No More Do Overs - Sequel

nine.

The air inside the cozy counseling office was tense, almost palpable. The fluorescent lights hummed a low buzz, and the only sound apart from it was the faint ticking of the clock on the wall.

Nicola had changed the seating in the office, probably for comfort but the soft cushions of the couch sunk under the weight of Aubrey and Camilla's bodies as they sat next to each other.

Aubrey's gaze was glued to the screen of his phone, his fingers moving swiftly across the screen as he typed. His mind was far from present, lost in a jumble of stress and worries. Meanwhile, Camilla sat beside him, her hands clasped tightly in her lap, her eyes darting nervously around the room, as if searching for a way out. She knew the importance of this session, and the fact that Aubrey was not fully present made her anxious. The atmosphere was heavy with unspoken words and tension, waiting to be unleashed with a single question from their therapist.

"How are you both today?" Nicola asked, noticing Camilla fully present and Aubrey enthralled by his phone.

"I'm...fine" Camilla replied, awkwardly. Aubrey hadn't even looked up from his phone once.

"And Aubrey?" Nicola looked at him.

"Huh?" Aubrey finally snapped out of it.

"I said, how are you today?" Nicola repeated.

"I'm sorry, there's a lot going on right now" Aubrey cleared his throat and looked up. "I'm fine. I-I just have a lot going on right now. It's stressful, but I'm working on it"

"I'm sorry to hear, do you want us to reschedule when things calm down?" Nicola looked at them both.

"No, let's just, uh-, keep going" Aubrey gave an appreciative smile. Aubrey had never really had an opinion regarding Nicola, but he was grateful for her thoughtfulness despite her not knowing what was going on.

"Aubrey, are you sure?" Camilla looked over at him, nervously.

"Yes, I'm sure. Let's continue, this shit is important to me"

"Okay, well let's change the topic today to at least be somewhat helpful with what's going on " Nicola said, drawing a line through whatever she had previously written and writing something new. "How do you handle stress and challenges in your life and relationship?"

Nicola's gaze lingered on Aubrey, studying his body language as he sat there with his phone in his hand. She could sense that something was not right, and her professional instinct told her that there was more to this than just a busy schedule. She made a mental note to explore this further, but for now, they needed to focus on the topic at hand.

Camilla took a deep breath and began to speak, her voice shaking slightly. "I think we both handle stress differently," she said, glancing at Aubrey. "I tend to withdraw and shut down temporarily, but I'll usually talk about it after, while Aubrey... well, he gets lost in his work and his phone, like he's doing now."

Aubrey's face flushed with embarrassment as he realized that he had been ignoring his wife during this important session. "I'm sorry, baby," he said, putting his phone in his pocket. "You're right, I've been distracted. But I'm here now, and I want to work on this."

Nicola nodded, impressed by Aubrey's willingness to engage. "That's a good start," she said. "So, let's talk about how you both can better manage stress in your lives and in your relationship. What are some things that have worked for you in the past?"

Camilla and Aubrey looked at each other, their eyes meeting for the first time since they had entered the room.

"I just deal with things as they come, I have this complex, probably an overly confident one where I just assume everything is going to work out" Aubrey replied.