“You’vemadesomerealprogress today. You should be proud of yourself.”
My new therapist’s words wrap around my brain.Proud.I like it.
“Thank you,” I tell him, standing as he does. We shake hands, and then I’m walking out—through the waiting room and outside to my bike.
The ride home feels too long, but my mind settles the moment I step through the door of our house—mine and Emily’s.
I hear her voice upstairs andsmile, but I don’t go up to interrupt. Instead, I head straight for the kitchen and pull out the ingredients to make dinner.
I’m rolling the pastry when the doorbell rings. I check the camera on my phone before opening it to find Nate and Carina smiling—and a frowning Kai behind them, holding a baby.
“What are you guys doing here?”
Carina rolls her eyes, pushing past me like she owns the place. “Tess is here for therapy, and we’re all going out for dinner, so we decided to meet here.”
“Glad my house can act as a rendezvous point for you all,” I remark.
Tess comes down a moment later, followed by Emily. My angel quit her job at the practice after my… breakdown. Not because she wanted to stop helping people, but because she couldn’t be herself there.
Now she works as a private consultant, which gives her more flexibility—clients can choose either in-person or online sessions.
I like it better this way. One, because it means she’s close by all the time. And two, we no longer have to hide our relationship.Not that I ever did—but she feels less on edge about the ethics of it all.
I may have also had Kai delete my records from her old practice, so now there’s no digital proof that I was ever her patient. Turns out he’s a computer nerd with insane hacking skills.
Our guests drift into the kitchen.
Tess eyes the pastry on the counter. “What are you making?”
“Spanakopita.”
Emily’s face lights up. “Really?” she asks giddily, slipping her arms around my waist.
Her happiness takes my breath away.
I kiss the tip of her nose. “Really.”
“Is there enough for everyone?” The hope in her voice breaks down my last reserves.
“I can make enough." I look up at the rest of the faces around us. "Assuming you lot would like to dine at Restaurant Calder instead of wherever you had planned?”
Four heads nod enthusiastically.
I roll my eyes, then roll up my sleeves and get back to work.
I spoon the spinach, feta, onion, egg, and dill mixture into triangles of filo, folding them neatly before lining them up on a baking tray. Then I chop vegetables to roast alongside them.
Once everything is in the oven, we gather around the new dining table with glasses of wine—except Kai, who’s on responsible dad duty.
The kitchen renovations are finally complete, with light blue cupboards and beige tiled floors. It’s… nice, actually. I thought I’d miss the charcoals and greys, but seeing how happy it makes Emily—the change is worth it.
Dinner is a success, though I’m grateful when everyone eventually leaves and it’s just me and my angel again.
We wash up together, as we do every night. It’s a quiet monotony I find comfort in.
“How was therapy?” Emily asks once I slide the last plate into the cupboard.
“Good. It’s helping.”