Brent: Sounds good.
17
“Welcome back.”
“Thanks.” Brent glanced around the therapist’s office. Nothing had changed in here.
But out there, and inside him, everything was upside down and confusing.
“Last time, you said you were going to help your ex move. How did that go?”
He shrugged. “You know. Okay.”
She waited. He didn’t elaborate.
He made a face. He wasn’t sure he wanted to talk to her about this, but he didn’t have anyone else. “We, uh…”
She waited.
“We’ve been spending more time together. Which I like. I love it. But she’s wary. You know, for good reason.”
“Have you talked about your feelings for her?”
“Yes and no. I told her. She doesn’t feel the same way, and I’m backing off.”
“But you’re still spending time together.”
“She wants to see other people. She wants both of us to see other people.”
“Are you ready to move on?”
“No.” He shifted on the couch, crossed his legs. “We’re not moving on.”
“What does seeing other people mean, then?”
“In addition to each other.”
“Ah. How do you feel about that?”
“I dunno. I don’t mind it, but it’s not really normal.”
“Who decides what’s normal?”
“We all do. There are societal norms.”
“Do those work for you?”
Brent frowned.
“I’m not talking about laws. Keeping people safe is one thing. But monogamy is only one option, as long as everyone is in agreement.”
She sounded like Jess. Except cool, and collected. Jess sounded excited and breathy when she talked about it.
The therapist leaned in. “Sometimes it’s useful to unpack where we learned our assumptions. Who decided foryouthat monogamy with one person was the best thingfor you, provided that everyone involved knows about the arrangement and isn’t being hurt by it?”
He was stumped. “I dunno.”
“Do you want to be with Jessica?”
