Worthy

Chapter Twelve

Once we were both clean and well relaxed from the luxurious shower we dried off and redressed. Thor took the opportunity to wear some of the clothes he'd picked out himself and I grinned at the sight of him. He was wearing beige linen pants, a white jersey cotton shirt, no shoes, and his long wet hair was falling loose around him. He looked exactly as one would expect a modern Viking god to look as he stared into the bathroom mirror intent on taking care of his beard. He was trying to trim and shape it so it was less wild looking. I had to give him credit, it was coming along nicely.

I placed my hand on his arm to get his attention without startling him, "Hey. I was going make a quick lunch. We only have about half an hour. Do you want a sandwich?"

"Mmm yes please." He stopped to give me a quick smile, "And a beer. And chips if we have them."

"Okay. I'll see what I can find."

I threw together two turkey sandwiches, piling his high with meat, and found an unopened bag of kettle chips in the cupboard. I pulled out a bottle of the Sierra Nevada pale ale from the fridge hoping it was a kind he liked.

"This is wonderful. Thank you, my love." Thor said sitting down at the table. He had thrown on his new burgundy sweater and I suspected he was more nervous about his appointment than he was letting on. It was a perfect 72 in the suite so I knew he wasn't wearing it because he was cold.

"You're welcome." I smiled back at him taking a moment to check out his newly trimmed beard. It was still full but it was shaped and appeared softer. "I like what you've done with your beard."

"Oh yes. It feels better now too. My father had one like this when I was a boy. Back home beards were a sign of a grown man. I remember thinking I would have one like his one day once I had matured." He fell silent after that and took a few long pulls of his beer finishing the bottle quickly.

"I think that's sweet." I said finally, "It's good you keep memories like that alive. Even if they're painful now, you don't want to lose them."

Thor nodded but didn't speak.

I had almost finished my sandwich when we heard a knock on the door. Checking my watch I realized it was 3pm and time for Thor's appointment. I opened the door not knowing what to expect and found a tall, slim woman in a crisp grey suit standing in the hall.

"Mia?" She asked, her voice like rich velvet.

"Yes," I shook her hand and stepped aside.

"I'm Doctor Grant."

"Thank you so much for coming. Please, come in. The living room is right through here."

"Thank you. Is the patient here now?"

"Yes, he's in the kitchen. If you'd like to have a seat on the sofa I'll go get him."

"Okay, thank you."

"Can I get you something to drink?"

"No I'm fine, thanks."

"Okay, I'll be right back." I hurried to the kitchen hoping Thor was in there and not plotting an escape.

I found him holding onto the counter top, bracing himself. His worried eyes made me momentarily feel guilty for making him do this. "The therapist is here. Remember she's just doing an assessment today. It's no big deal." I told him as I rubbed circles across his broad shoulders.

"Please don't leave." He asked quietly.

"I won't. I'm right here. Let's go introduce you to her."

He wrapped his sweater around himself tightly and took hold of my hand before heading into the living room. Doctor Grant's eyes widened almost imperceptibly and then she resumed her calm, placid expression. "Hello, I'm Doctor Grant" she said pleasantly while shaking his hand. "Are you comfortable sitting in here to talk?"

"Hello. Yes, this is fine I suppose." He replied.

"Great. Well, I see now the need for discretion and a house call. I appreciate you reaching out to us Mia, I'm sure it wasn't an easy decision."

I smiled briefly and nodded once.

Dr. Grant started piling her papers back into her briefcase, keeping out only her leather bound notebook and silver pen "Typically we have a whole host of medical history and new patient intake forms but we can skip those given the circumstances. Why don't we just get acquainted and see if I can be any help to you."

"Okay" Thor agreed.

"Normally sessions are private. Sometimes things come up that are difficult to talk about, even with loved ones. Are you comfortable with having a private session or would you rather Mia stay?"

Thor glanced over at me hesitantly, "I don't know what would come up but maybe? If I want you to come back in I can just call for you, right?"

I was so glad he was willing to try, "Of course. I won't be far. I can take my laptop down to the office and catch up on a few things."

"Thank you for trying, Thor." Dr. Grant said "Now, let's talk about what brought us here today."