The Lessons by Elizabeth Brown Page B

things to avoid—or at least tiptoe around. Either way, it was going to be an interesting session, that was for sure.
    I gave a quick wave to Priya the receptionist as I entered the waiting area.
    “Hi Natalie, Dr. Lerner is running a little behind today. Have a seat and she should be ready for you in about ten minutes.
    “No problem. I’m early anyway.” And I could hear Josh’s teasing voice in my head, typical Virgo— so eager to get your gold star . I took the seat next to the magazine rack and grabbed a month-old copy of Good Housekeeping. I thumbed through it, trying to concentrate on trivial Type-A lady-porn, like how to plant a better vegetable garden and organize my garage, but it was no use. Once again, I was beyond nervous.
    My phone buzzed with a text message again. I pulled it out of my purse and slid the screen, thinking it was Josh.
    Hey, it’s Brad. I hope you don’t mind, but I got your number from Paulina. I’m wondering if you want to get coffee next week?
    I stared at my phone. Was this what I thought it was? Was Brad asking me on a date? That’s what coffee is, right—a date? I stared back at the screen helplessly and snuck a peek at Priya. She was busy, typing away at her station. I looked back down at my phone and decided to text Josh.
    Josh, are you there? Brad just asked me out.
    I waited several long seconds until my phone lit up with a response.
    LL, I’m not going to say I told you so, but I saw that coming a mile away.
    He was totally into you the other night.
    He was?
    Uh, DUH. He was like, staring at you all night.
    You didn’t notice?
    Girl, you didn’t used to be this dense.
    Bah- you know not to do that
    Do what?
    Don’t ‘used-to’ me
    Sorry. Had to.
    But seriously, you didn’t notice?
    I guess I had... but I was just so used to tamping down my expectations since they never, well, never ended up going anywhere.
    He’s a hottie. You go, girl.
    Thanks.
    So I should say yes???
    OMG! It’s just coffee. Relax. Yes. Go.
    Okay. Thanks. See you soon. g/g
    I changed screens back to Brad and typed in a response. He responded almost immediately, and in less than a minute we had plans to get coffee after work on Tuesday.
    “Natalie?” Dr. Lerner’s voice came gently crashing into my thoughts. I looked up. She was standing in the doorway, with her trusty notebook.
    “Hey,” I said as I gathered my things.
    “Sorry to make you wait.”
    “Oh, no it’s fine. Really. I was early anyways,” I said as I followed her down the beige hall to her office.
    “Have a seat.” She gestured to the couch. I said a silent hello to Larry and Lucius and headed to what was becoming my ‘usual’ spot. I set my purse down on the ground and glanced around the room as she thumbed through her files, finally extracting what I presumed to be mine. She was dressed less formally than the last time I’d seen her. Her hair was still tied back in a chignon, but she was wearing dark jeans and a thin, cream-colored sweater. It was cute, and I was toying with the idea of asking her where she’d gotten it when I realized I was just trying to distract myself from what was at hand. I looked down at my knees. One of them was pumping up and down rapidly, a nervous tick of mine. I halted that immediately.
    “So, Natalie,” Dr. Lerner began, “I’m anxious to hear how your first week went.”
    No dancing around it, I guess. We were jumping right in.
    “Uh, good,” I ventured, “Yeah, I think it went well.”
    She began writing. How could she be writing so much? I’d barely said anything. “And why do you say that?”
    Oh boy, she wasn’t going to make this easy, was she? What was it with all these psychology types? I don’t know why I said that. Because I managed to get through it? I mean, not that it was arduous. But I showed up, and we did what we were supposed to do. We did the assignment. What else was there to it?
    “Uh, I guess it went well because we— I mean I, was able to move forward. You