Frances slowly lead the group into her office. She remained quiet on her own feelings regarding including James Junior and Elizabeth Harper, as that would come off as judgmental, which wasn't the point of the session. She had no problem with them waiting out in the lobby with Rudy while she ran the session, but having them in for the session complicated matters, and matters she didn't want to share with the additional Harpers. Especially after her brief meeting with James Senior, which left a very negative opinion of the rest of the family. She knew that Jenny didn't agree with her father's actions, but she'd also had multiple sessions with Jenny and they had talked through a lot of those issues. However, while Jenny had often mentioned that her siblings weren't a problem and that her older brother had often seemed to deflect James Senior's attention onto himself rather than onto his siblings, Frances also knew that siblings could often see things from a certain point of view that often hides the other's failings.
In this, Frances was far more keen to believe that James Junior wasn't that different from his father and that Elizabeth Harper was by nature extremely submissive. All of which could be dealt with, but they would be different problems from what Frances' sessions with Jenny were supposed to be about. And if there was some way to ask Jenny about this quietly and privately, she would certainly do so, but the present situation didn't allow for that, and as such she'd have to put up with some extras for the final session.
"Please, have a seat," Frances spoke as she gestured to the therapy couch and moved to sit in her own chair.
She turned to watch them sit down. Jenny and Harry sat near the corner of the room near the point where the therapy couch began to curve up a little. James Jr. politely escorted his mother over to a point where she could sit next to Jenny's other side and he moved to sit down on the other edge of the couch. She noted that Elizabeth took note of the various degrees that Frances had on her wall above her desk, which included her Bachelor's Degree in biology/medicine at Moon Lake College, as well as her Medical School Degrees, which were from a different college outside Moon Lake, that included both a general medical degree and a specialization in psychiatry.
"Please don't say that my husband has permanently harmed my eldest daughter," Elizabeth finally spoke after a few moments before Frances could even say anything.
"Well... your husband HAS put her under a lot of stress over the years," Frances answered, "A LOT of stress. Things that have the potential to make her feel inadequate as a person or looking for some sort of escapism..."
"And I couldn't take any more the things that dad caused," Jenny spoke, "It's why I came here for college, to be away from that. Finding Harry... that was a bonus, and he's made me very happy."
"And how are things with Harry so far, now that we've gotten through the wedding?" Frances asked.
"Liberating," Jenny smiled, "I'm free to be with the man I love... Free to choose where I live, and Moon Lake has seemed like a nice place... And it's a safe place, which is the biggest thing."
"Safe?" Frances asked looking for clarification, as while Moon Lake was a nice town and most of the people were quite nice, that didn't mean it wasn't without problems. Yvette Smith's rampage earlier in the school year, the connections between Moon Lake and the death of Lionel Ulysses in Seattle, his murderer ultimately being "hidden" in Moon Lake until the past Sunday, and the suspicions that wereraccoon with revenge plots all demonstrated that there were always plenty of issues to confront. And of course, the biggest thing that hung over Moon Lake was the preservation of its secrets or even if the secret could or should be kept anymore.
"Yeah, safe," Jenny nodded, "of course there are going to be things that could go wrong... but here, it's more like the chance of that is more in line with the national average. Violent crime isn't a everyday occurrence here, and the people I've met have been kind enough to accept me for who I am and let me make my own choices... Unlike in Alabama where if I did anything... there was always a great deal of trepidation because of the fact that dad might not approve and go off the deep end as a result."
Frances jotted down her notes and listened carefully. So far, Jenny seemed to be reasoning her answers out well, which was a good sign that her lengthy incomplete period in her transformation into a female werefox was healing well or had fully healed. That would be a good sign. However, what Frances found herself most drawn to was that Elizabeth Harper sat quietly beside her daughter and as Jenny answered, Elizabeth seemed to almost frantically shift her eyes from Jenny to Frances and then back again. Elizabeth's lips seemed to tremble, almost as if with fear or guilt, which was something Frances didn't expect to see out of Jenny's mother.
From what Jenny had told her in the earlier sessions, Elizabeth Harper had been highly submissive to James Harper Senior. The description that Jenny had provided at times seemed to make it as though Elizabeth either agreed with the physical abuse he'd forced on his children or lacked the will to challenge her husband. And at the wedding, from what Frances had been able to see of Elizabeth Harper during the confrontation in the church lobby, Elizabeth Harper never displayed any independent thought or even conscience for her husband who ranted himself into a heart attack.
