Velvet Mirror

Chapter 4

I sank into the big puffy maroon leather chair in Dr. Cobin's office that was too good for its own good. I crossed my legs and folded my hands in my lap.

Dr. Corbin, my grief counselor and certified psychiatrist, sat across from me. He was an old man with white hairs plastered to his head in a comb-over. His face was like a white opal that stood out from the drab in the room and of his clothing.

I gritted my teeth to remind myself to be calm; this would all be over soon. I did not even really have to show up for a second meeting with him if I did not want to. Dad and Joce only wanted me to go to a grief counselor, they never said I had to like continue to see him or anything.

I knew I could not approach this with hostility, and there was no reason for me to be scared of this sixty-year-old man. If he tried to attack me, I was far more agile.

What was wrong with me!? He was my grief counselor for Christ's sake. He had no reason to assault me. Unless, of course, he was some psycho serial killer who attacked and murdered all of his clients.

Oh God. Now I was just getting ridiculous.

"So how are you doing today, Ms. Olivier?" he asked, dragging me back to reality with the familiar mispronunciation of my surname.

"It's Olivier," I said, pronouncing it Oh-live-ee-ay, the proper French way. My grandparents on my dad's side were both of French descent and they moved from Europe sometime just before my dad was born.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Dr. Corbin said. "How would you like me to address you? As Ms. Olivier, or by your first name?"

"Valerie is better, thanks," I replied curtly.

"I'm so sorry about your son, Valerie," he said. I nodded. "You must miss him so much."

*****

I thought about him the whole way home. Did I really need to see a grief counselor if Colin was back in my life--at least somewhat--alive? When I got back to my house, I practically sprinted from the car back to my room.

Colin was there, in the mirror, though he seemed surprised to see me. I flattened my hand against the glass and begged him to grab it. He pulled me through the mirror, a thousand butterfly kisses on my skin.

I gasped when I landed on the other side. It took me a few minutes to regain my breath again.

"Mom, are you okay?" he asked. "Did something happen?"

"No," I laughed nervously, crinkling my brow. I put a hand on Colin's shoulder to reaffirm it. "Why would you think that?"

"Um, you just look a little frantic," he said.

"I just really missed you," I admitted. "I really wanted to see you."

"Oh, okay," he said. "I missed you too, Mom." Colin put his hands in his pockets and bounced from foot to foot.

I sighed and looked around myself. We stood in a valley of short green flora caught between grey mountain peaks and an isolated log cabin. I felt like I was in one of those fucking pictures on a postcard. Places like this did not exist anywhere but, like, New Zealand. For Christ's sake, I didn't even let stuff like this in the gallery. It was just too...scenic.

"I can't believe this place," I said.

"It's my front lawn," Colin shrugged and grabbed my hand. "Let me show you the house. I got some new stuff." We ran back to the house like giddy children. As we got closer to the house, the grassy underfoot gathered stones and the grass receded until it was only a rock path. We walked up the porch and Colin turned the gold doorknob and pushed the door open.