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“Yes. That’s what I want too. But I keep wondering… what happens next?”
“Such as?”
“I don’t know. Does Cathryn come back? Does the rosebush just die…?”
“Okay. Julie. We both know Cathryn isn’t coming back. You gave her such an amazing life. Losing a pet is like losing a family member. That shock of loss. The absence of love. Right?”
“Of course. That’s why she was placed in the yard. And that’s where the rosebush began to grow.”
Julie’s eyes lit up.
I kept things calm.
“Have you spoken with your mother recently?”
Julie slinked back into her chair into a familiar defensive posture.
To me, this was where the Cathryn situation came from.
A falling with out with Julie’s mother left her vulnerable and scared.
She turned her emotions to her cat, who was aging.
The aging cat passed naturally in her sleep one night.
Julie connected her feelings for her estranged mother and her now dead cat and the collision created this sense of…demand.
That demand turned into this rosebush situation.
“How can I talk to her?” Julie asked. “She thinks I’m crazy.”
“Have you tried to find common ground with her?”
“Hey, she’s the one who left. She’s the one who met a guy online and moved. Just like that. I didn’t do that. She did.”
“I guess what I’m getting at, Julie, is it really feels as though you never got your chance to tell her what you’ve told me. About her meeting this man. About her leaving. Now, will this bring her back? Probably not. But getting this off your chest. Making your feelings known. That’s important.”
Julie reached for a tissue.
The session ended fifteen minutes later.
We confirmed Julie’s next appointment.
When she got to my office door she looked back at me.
“Next week is Cathryn’s birthday.”
I offered a quick smile and nodded.
We were off the clock and I had nothing to say to that.
I pictured Julie making a cake and sitting next to a rosebush, talking to it.
I heard Bethany’s booming voice say goodbye to Julie.
A few seconds later, Bethany was in my office.
“You know I can’t talk about anything,” I said.
