‘No. Nonono. I mean how are you personallykindto yourself?’ Jerry asked, clearly a little irritated by the giggling from certain members of the group.
After a pause, Tara finally said, ‘I’m reconnecting with old friends… but I’m pretty certain the dog thing still counts.’
Group over, Tara left the building, quickly spotting Aiden’s car in the car park. It looked rather out of place sitting between the Mercs and the Teslas.
‘Thanks for picking me up,’ she said, climbing in. ‘Very sweet of you.’
‘It’s no trouble,’ he replied. ‘I have the day off. Can I ask how it went?’
‘Hmm, not bad, I guess,’ she replied. ‘Lots of talking and feelings, which is fine if you like that sort of thing.’
She buckled her seatbelt before waving to a mousy-looking woman called Jessica that she had grown quite fond of over the past few weeks. Despite her timid appearance, Jessica, a former criminal lawyer, was an absolute riot.
‘Idris bleedin’ Elba!’
‘Sorry?’
She laughed. ‘Nothing, I was just trying to remember his name earlier.’
‘So, what’s actually involved here?’ Aiden asked. ‘In your group. Do you have steps to work through or…’
‘Nah, it’s not like AA or those kind of support groups, I’d imagine. This is like a weekly meet-up for people who have self-esteem issues. They call it an empowerment group, which to be fair is a shite name, but it costs a bloody bomb and has a waiting list as long as your arm. You’d be surprised at the types of people who don’t like themselves very much. I can’t name names obviously, but there’s quite a few famous people.’
‘You’re very brave’ he said, starting the car. ‘Not sure I could handle something like that.Empowerment group!It all sounds very American, doesn’t it?’
‘You’re American.’
‘I know. I’m sorry.’
Tara laughed. ‘It would be pointless for you anyway, because you like yourself,’ Tara replied. ‘And you should, you’re deadly.’
Tara had only been dating Aiden for twelve weeks, but he’d been entirely chill with her current situation. She’d already completed rehab but still felt she had a long way to go. She wasn’t completely sure why he hadn’t run for the hills, given the absolute state of her, but perhaps, Tara thought, this was another reason she was wise to keep attending the group.
‘So how was work?’ she asked. ‘Save any animals?’
‘Well,’ he replied, ‘someone did hand in a five-foot python they found in their garden.’
‘I dated a guy who owned a python once,’ Tara replied. ‘It didn’t do much, but then again, neither did he. They made a good pair.’
Aiden smiled. ‘Yeah, they’re pretty docile. She was microchipped though, so we found the owner quickly, which was good.’
Tara liked listening to him talk, even though she found his job to be somewhat boring. Unlike previous boyfriends, he wasn’t flashy or arrogant or vain (even though he had every right to be), he was just a sweet guy who made her laugh and, right now, that was all she needed.
‘You ever been to Ireland?’
‘No,’ he replied. ‘You?’
She laughed loudly. ‘Not for a while. I thought I might take a trip, in a couple of weeks. See some family. You up for it?’
‘Sounds nice,’ he replied. ‘Yeah, I’m definitely up for that, I just need to check with work.’
‘Excellent,’ she responded, kissing him on the cheek. ‘We’ll have a great time, I promise.’
