October 29, 2018

Sylvia Bosworth sat in silence, contemplating all the information Chloe had relayed to her over their first session. She reviewed notes, she reviewed the intake form, doing everything she could to prepare for their second session. They covered a lot of ground, but there was still so much more yet to come. There was so much Chloe was hiding—understandably. It wasn’t often Sylvia had a patient admit they slept with their step-parent.

“Doctor Bosworth, Chloe is here to see you,” the receptionist’s voice came over the intercom.

“Thank you,” Sylvia set her things aside and stood to open the door. “Good morning, Chloe.”

“’Morning,” Chloe said as she entered the small office and sat on the couch.

“How have the past few days been?”

“Fine, I guess. Nathaniel keeps calling me. And texting me, too.”

“It’s been just over a week now, hasn’t it?” Sylvia asked.

“Yeah,” Chloe nodded. “I get it; it’s an awkward situation, but I just don’t want to talk to him. But I also can’t bring myself to tell him that.”

“Last time we met you really didn’t talk a whole lot about him. You talked a lot about your mother, a bit about your fiance—”

“Ex.”

“Right. But you haven’t really told me about Nathaniel and you.”

“Right.” Chloe ran her hands over the skirt of her dress to smooth out the creases. “I guess I don’t really know how to talk about him. I mean, he’s not really a parental figure—never has been—but he’s also not a friend either. He’s in this weird gray area.”

“Do you really need a label for your relationship with him?”

“Yes. Because of the age differences…” Chloe’s hands stopped moving. “My mother gave birth to me when she was sixteen, seventeen years old. Nathaniel is only eight years older than I am. My step-dad is only eight years older than me; eight years younger than his wife.

“When the three of us go shopping, people assume that he’s my uncle, or a cousin, or something else. And when they figure out he’s married to my mom, they just figure we all look older or younger than we really are. But when my mother isn’t there, those assumptions don’t exist.”

“But who cares what they think or assume? Shouldn’t it only matter what you think?” Sylvia’s voice was soft and gentle as a breeze.

“Have you ever walked through a grocery store and seen every other person turn to stare at you? Not in your general direction. At you. Have you ever had someone become speechless and stare between you and your step-dad because they thought he could be your brother instead? And then get really nervous and change the subject before you lose it on them? And have you ever pretended to be sick or have lots of homework to avoid going outside the house so you don’t have to go through it all again?”

Sylvia was silent for several moments. “I see your point.”

“Thank you.This is why I need a label for it. Because he’s not just some guy my mom is seeing. He’s the guy she swore her life to. And he’s the most supportive person I’ve had in my life. Even when I was younger, he never tried to punish me or set ground rules or do other parent stuff. He just always tried his best to help me with whatever I’m doing.”

“Mm. So let me ask this: were you able to tell your mother about your engagement? Or did Nathaniel tell her?”

“I couldn’t tell her. I tried for two weeks and just couldn’t. We told only a few people and swore them all to secrecy so she wouldn’t get mad. But the day I was going to tell her…I just couldn’t. I didn’t have to ask him to, he just knew. So he told her.”

“How’d that go?” Sylvia raised an eyebrow in genuine curiosity.

“Not great.”