"Okay," said Doctor Frances Twist, wondering about the woman before her.
She seems totally different than the lady I met at Jenny's wedding Saturday. This woman is more alert, focused, instead of the brow beaten housewife who simply followed her husband's orders around in the past.
"Now then, whenever I hold group sessions, I do encourage everyone to participate. Harry, James. Would you like to say something?" Doctor Twist asked.
Harry Jenkins looked at his new brother-in-law. When the other man made no move to speak, he said, "Well, my only dealings with the Harpers have been since they arrived for our wedding. From what little I've seen of him so far, their father seems to be too set in his ways and may never fully change, no matter how much he should."
Harry saw a shocked look on his new mother-in-law's face and said, "I'm sorry Mrs. Harper, but that's just the way I see it, based upon what I have seen. Your husband came all the way out here from Alabama to stop our wedding," said Harry, as he held Jenny's hand in his, "not even knowing that the man he thought would make a better husband for his oldest daughter had already made a couple of attempts through intermediaries to kill me just to have a clear field at Jenny. Besides which, one of those attempts almost took my older brother away from us!"
"I'm so sorry," said Elizabeth Harper, as she began to cry.
Frances reached for the box of tissues she kept on hand and gave it to Elizabeth Harper, who said a brief "thank you" before digging into them.
"Mother, that part is not your fault. Even dad was blind to how evil Dieter Wilhelm actually is," said Jenny, trying to console the older woman. "But you have to acknowledge your mistakes and move on. Right Doctor Twist?"
Frances just said "Yes" as they waited for Elizabeth to calm down a bit.
"It wasn't easy growing up in that household," said James Harper, Junior; breaking the silence.
"How so?" asked Frances.
"I can't remember the early years that well, so maybe there might have been a time when dad was a loving and devoted father, let alone a dear and caring husband. I probably should give him the benefit of the doubt, but I can't truly say for sure," admitted the eldest Harper child. "But as I got older, especially as the rest of us kids came along, I noticed things."
"Such as?" asked Frances.
"Dad would insist upon regular... meetings with us. He never did it en mass, and was always careful about when, how, and every other logistic involved. But he did beat us on a regular basis under the belief that one shouldn't Spare the rod and spoil the child."
"What?" said Elizabeth, looking at her eldest with teary eyes.
"Don't give me that mother," said James Junior, staring at her. "You've followed him blindly and ignored things for years. I tried talking to you about this just months ago, and you acted like I was comparing him to Satan. The only reason dad doesn't think I need regular correcting any more is because I'm in college now, but he still tells me that if I get out of line, he can always fine tune me!"
"You do realize that's child abuse, and that you could have called the authorities on him at any time. Past or present instances," said Frances calmly.
"And tell them what?" James Junior asked in return. "Like I said, he's always careful. Only spanked us to the point that our butt cheeks would be red and sore for awhile. Then always waited until we were healed before we either needed further correcting or actually did something wrong. Ironically, he always claimed doing so hurt him more than it hurt us. Liar."
"James..." began Elizabeth.
"Both of you are always telling me that as the oldest male child, I have responsibilities to my siblings, so I took more of Jenny, John, and Janice's than they actually got," he revealed, looking directly at his mother. "It wasn't right, hitting any of us for no valid reason whatsoever. Especially not the girls. How he managed to never lay a hand on you..."
"It wasn't physical with me. It was always verbal," confessed Elizabeth.
"What?" said James, as the others looked on.
"No matter what I did, nothing ever seemed to be completely right in his eyes. Even when I thought everything was absolutely perfect, he'd find something to complain about. 'The potatoes shouldn't have been so lumpy. The gravy should have been smoother.' Do you know how sick and tired I grew at hearing complaints all the time, even when they weren't valid?" she protested.
No one present said anything as Elizabeth Harper continued.
"And whenever I had an idea, it was always wrong. I wanted both Jenny and Janice to take ballet, but your father didn't approve. 'Wasn't proper. A woman prancing around in a skimpy costume for anyone to see,' he claimed. When she was about 5, Jenny showed a budding interest in art, so your father broke all her crayons because art wasn't a respectable career for a woman."
"I barely remember that..." admitted Jenny, as her mother raged on.
"I was in college when we first met. He was kind, loving, and everything a woman dreams of. I had hopes and dreams for a promising career in nursing, and he said he'd support me all the way. When I became pregnant with you, he proposed. I was happy, because I certainly didn't want to try raising you as a single parent and my own parents would freak if I even thought about getting an abortion. But by the time you were crawling around in diapers and Jenny was on the way, I realized what kind of man I really married. Always bossing me around, telling me how things should be. Even who I should vote for in any election."
"Mother," began James, taking her hands in his. "You could have gotten a divorce. It may have been hard, but in time we would of understood."
"I couldn't. Next to abortion, my family frowned upon divorce just as badly as his did. So... I just put up with everything the best I could for the sake of you children," revealed Elizabeth Harper, before breaking hands to reach for another tissue.
"Mother..." said Jenny, reaching across to put a hand on the woman's closest shoulder once she calmed down a bit. "Do you realize the position you're in now?"
"All alone in a strange city, half way across the country, with little or no resources and your father totally incapacitated?"
