Part 2
[April 14th, 2010-
2:47p.m.]
“I am proud of
you, AJ. Very proud of you.” He glanced up at the receptionist before finishing
his last name on the check.
“Thanks Casey. I
should be better after all this damn money I have been putting Dr. Sims
pockets.” He chuckled.
“Is that right?”
AJ stood up and turned to face his doctor.
“Dr. Sims.” He
smiled sheepishly. “I was just about to head into your office for our final
visit.”
“I see. Well I was
thinking we go and grab a cup of coffee.”
“Coffee?” AJ eyed
the doctor.
“Yeah the good stuff,
not that cheap dirt water they serve to detoxers at Gates.”
“Oh, okay. I was
about to say.” He smiled.
“Come on. I’m
paying.”
“In that case,
I’ll drive.” Dr. Sims chuckled and followed AJ out into the early spring air.
A waitress
delivered two cups of coffee to the corner table that AJ and Dr. Sims occupied.
“Umm…Enjoy,” the
young auburn haired girl blushed, keeping an eye on AJ before dismissing
herself.
“Thanks.” The men
replied. AJ took a sip of his coffee while Dr. Sims stifled his laughter.
“Something funny?”
He asked.
“You still got
it.” The doctor chuckled. “After all these years you still have that effect on
girls.”
“I guess so,” he
sighed. Dr. Sims let his amusement die down before he took a drink of his
coffee then look at AJ.
“You have come a
long way, AJ. You know that right?”
“Yeah I do.”
“You have been
clean and sober for how long now?”
“It will be three
years in November.” He reflected, looking at the doctor through clear eyes.
“Wonderful. You
passed your anger management classes.”
“Yep.”
“But,” the doctor
started slowly. “There is one thing I think we need to discuss.” AJ lowered his
cup and looked at Dr. Sims face. The doctor reached into his pocket slowly; he
removed something from his pocket but kept it from AJ’s sight until he slipped
it to him across the small, round table.
The metal scraped
lightly against the wood grain table and the princess cut diamond caught the
sharp rays of the sun.
AJ swallowed hard.
Over three years
of therapy, talking about his addictions, his weaknesses; his lack of
confidence, possible sex addictions and his childhood, never once was she mentioned.
“I wanted to give
this back to you, AJ.” He nodded slowly. “Do you remember when you gave that to
me?” Dr. Sims asked. AJ nodded again. “You never talked about her. I never
forced you to but today, your last day-our last day.” He paused. “Can you talk
about her now?”
He stared at the
ring as if it would speak to him. The diamond was still flawless, shimmering in
the springtime light and awakening the darkest part of his memory that had not
been revealed in all his years of counseling. Dr. Sims wanted him to talk about
her right then and there.
But what could he
say?
Where could he
begin?
The love?
The hate?
The beginning?
Or the end?
He retrieved the
diamond ring off the table, examining it closer. The platinum metal was smooth
and slightly tempered from resting in the sun.
“What happened,
AJ?” Dr. Sims asked. AJ shook his head, twirling the ring between his fingers.
“She loved me more
than I loved her.”
“Did you love her?” He nodded his head and
swallowed back tears. “You still think about her?”
“Of course.” He
replied, finally looking at the doctor. “She was perfection and I was destruction.
But she…” he paused. “She calmed me down, well she tried to.”
“What happened?”
“Women, drugs and
booze. I had it all and I lost her. I let her slip from my fingers only to lose
damn near four years of my life.” Dr. Sims shook his head.
“Everything but
the girl.”
***
