AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’re beginning to sound like my brother!” I snap in frustration.
Still, he doesn’t react, just waits for me to answer the question.
I breathe in deeply and exhale. “Both,” I say.
He smiles. “Good, we’re beginning to peel the layers away until we get to the truth. Let’s focus on the wouldn’t. Why wouldn’t you go?”
“It would have meant leaving everything behind that had meaning for me. My family ties, my friends, the practice I’d invested several years in building up. I’d have had to drop all of that to follow her and be in her shadow.”
“To be in her shadow. That’s an interesting choice of words. Is that how you’ve felt.”
I run my fingers down a rough patch of trim on the edge of the chair. “It makes me sound pathetic, envious. That’s not the guy I want to be.”
“No, I can see you wouldn’t want to be cast in that role. But this is a space of honesty and no judgement. Speak, Wyatt, and tell me why you’ve felt in her shadow.”
“We met years ago in college. Back then, I was top of the class, someone with prospects. I aced all my tests and was on track for a successful career in business or finance. That’s the person Mel first met. Somewhere along the line, I’ve stopped being that person, and I’ve always wondered if deep down, she’s disappointed that the man she married, the high achieving guy who was going places, is now just a plain old chiropractor.”
“Have you ever asked her?”
I shake my head. “Even if I had, she would never have told me. She’s not that kind of person.”
“After years of marriage, you didn’t feel you could trust your life partner with that question?”
I stare at a scuff on my shoes grimly. “No.”
“Why?”
A pause. In my heart, I know the answer, but I’ve never verbalized it. “I think the job on Mars, and maybe also this one on Krovatia, was her way of leaving me without it looking like she was leaving me.”
“You mean, it was her excuse to leave you, without having to explain her real reasons why?”
I nod.
“What if it’s not what you think? You said she asked you to go with her to Krovatia. Perhaps she genuinely wanted you there with her. What if you allowed her to leave you because you didn’t have the courage to have an honest conversation?”
“Well, that would suck even more than it already does.”
“Yes, it would.”
I run a hand through my hair. “Jesus!”
“Ok, let’s regroup and focus on something else for the time being. Tell me Wyatt, do you feel a lesser person because you’re now a chiropractor and not a high-flying businessman?”
“Yes and no.”
“Ok, let’s explore this. Why does it make you feel like a lesser person?”
I sigh heavily. “This is a status-oriented city, and most of my former colleagues and friends, as well as my ex-wife, are in that high status world. To them, being a chiropractor is small fry. They don’t say it outright, but I know they think it.”
“I hear you Wyatt. If that’s the case though, and that’s a big if, then perhaps it might be time to make new friendships and step away from that circle of acquaintances.”
“The problem is that my ex-wife is in that circle.”
“Ah… Other than that, are you happy being a chiropractor?”
“Yes. It’s a much less stressful job, and I get a lot of satisfaction from helping people manage often very painful conditions. I get to go home at the end of the day knowing I’ve done good. I like that feeling.”
Dwight smiles warmly. “I know what you mean.”
