“WELL, YOU LOOK FAR MORE rested than you did the last time we met,” Carleigh says, eyeing me as I position myself in the seat across from her.
“Yeah, finally done with that pledgin’ crap.” I let out a sigh of relief. “Can’t tell you how good it feels not to have to clean up after a bunch of kids anymore.”
“And more time for your studies?” She gives her brows a little wriggle and I chuckle.
“Yeah, we’ll see. More sleep doesn’t make the classes any less boring, unfortunately.”
“Do you like any of your classes?”
“Not a single one.” I laugh, shaking my head. “It’s all those bullshit classes everyone has to take but nobody needs. I can’t be bothered.”
She shrugs. “Some people do use them. And I think it’s beneficial to get a well-rounded education.”
I nod, replying, “For sure, but I don’t need some bullshit college administrator to decide what’s important for me to learn. I’m never gonna use algebra again, or literature, or any of that shit. It’s a waste of time and taxpayer dollars. We’ve got the internet these days. Before that, encyclopedias and books. I’m a self-educator. I believe in satisfyin’ every curiosity. And I’ve learned a hell of a lot more on my own than I ever have in any classroom.”
“Well, you’re smarter than many. I’m the same way. But what do you have, one more semester of these classes before you get to your major?”
“Yeah, but what major?” I grin.
“That’s your job to figure out.” She quirks an eyebrow, her chin against her balled fist, her elbow atop the desk. She’s gotten so much more relaxed with me in this space, her demeanor night and day from our first visit, though the sarcasm and repartee are still as strong as they’ve always been.
I catch my eyes trailing her neck, down toward her button-down dress shirt, the buttons undone just enough to see the slightest bit of cleavage.
Fuck, Bishop. Control yourself, man.
“I saw that,” she says, giving her head a slight shake. “Keep your head in the game, Bishop. We’ve got a job to do in here.”
I point back toward the door. “And what about out there?”
She rolls her eyes. Ignoring me, she says, “So, have you thought anymore about your major? Maybe getting into BSU’s theatre program?”
I shrug. “I don’t know if Crescent Falls, Pennsylvania is where I would wanna be gettin’ an acting degree from.”
“So, you’ve thought about transferring then? Where to?”
“Yeah, I’ve thought about it. More so since we’ve been goin’ on and on about it,” I say, smirking. “I guess you’re right about me havin’ an opportunity here, bein’ retired and all, to chase a dream. I had someone else mention the same thing to me…” My voice trails as my thoughts roam to Ember, and how badly I miss our conversations. It’s rare to find someone you can get so comfortably deep with in conversation. “I definitely can’t see myself doin’ a nine to five, not ever, and if I ever did find myself there, I don’t think I’d last very long.”
“Wait, can we backtrack a little bit here?” she asks, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms.
“Which part?”
“The part about me being right.” She flashes me a wide smile.
“Oh, we’ve got a boaster here.” I nod, arching an eyebrow. “I’ll remember that for the next time I’m right.”
“Which would be when? Have you been yet?” She smiles again, a glimmer in her eye that makes me think she might be starting to dig me a little.
“So, we’ve got jokes today, Doc?”
“Oh, McKenzie, just call me Dave Chappelle.”
“If you ever call me that again, I will straight up walk my happy ass outta here and straight to jail,” I say, narrowing my eyes at her but grinning too. “And did you really just reference Dave Chappelle? You like him?”
“Why do you look so shocked? Of course I like him. I’m a living, breathing human being after all, and he’s a dang genius.”
“You got that right. We oughta order some Chinese food sometime and watch Clayton Bigsby and Tyrone Biggums.”
She shakes her head, a concerned look taking up her face. “Stop it,” she scolds.
“Stop what?” I ask, acting innocently with two hands to my chest.
“You know exactly what you’re doing.”
“Askin’ a beautiful woman out on a date? Yeah, I do.” I grin, unsure of where this is coming from, but enjoying watching her squirm in her seat.
“I am old enough to be your mother. Give me a break.”
“What does age have to do with anything? It sure doesn’t bother me.”
She sits back in her chair, shaking her head, her face turning red as she seems to be fighting a smile.
“Well now, back to the matter at hand, i.e. your counseling session.” The smile breaks free, her face fully flush now. She clears her throat. “Okay, Lord, you just love getting off track, don’t you?”
“Nope. I just like gettin’ to know you. Hence, the date request.”
“Listen, even though I know you’re just pulling my leg here, you can’t talk like that. I’m your doctor. The VA would not approve in the slightest. Even in a joking manner.”
“I’m absolutely not pullin’ your leg, nor do I have any intention of lettin’ you get in trouble for anything. Just a harmless ‘get to know each other’ date.”
“Bishop.” She shakes her head again, her face reading exasperation. I know I’m pushing my luck. “You’re ridiculous. I’m forty-seven, for God’s sake.”
I shrug. “And?”
“You’re twenty-five.”
“Gonna be twenty-six soon,” I reply, smirking. “And?”
“And, I’m your doctor. Now, stop getting us off track. We’re here to talk about you.”
“And that’s why I wanna go out sometime. So I can start askin’ you questions.”
She takes a deep breath, busying herself with some papers on the desk, then asks, “Bishop, how has the drinking been this week? Have you cut back as we talked about at our last session?”
I don’t respond right away, a smirk still present on my face as I lean back in the chair and cross one leg over the other, resting my hands in my lap.
“Not too bad. I won’t lie, I got shitfaced Friday night. That was our initiation into the fraternity. Other than that, I spent most of this week recoverin’,” I say, chuckling.
“How much less would you say you’re drinking these days as compared to before?”
“Significantly less. Before the fight, I was drinkin’ damn near every night. Now, maybe a couple times a week.”
“And how do you feel?”
“I smoke a lot more cigarettes.” I laugh. “But, other than that, I think I’m doin’ okay. It was a little easier when I was so busy with the pledgin’ stuff. Now that I have all this free time, and I’m actually a brother, it gets a little harder to fight.”
“And what about after this, when you aren’t being monitored? Do you think you’ll return to your previous consumption level?”
I take a moment, my eyes to the ceiling, as I think over her question. I look back toward her and shake my head. “No, I really don’t think I will. Weed … yeah, I won’t lie about that either. I’m gonna be smokin’ again the moment I’m able to, but the alcohol, I don’t think so. I never really craved it before, not like I think an alcoholic would. It was more of a boredom thing. I think I just need to find more hobbies. Find more ways to busy myself. And probably hang out at the frat house less.”
“You should probably focus a little more on that schoolwork too.”
“Well, now you’re soundin’ like a mother.”
She shrugs. “Somebody’s gotta do it. I don’t know what your grades look like, but if what you’ve shared in our sessions is any indication, you certainly need to be prioritizing a little bit better.”
“Oh God, Carleigh. You’re turnin’ me on here.”
She shoots me a glare, tilting her head and lifting her brows in that “Watch it!” kind of way, and she points her pen at me. “You want to pass this program, Mr. Bishop?”
“I’d really like that, yeah.” I smirk.
“Then behave yourself when you’re in that chair.”
A smile spreads across my face. I motion toward the door again, giving my brows a little dance. “And out there?”
I’m met with that death stare of hers, but her eyes read something different. In them, I can see intrigue brimming.