Dr. Jones was still writing down some notes about Heather and Jeremie's individual cases when the door opened. He looked up to see a female panther Animalian. And not just any panthress. She was a lot more ripped than the average cat, even if she was dressing conservatively for this appointment. But Rosie did win the Heavyweight Class in the Female Division of the Animalia Bodybuilding Competition, so this was to be expected.
"Have a seat, please," said Jones, indicating a chair. Rosie sat down with perfect grace expected from a panther. "So, what seems to be the trouble?" asked Dr. Jones.
"Well, doctor, I'm seeing someone right now, but I'm having trouble opening up to him," said Rosie, her tail twitching a bit in agitation.
"In what way?" asked Jones.
"Well, I haven't told a lot about myself and, well, he doesn't know I'm black," said Rosie.
Dr. Jones just lifted an eyebrow at that. "Rosie, you're a panther. I think he would have noticed it," he said.
"No, I mean I used to be African-American, that i was born black," said Rosie, parting the fur on her arm so Dr. Jones could look at the skin. But he couldn't really see much of it. He wasn't really sure if the skin was pink or brown, or whether that changed for any formerly-black converted Animalians.
"Has your...partner, let's say, shown any negative attitude towards African-Americans in general?" asked Dr. Jones.
"No, it's not really ever come up," said Rosie.
"Would it matter if he knew you were black?" asked Dr. Jones.
"He might think less of me," said Rosie.
"Do you have a problem being black, currently or formerly?" asked Dr. Jones.
"Well..." said Rosie uncertainly.
"Perhaps we should tell me more about yourself, Miss..." started Dr. Jones.
"Brown. Well, it wasn't originally Brown," said Rosie.
"Any particular reason you changed it?" asked Dr. Jones.
"I was part of the Animalian Reinvention Program," said Rosie.
"What prompted you to join?" asked Dr. Jones.
"So I'd be safe from my ex-husband," said Rosie.
Dr. Jones paused before getting a fresh notepad. "Start from the beginning," he said.
Rosie talked at length about her former husband, Hector. Their marriage had started out seemingly well, but it became quickly apparent that Hector had severe anger problems. He tended to flip out over minor things pretty easily and there were often times that he smacked Rosie, even for things that weren't her fault. The beatings became more frequent as what affection he gave felt more backhanded and condescending.
"I think he was seeing me less of a wife and more of a personal punching bag," said Rosie, "I decided I really need to get away from him when he said to call him 'master'."
Dr. Jones paused before saying, "Forgive me for asking, but was Hector...white perchance?"
"Actually, he was Hispanic," said Rosie, "I was never sure from which country his family came from. But I thought his temper was because of the oppression that people coming from the south were receiving," said Rosie, "I tried to talk about it with him once but he just smacked me."
"Rosie, I don't think you should be defending his behavior," said Jones, "Racial discrimination is a problem and there are a lot of people who act out because of it. But there are some people who are aggressive all on their own and just use any excuse to lash out. I cannot judge him personally, but I think Hector was acting out anger for anger's sake."
"That can't be right, could it?" asked Rosie.
"Rage can be a very consuming thing. Worse is how it keeps fueling itself. People who live with anger long enough may no longer care about the reason they were first angry anymore, just so long as they keep being angry," said Dr. Jones.
Rosie shivered a bit and said, "I'm glad I got away from him when I did. I joined Animalia so I can bulk up and protect myself if he ever came after me."
"Rosie, I think we may need to schedule more sessions. That kind of abuse leaves more than just a physical mark. There are wounds in your psyche that you need to mend," said Dr. Jones.
"But I'm just here about my relationship problem," said Rosie.
"What problem?" asked Dr. Jones, "Find out how he feels about other ethnics, gauge his reaction to certain racial topics. If he's worth keeping, he wouldn't care what race you were before growing fur, let alone you were black." He wrote something on a piece of paper before handing it to Rosie. "Here, this is the time and date of a group counseling session I'll be doing with other patients. Bring your partner there. You might feel more confidence with opening up there."
Rosie took the paper and said, "Thank you, Dr. Jones. I didn't realize I was in that bad shape."
"You look to be in pretty good shape to me," said Dr. Jones, looking at Rosie's amazonian curves.
"Really?" asked Rosie flatly.
"Sorry, obligatory doctor joke. I don't fraternize with patients like that," said Dr. Jones, "Will I see you at the session?"
"I think so," said Rosie before getting up, "Thanks for your help."
"That's what I'm here for," said Dr. Jones before shaking Rosie's hand. He winced as Rosie squeezed a little too tightly, but he deserved it for making that joke. After Rosie walked out, he started adding her to the group counsel list. It was going to be an interesting session.