Worthy

Chapter Nineteen

Dr. Grant called early Tuesday morning and confirmed Thor's appointment for 3pm the following day. He was looking forward to meeting with her again and spent most of the day working through some of the "homework" she had given him for the week. By the time she arrived Wednesday he was eager to go over everything with her. I offered to go out while they met, reminding Thor he could just text me when they were finished now that he had a phone. He agreed and I promised to keep my phone on.

I walked around the galleria aimlessly, finally buying a book and settling in at Starbucks to read for a bit. Thor had about fifteen minutes left in his appointment and my phone lit up with a text from him asking me to come up. I hurried upstairs hoping everything had gone well and found Dr. Grant waiting for me in the living room. Thor was out on the patio on his phone.

"Is everything okay?" I asked her.

Dr. Grant nodded, "Yes, of course. Thor and I are done for this week but I need to talk to you. He gave me permission to speak freely with you and I know you want what's best for him."

I nodded as she continued, "It's understandable you two want to move forward with building a life together, but you have to keep in mind he's still not out of the woods. Having a home, a real home, will be helpful for him but all the logistics and new experiences could trigger him. The loss of his family is still overwhelming for him and setting up a home could bring up a lot of memories. You'll need to be careful to keep an eye on him during this process. I also talked with him about not pressuring himself over a wedding so quickly either. He wants to marry you so much but expressed worries over being around so many people, especially with the focus being on him. Thor gets caught up on doing things 'right', it's part of the fear of failure that fuels his anxiety and depression. You'll need to keep reinforcing that you two are doing things your way, and there is no set right way."

"I just want him to be okay. I'm not going anywhere whether we get married tomorrow or two years from now. And what can I do if he starts getting overwhelmed with the new house?"

"Just be there for him. You can ask him to try and talk through what caused the reaction, make him put words to the emotions that came up and how he reacted. He said you did this with him on Sunday and it helped. Taking a moment to reflect will help him take a step back and should help him move past what comes up in the moment. Have him write it down too so I can discuss any major issues with him next week."

"How are we going to set up next week's session? We'll be over an hour away."

"I can do Skype sessions from here on out with in person meetings on occasion as needed."

"Okay, great. Thank you so much for all you've done for him already. I know he's genuinely listening to the suggestions you've given him so far."

"He wants to get better and he's doing the work. Thor has a very good chance at long term success providing he keeps putting in the effort. Now, I apologize but I have to run. I have another appointment I can't be late for."

I thanked the doctor and showed her out. Thor was still on the phone when I joined him on the balcony but he quickly ended the call when he saw I had come outside.

"Hello love" he greeted me with a quick kiss.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" I asked.

"Good, it was a good session. You talked to the doc too then?"

"Yeah, she just wants to be sure the move goes well for us. Who was that on the phone?"

"Just Valkyrie. She was checking in on me."