Chapter 78 CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT.
Chapter 78 CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT.
"Dr. Broody, someone called Bri.."
"Send her in." Julian said before his secretary could complete her sentence.
Julian, who had been standing when the call came through, began to walk around his desk to go to the door. Since Mary sent him a message that she was done with Brianna, Julian had been sitting on pins and needles.
He'd told himself not to call Brianna and ask how her first session had gone because he didn't want to pressure the girl. And although Mary had told him that Brianna was okay, Julian had been worried sick. Just as he got to the door, it opened to reveal Brenda, his secretary, and Brianna.
"Thank you, Brenda." Julian said as he opened the door wider and gestured for Brianna to enter the office. "Please hold all my calls. If any patient asks to see me, direct them to Dr. Solomon, please."
"I’ll do that, Dr. Broody." Brenda responded respectfully and left.
Immediately after the door shut, Julian drew Brianna into his arms. "Tell me you're okay." He demanded gruffly.
"Even if I'm not?" Brianna teased but her jovial tone was completely lost on Julian.
"Jesus, Brianna..."
"I'm fine." Brianna said, stepping out of Julian's arms. "You really think I'd have come here if I wasn't?"
Julian scowled. "I would expect you to want to see me if you aren't okay, Brianna" He shot back.
"I know." Brianna sat in one of the two visitors' seats behind Julian's desk. "But I wouldn't have come because I wouldn't want to worry you. Hey, come here." She reached out and drew Julian to her. Then she pushed him to sit on the edge of the desk, wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head in his lap. "I'm fine." She whispered.
"Do you want to sleep over tonight?" Julian asked softly after a while, stroking Brianna's head.
"Yes." Brianna answered, not really bothered about the fact that she had to go to work the next morning.
"Remember that time, months ago, when you told me that you would want us to just sleep without..."
"Sex or talking." Julian finished. "In bed, under the covers, your head on my chest..."
"Hand, not head. " Brianna corrected.
"Same shit." Julian muttered and then smiled when Brianna laughed softly. "My arms around you.. Let's go home, Brianna." He said.
"Now?" Brianna raised her head. "Aren't you busy?"
"Nope." Julian leaned down and kissed Brianna in his usual sweet and possessive way. "Even if I were, I'd rather be holding you right now. Come on. I'll leave my car and ride with you."
"Ask her, Doc." Wendy's voice sounded stern on the phone. "You can't assume she's not hungry."
"I'm not assuming anything." Julian protested. "I asked her before we got here."
"And you've been here for the past two hours." She snapped.
"Wendy, we're not talking right now so."
"What do you mean you're not talking?" She screeched so loudly Julian groaned. "Y'all fighting?"
"You think this is funny?" Julian growled when he felt Brianna shaking with laughter against him.
"Let me talk to her." Brianna took the receiver from Julian.
"Wendy, I'm famished." She groaned pitifully to Julian's shocked annoyance.
"I knew it." Wendy grunted. "I'm going to prepare something for you right now. Tell Dr. Broody he's not getting any." She hung up.
"She says to tell you, you're not getting any food." Brianna said with mock innocence as she returned the receiver to its cradle.
"I think it's very important I continue with that silence you've imposed." Julian growled. "Because if I start going off..don't you miss having this house all to ourselves? We could." Brianna stopped Julian's tirade with a kiss which went on longer than she'd intended. When they eventually broke apart, she rested her forehead against Julian's.
"I’ll share my food with you." Brianna said with a look and in a tone so comical Julian burst into laughter.
"Thank you." Julian smiled, rubbing his knuckles against Brianna's cheeks as they retreated into silence. Silence which was broken by Brianna after a while.
"I told her what my problem was." Brianna said quietly. "My dad and...Wendell." Julian didn't interrupt, and his knuckles never faltered in their soothing rubbing. "She made us do a simple exercise. You're right...she's firm and really good." Brianna laughed softly. "She made me write down all the traits I think my father had, on a flipchart. After I was done, we both concluded that the man was an arrogant bastard who didn't really care about anyone. Then she asked me a simple question. Would such a monster give a fuck about what I think? Her words, not mine." Brianna chuckled. "My answer was swift emphatic, no. Then she pointed out to me that my father's letter was not to please me then. He was simply stating how he felt. Which makes what he wrote, the truth." Brianna stared at Julian.
"He was just telling it as it is." Julian finally said, quietly.
"She said I should run with that." Brianna shrugged. "I should accept that the man truly thinks that what he did to me was wrong. If I'm able to grasp that, everything will fall into place. So that's what we're going to work on."
"Good." Julian nodded. "And Wendell?"
"We will tackle that in our third session she says."
Julian nodded. He knew that the Wendell session was going to be good too because Brianna had admitted that she was ready to let herself see the issue for what it really was. The first step she'd taken, to Julian's delight, was to give away that guitar in her room. Julian had promised to get her one after her therapy.
"Are you happy with her?" Julian asked.
"Hell, yeah. She put everything into perspective." Brianna sounded impressed. "For a moment I felt like I was in a classroom, and we were solving a math question. She wasn't telling me what she thought. We were solving a problem together. It was interesting and...fun. She guided me to arrive at answers that made a lot of sense. By the end of the session, I had a better understanding and felt sorta..less burdened. It was good. And she's so easy to talk to. I can't believe I've wasted all this time..."
"Hey, everything happens in its own time." Julian rubbed a thumb along Brianna's lower lip.
"Are all shrinks like that?" Brianna asked.
"Each person has their own style."
"Well, I love her style. Thanks for recommending her."
"I'm glad you've clicked with her." Julian said. "That was very important."
"Well, we spent about ten minutes discussing Ty's surprise wedding and having a good laugh. I almost didn't even notice when she got serious. I felt so comfortable I was ready to spill everything. She just allowed me to talk. It was when I finished that she asked what I thought my problem was. She didn't even take notes. When I watch movies I always see the shrinks taking notes."
"Well, this is real. And like I said, she has her own style." Julian didn't bother pointing out to Brianna that Mary had everything she needed for her notes later, on that flipchart they'd used. "I'm glad you're..." The phone rang. "It's yours." Julian said in a dry tone, guessing who it was.
"Wendy?" Brianna threw a teasing grin at Julian. "Thank you, Wendy. We're on our way." She hung up and leaned down to give Julian a quick kiss. "Come on."