wonder she was such a cherished employee at the rehab. Those skills were all invaluable there. Aoife tried to learn as much as she could from Katie; Katie’s personal skills would be totally transferrable to Aoife’s job as an educational psychologist, especially when dealing with difficult parents.
To her surprise, in the beginning Aoife had been judgmental of the ‘hard’ drug users, even after what she herself had been through. But Matt’s tirades soon made her question her own lack of understanding. His view was that there was no excuse for what he considered ‘well brought up’ people to turn to drugs. It seemed that in his opinion, the right socio-economic background precluded all problems in life, regardless of what else went on behind the scenes. “They should know better,” was his stance on the subject. It hurt her when he talked like that. And while he shut down after the examination, his apparent lack of understanding prevented any attempt by Aoife to reach out to him. Interaction between them had been largely functional for the three weeks since her examination. Basically, he issued orders and Aoife obeyed; anything to avoid a trip across his knee for a spanking, to avoid both the pain and the closeness of it. The aftereffects of the examination had pushed them beyond a point where Aoife wanted any part of her to be naked around him. In a way it felt like a second rejection, and it was almost as painful as the first. She played ball, did everything he asked of her, and kept under the radar insofar as she could. She was still grateful to him; she was under no illusions that he had appeared back in her life when she needed him most, and had totally stepped up to the plate, sacrificing his time, energy, and even home to accommodate her. In spite of what Matt said about her choices in friends, Aoife knew she had chosen well at least twice. She and Matt might not be close like they once were, but he had been there when she needed him. Fiona too. She had put up with a lot, and Aoife was determined to fix their friendship if she could at all.
The following morning, Aoife had an appointment with Dr. Smith and he had hinted that this would be the final one before he signed her off as fit, well, and ready for work. She put a lot of effort into going to that meeting, dressing as if for work rather than her recent uniform of jeans or sweats. She even spent a half an hour putting on makeup and doing her hair. If she was being certified ‘normal,’ she was determined to look the part.
“That’s a lot of effort for the rehab,” Matt commented as she joined him for breakfast.
“I’m going straight to the hospital afterwards, remember?” Aoife was surprised at him. Normally he knew her schedule inside out, reminding her where she had to be, at what time, and the consequences of not arriving at least five minutes ahead of schedule.
“Oh, yes. Of course,” he replied absently.
“Actually, I thought about skipping the centre, Katie said she could cover it,” Aoife suggested, hopefully.
“Why? You’re not ill. You know the rules.”
“Fine! It just would have been nice, it’s a pretty big deal to me, you know. If Dr. Smith says it’s okay, I intend to start looking at apartments. I’m sure you’ll be glad to have your home back,” Aoife said with a sigh. She had expected him to refuse her the morning off; she’d said as much to Katie when her friend had suggested it, but yet, when it actually happened, it still stung.
Matt’s eyes flashed anger. “What about my opinion? I don’t think you’re ready to leave. We need to discuss this.”
“We are discussing it, right now. You have to trust me sometime. My time at the centre finishes on Friday, I finish with Dr. Smith today, hopefully. Then I have two weeks to organise myself before going back to school. I want to have adjusted by then.” Aoife was firm in her reply, and his surprise was obvious. Over the past weeks she had been so compliant.
To her surprise, in the beginning Aoife had been judgmental of the ‘hard’ drug users, even after what she herself had been through. But Matt’s tirades soon made her question her own lack of understanding. His view was that there was no excuse for what he considered ‘well brought up’ people to turn to drugs. It seemed that in his opinion, the right socio-economic background precluded all problems in life, regardless of what else went on behind the scenes. “They should know better,” was his stance on the subject. It hurt her when he talked like that. And while he shut down after the examination, his apparent lack of understanding prevented any attempt by Aoife to reach out to him. Interaction between them had been largely functional for the three weeks since her examination. Basically, he issued orders and Aoife obeyed; anything to avoid a trip across his knee for a spanking, to avoid both the pain and the closeness of it. The aftereffects of the examination had pushed them beyond a point where Aoife wanted any part of her to be naked around him. In a way it felt like a second rejection, and it was almost as painful as the first. She played ball, did everything he asked of her, and kept under the radar insofar as she could. She was still grateful to him; she was under no illusions that he had appeared back in her life when she needed him most, and had totally stepped up to the plate, sacrificing his time, energy, and even home to accommodate her. In spite of what Matt said about her choices in friends, Aoife knew she had chosen well at least twice. She and Matt might not be close like they once were, but he had been there when she needed him. Fiona too. She had put up with a lot, and Aoife was determined to fix their friendship if she could at all.
The following morning, Aoife had an appointment with Dr. Smith and he had hinted that this would be the final one before he signed her off as fit, well, and ready for work. She put a lot of effort into going to that meeting, dressing as if for work rather than her recent uniform of jeans or sweats. She even spent a half an hour putting on makeup and doing her hair. If she was being certified ‘normal,’ she was determined to look the part.
“That’s a lot of effort for the rehab,” Matt commented as she joined him for breakfast.
“I’m going straight to the hospital afterwards, remember?” Aoife was surprised at him. Normally he knew her schedule inside out, reminding her where she had to be, at what time, and the consequences of not arriving at least five minutes ahead of schedule.
“Oh, yes. Of course,” he replied absently.
“Actually, I thought about skipping the centre, Katie said she could cover it,” Aoife suggested, hopefully.
“Why? You’re not ill. You know the rules.”
“Fine! It just would have been nice, it’s a pretty big deal to me, you know. If Dr. Smith says it’s okay, I intend to start looking at apartments. I’m sure you’ll be glad to have your home back,” Aoife said with a sigh. She had expected him to refuse her the morning off; she’d said as much to Katie when her friend had suggested it, but yet, when it actually happened, it still stung.
Matt’s eyes flashed anger. “What about my opinion? I don’t think you’re ready to leave. We need to discuss this.”
“We are discussing it, right now. You have to trust me sometime. My time at the centre finishes on Friday, I finish with Dr. Smith today, hopefully. Then I have two weeks to organise myself before going back to school. I want to have adjusted by then.” Aoife was firm in her reply, and his surprise was obvious. Over the past weeks she had been so compliant.
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