"That's one way to look at it," admitted Jenny. "After all, no one could have foreseen or wanted dad to have such a massive heart event."
"I kept telling him he should go to a doctor, but he never listens to me about anything," complained Elizabeth.
"Well, what I'm getting at is that you're the head of the household now," Jenny pointed out. "It's your responsibility to run things, and you can do so the way you see fit. Not how dad would do it."
"I... You're right," realized her mother.
Doctor Frances Twist was totally surprised to see the smile appear on Elizabeth Harper's face.
If this is what they were talking about before we started the session, I can see the abrupt change in the woman, but why? Is she finally coming into her own and rising to the challenge? Not that that isn't possible, but so soon?
"I can see it all now. Once we settle Janice and John's emancipation into your guardianship," began Elizabeth, which made everyone else in the room smile, "and I get your father back home, it's time I stood on my own two feet," she realized. "Going back and getting that degree I never finished isn't feasible, but so much else is."
"Like what?" wondered Frances out loud.
"Cutting expenses. Maybe even selling the house and getting a smaller place. After all, we certainly don't need such a big home with three of my children moving here and the fourth about to move on once he graduates college next Spring," said Elizabeth, while briefly looking at her oldest son. "I could start doing those sewing jobs on the side like I wanted to before. Why, now that I think about it, there's so many possibilities, I don't really know where to start."
"Getting John and Janice emancipated and your husband back home for proper care and rest would probably be the best places to start," suggested Frances.
"And I'll certainly be around until graduation to help you out," added James Junior. "If possible, I'd even like you to meet Celeste. Dad certainly would never approve of her because she's African American, but I love her and want to spend the rest of my life with her by my side."
"Aw..." said Jenny, as Frances smiled.
"Celeste. That sounds like a nice name," said Mrs. Harper. "She's a good woman?"
"The best, as far as I'm concerned," replied her son.
"Good," said Elizabeth, while smiling at him.
"Well, this has been quite a session," said Frances, while checking the clock on the wall behind her group. "Is there anything anyone else wants to say before we end this?"
"I am Mrs. Jennifer Jenkins, and I wouldn't have it any other way," said Jenny proudly.
"Our next appointment is with a lawyer Tachibana no Akane arranged to help with the legalese of the emancipation process," said Harry, looking at his wife; not mentioning the meeting was through their connection as members of the Skulk of Moon Lake.
"While I may be Mrs. Elizabeth Harper, I am my own woman, and it's time I started acting like one again!" declared the older woman.
"Considering everything that's happened since Saturday morning, I feel like I'm in the middle of The Twilight Zone and am still waiting for Rod Serling to appear, but as long as everyone is happy and it all works out to everybody's satisfaction, tell Rod to find me a permanent Zone space," said James Junior with a smile, while staring at his mother.
"All right then," said Frances, standing up from her chair.
As everyone started to leave, Jenny turned to Frances again and said, "Before the end of the month, I would like to confer with you on another matter."
"Oh? What?" asked Doctor Twist.
"After everything I've been through, I want to change my career goal from Veterinarian to Therapist. Can you help me plan out college courses and whatever else I need to do to achieve this?"
"Sure. Just call Rudy for a meeting. No charge," replied Frances. "But does this mean within the next decade I'll be having competition?"
"I was thinking more along the lines of a co-practice. That is, if you want or need a partner," pointed out Jenny.
"Well, I think Moon Lake is big enough for two therapists. Besides, even after you get your degree, you'll still need to apprentice under an already established professional before you can go solo. But we can discuss all of that in further detail later."
"Thanks," said Jenny, before hugging Doctor Twist again.
Then Frances turned to face Elizabeth Harper. "Madame..."
"If it's about my husband, I've heard plenty to last me a lifetime as it is," replied Mrs. Harper. "And some of it I'll even agree with now," she added, which surprised Frances.
"Actually, I just wanted to wish you well," said Doctor Twist, while holding out her hand.
"Thank you," said Elizabeth, while shaking hands. "For all you've done for Jenny, and whatever other assistance you've been to my family."
"You're welcome," said Frances, before watching the group leave her waiting room.
Alone, Frances turned to her office assistant and asked, "What time's my next appointment Rudy?"
"Two," the man replied. "Should I order lunch?"
"Yes please."
"Your usual?"
"Salad?" Then Frances paused before saying, "Actually, with everything that's been happening between yesterday and this morning, I'm feeling really hungry. Make it a double cheeseburger."
"Really? Okay."
"No. Wait. Make it 2 double cheeseburgers. With bacon, and the usual sides."
"Anything you want Frances. I'll call it in and then run over to The Local Diner to collect them along with my own meal."
"Thanks Rudy," she replied, before going back to her office.
Definitely an unique experience, thought Doctor Twist, while sitting back down at her desk. It wouldn't be unheard of for Elizabeth Harper to sink deeper into despair before starting to bounce back, but she's acting like she's ready to take on the world without much time for a recovery period. Amazing, as Frances started to prepare her notes from the just concluded session, knowing that she would be pondering Elizabeth Harper's sudden change of attitude for at least the rest of that day, if not longer.
MEANWHILE...
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