𝑱𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒚 𝑺𝒕𝒚𝒍𝒆𝒔

     I climb down my car after pulling up across the street. Later, I’ll bring it into the garage. There’s no marauding in this neighborhood. We haven’t had cases of burglary since we moved in. Although there are occasional disturbances, they aren’t chronic that they’ve been turned into police cases. When there’s a problem, we fix it among ourselves without involving the police. We only call them when it’s above us. Overall, crime rate is low here; partly the reason I chose this suburb.

     I walk to the front door. I’m about to open it when Adrienne shows up with a smile. She looks happy today, and I’m glad she’s had a nice day.

     “Welcome back,” she says, reaching for my briefcase.

     “Thank you.”

     She takes the briefcase and leads me to the house.

      “How was today’s session with Dr. Hassan?”

      She’s smiling, and I can tell it went well. Adrienne is showing minimal changes. Although they aren’t massive, I’m happy she’s getting better.

     “Excellent,” she chirps.

     “That’s nice to hear.”

     “Have you had dinner?”

     She bobs her head and says, “With Ms. Gillian. We ate a continental dish I got from her recipe book.”

     Looks like my wife had a great time. I smile wistfully at her. “Nice one.”

     “What about you?” she queries.

     “I’ve had mine too.”

     We’re climbing the staircase to the bedroom when she says, “All right. You look exhausted. Take a cold bath and all the stress will subside.”

     “I will.”

     When we reach our bedroom, she helps me slip off my coat and loosens my tie. After I take off my suit, I use the bathroom.