thing about him is he expects me to be fine with everything. He can go handle business in a completely different city and I should sit in a house with a baby and toddler for a whole week" Camilla rolled her eyes.

"I don't think those are awful things that you don't like. I'll send you guys away with a task until I see you again, okay? Let's call it homework" Nicola said, making the pair laugh. "But firstly, I think your least favourite things about each other go hand in hand, so Camilla, Aubrey's belief that you will be fine with everything comes from your lack of boundaries I believe, also with the routine you have had over the course of years where you break up, he comes back and almost clockwork the relationship begins again, very quickly. Camilla I think you need to set some boundaries for everyone in your life, if you don't like something you need to speak up without focusing on what they might thing, especially if it may hinder you"

"I can see how that's true" the pair said in unison.

"Lovely. This is the homework, I want weekly, or bi-weekly for you both to share at least 5 things you'd like the other to do. Also express more gratitude towards one another. Aubrey you can tell Camilla thank you making dinner, Camilla you can tell Aubrey thank you for taking out the trash. These small things matter"

The drive home must've been awkward.

Can Aubrey and Camilla's relationship make it through therapy, plus the storm that was on its way?