"I am Jennifer Harper, soon to be Jennifer Jenkins, and I am my own person," she repeated, looking at her fiance Harry and her therapist Doctor Frances Twist with a smile on her face. "Say, I wonder if that's the problem?"
"What problem?" asked Frances, as she was politely ushering them out of her office at the end of Jenny's Friday session.
"In the dream I told you about. I could hold hands with the Jenny I used to be, and the werevixen I am now, but neither of them could hold hands with each other. Could it be that, since I've yet to confront my father..."
"You're wanting to assert and confirm your individuality. Not only to your father and the rest of your family, but to yourself as well. You're not looking for an outright confrontation, although based upon what you've told me about your father, it may come to that," realized Frances. "Otherwise, it definitely sounds like you're on the right path, especially considering what you said about that storm on the horizon at the end of the otherwise well lit trail in your dream*."
"Thank you for everything Frances. By the way, I forgot to tell you. If all goes well, in a few years we might be colleagues," said Jenny.
"Oh?" wondered Frances, while Rudy her secretary set up Jenny's appointment schedule next week before the wedding.
"After everything I've been through and you're wonderful help, you've inspired me to declare a major. I'm gonna become a therapist too. I want to help people, especially those that have been in situations like mine, and most of my credits from this semester will be transferable to the new objective," announced Jenny.
"See? You ARE your own person," pointed out Frances, quickly going back over all their previous sessions to make sure she did only truly inspire and not directly influenced Jenny's decision somehow. "Now then, keep repeating your mantra till not only you can recite it in your sleep, but believe it in your heart and mind as well, and I'll see you on Monday," added Frances, before she went back to her office to get ready for her appointment with Jen Decker at noon**.
MEANWHILE...
"So you see Mrs. Johnson," said Ben Twist, addressing the career counselor in the lobby of Moon Lake College's Administration building, "it's not that I don't have options, it's just that I don't know what I want to do with the rest of my life."
"First off, you're making a common mistake that a lot of young people in your position do. The way to properly look at this is not from a perspective of what you want to do with the rest of your life, but as a chance to figure out what you want to do with your life," she advised.
"Again. I'm afraid nothing immediately leaps out," replied Ben. "There are a lot of things that I am interested in and capable of, but nothing to seriously build a long term future on, except Kenya," he added, while smiling at his girlfriend.
"I remember meeting Miss Adaeze over the summer when she first registered. I can tell you that she's quite a catch from a career standpoint if all works out well in her favor," commented Mrs. Johnson.
"Oh?" asked Ben, looking at Kenya again.
"Mrs. Johnson just means that I know what I want to do professionally, fates willing," his girlfriend quickly replied, deflecting the conversation away from the fact that if all went well, within twenty years she and whoever was within her life would be at a point financially where neither would actually ever have to work again unless they really wanted to.
"Let's try something else," suggested the counselor. "While I never met the man, I know your biological father was a chemist for Tachibana Industries. I think he even might have helped refine the were birth control pills to be more species specific."
"Really? I never knew. My few memories of them are vague at best. I was very young when I lost them."
"I'm sorry. But do you have any interests in the sciences?"
"Afraid not, but out of curiosity, do you have any idea what my biological mother did?" wondered Ben.
"Let me look," said Mrs. Johnson, while checking her laptop. "It says here that she was a budding artist and—"
"Artist?" repeated Ben.
"Yes. Is that of some significance?" asked the counselor.
"Sometimes, when I'm alone and need to unwind, I draw," said Ben, while looking at her table and scratching the back of his head with his right hand, a nervous tic he had. "But it's just a way to relax and express what I can't put directly into words. Frances had me do it when I was young as part of grief counseling, and I just kept up with it."
"I see. Do you have any samples of your work with you?" asked Mrs. Johnson.
"Just a couple," said Ben, while reaching inside his shirt to remove the cellphone off the over sized lanyard around his neck. He quickly called up the images to show Kenya and the career counselor. "It's a family album," he explained. "No were shots, for obvious reasons. These are my moms Samantha and Frances," with the image showing the happy lesbian couple smiling and facing each other. "Here's my neighbors Mister and Mrs. Anderson..." as that drawing showed them happily sitting side by side on a couch.
"Professor Anderson teaches here, and I met his son Nate and his boyfriend earlier today," commented Mrs. Johnson.
"Nate and Alex are here? We'll have to keep an eye and nose out for them," said Ben, knowing that everyone present was a were. "This is Eric Anderson with his girlfriend Julie Stovall," with the drawing showing them walking side by side while holding hands, "and Nate with his boyfriend Alex Ramsey," as the image showed both boys standing tall shoulder to shoulder next to each other, "although I suspect both couples are starting to get really serious, and this last one is unfinished as far as I'm concerned, but..." he said, showing the ladies a picture of Kenya, who appeared looking dreamily at something off to one side.
Kenya just smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder. Every cellphone image was of a pencil drawing, straight black or white if not full color.
"They look so life like. Highly detailed," said Mrs. Johnson. "Did the subject's pose, or did you work from a photograph?"
"Neither. Straight memory, with some emotional influence," replied Ben, before giving Kenya a quick peck on the cheek.
"Well Mr. Twist. It looks like you have some serious talent. Maybe we should discuss a possible career in the arts," suggested Mrs. Johnson.
____________________________________________________________
*During the past Moon Lake episode: "...I'll find the answers I seek?"
**Which has already occurred in the Moon Lake: Tad thread, elsewhere on CYOC.net—tmw.