What Frances saw right now, however, went against all that. On one level it made her curious, but she knew that the only way she could come up with any answers for this would be to have Elizabeth Harper come in for her own therapy sessions, and that wasn't possible. As far as Frances knew, Moon Lake's preference was that with the possible exception of Jenny's younger siblings, who Frances knew Jenny wanted to rescue, that the rest of the Harper's leave Moon Lake as quickly as possible. And after her brief confrontation with James Harper Senior, Frances shared the opinion that they needed to go. Her she wasn't as quick to anger as Samantha could be at times, but that didn't mean someone couldn't make her angry.
"That's good," Frances spoke calmly, "and how has your sleep been with all of this and with your family in town?"
"Good," Jenny continued to smile, "No nightmares and I was able to hold my husband too me."
"You've had nightmares!" Elizabeth blurted and soon pulled Jenny into a hug, "I'm sorry... I should have done more..."
Jenny raised one hand and made a small smile as she patted her mother's shoulder. Frances nearly jumped at the outburst, but it only served to further alert her curiosity as to Elizabeth Harper's behavior. It went against what Jenny had told her previously and seemed to carry a great deal of shocked emotion that was coming from her.
"You're father's been difficult... but..." Elizabeth said slowly and soon gained a firmer tone to it, "I should have been firmer with him. Told him what was enough with regard to discipline..."
"It's okay, mom," Jenny answered, "those days are over and I'm doing fine. I have Harry, the most wonderful man in Moon Lake... and as things go forward, with what the hospital has said... dad really isn't going to be in any real shape to be the boss of anyone."
"That doesn't mean that I couldn't have done more," Elizabeth answered, "I can't explain it... I... I just feel I could have... should have done more... Your father HAS had his good moments from time to time... but they've been rather far apart and... I should have done more."
Frances raised an eyebrow and noted that neither Harry nor Jenny looked super surprised by this and neither James Junior. She could note some look of concern on them for Elizabeth, but it wasn't shocked surprise. That then made her wonder on what the actual purpose of this was. Had Jenny brought her in because something had caused a change and lead to some great breakthrough? It was possible, but for the moment, Frances didn't have the information to know for sure. And if something had happened, what could be the cause of it? Frances was fairly well aware of the certain circumstances that made Moon Lake special and made the were-virus and weres carry an almost mystical element to them, but those things were hard to prove and often took a great deal of faith to do so successfully, and at the moment she didn't have the time to really get into that sort of speculation. She still had the session to go through, though, and figured she'd try to handle some of her curiosity on the matter.
"Could you elaborate, Mrs. Harper?" Frances spoke, "You seem far more stressed than Jenny."
"I'd always thought that a wife's place was to stand by her husband's side," Elizabeth answered, "to stand and support him, no matter what. As it's what a good wife has done since marriage was invented in the Bible. But I suppose I let myself be a bit too... controlled by it... that I let myself get pulled into a bad place by it, and until last night... never noticed it or was bothered by it."
"And now?" Frances wondered.
"It's like being blind for years and then suddenly having your vision again," Elizabeth answered, "I can see where I've done wrong and where I should have been firmer... Difficult as he his, James Harper Sr. is not a bad man. If we knew about Dieter Wilhelm's criminal activity we NEVER would have supported him over the years... NEVER. But that doesn't mean I lost track of where the loving partnership that is marriage ends and where abuse can begin... But I see that now. I can't explain how or why, but I can see it."
"So... what will you do now?" Frances questioned. She privately had some suspicions, but felt it was best to keep the conversation going.
"James Sr. is going to need help going forward," Elizabeth spoke, "the hospital had said something about wanting to do an angioplasty at least before letting him go to Alabama... Where, I suppose we'll need to check him into a hospital there to let them get a look at his condition and see if they agree with what the doctors here have told me."
Frances watched as Elizabeth ran one hand along her fingers, as if counting the actions that would need to be done. Frances noted it, but kept her ears focused on answer she was getting.
"Which will mean that a lot of what he's done in the past will be impossible," Elizabeth answered, "It'll mean that I'll need to step up... but I can do it. I will need to be firm with him, and it may require a little help from James Jr. to get his father accept it, but I'm fairly confident I can talk him into accepting it. The big thing will be transferring custody of Janice and John from James Sr. and I to Harry and Jenny... and that's part of the errands that we have today... though I don't know on what your state has on its books regarding changes in custody... But it'll need to be done. Even if James Sr. wasn't a difficult man, the care he's going to need may be major and would mean that things wouldn't be easy for them. They will do better here with their big sister and her husband."
"I see," Frances said slowly and took down her notes.