through what was in the file. She took a deep breath as she finally looked at me. “Okay, I’m so sorry. What were you saying earlier?”
“Well, I turn 24 in three more weeks. I was worried that he won’t be served in time, and he won’t be prosecuted for what he did to me when I was 13.”
Her face registered a slight grimace, but she recovered quickly. “Well, that’s a possibility. I’m not gonna lie. But, don’t worry, we have plenty of evidence of what happened to you recently.”
I was incredulous. “I don’t understand. I would think that the statute of limitations expiring would mean that this case would be a priority. You told me the last time I saw you that you would make an arrest within days. Now it seems that no arrest will be made before my birthday. What gives?”
“It’s complicated,” she said. “That’s all I can tell you. But I’ll certainly keep you posted on the progress of the investigation.”
Having been blown off, I trudged to Adele’s office. I waited in her waiting room, flipping through magazines and trying to calm down. That was why I didn’t want to get more involved. I didn’t want to experience this kind of extreme frustration.
Finally, Adele called me into her office. She had just emerged with a patient who was crying hysterically. She had her arm around the patient sympathetically, and directed her to the receptionist who was poised to schedule another appointment.
“Scotty,” she said. “Come on in.”
I sat down. I was starting to really look forward to seeing Adele. At first, I thought that seeing her every day was overkill, but Nick had insisted on it, so I went along. I soon found that the continuity that was provided by daily therapy, as opposed to weekly, was something that was helpful in my recovery.
“So,” she said. “We’ve been talking a lot about your mother. How are you feeling about her now?”
“Well, I have to say that the CBT is really helping. I’ve been able to replace most of my negative thoughts about her with positive ones. Every time I started to think about how she neglected me and verbally abused me, I would instantly replace those ideas with the positive memories I had of her. And I’ve even been remembering an important day when she really tried to protect me. So, I’m gradually starting to get over my feelings of hostility for my mother, which is helpful, because she talks to me through Skype once a week.”
“What is the new memory?” Adele asked me.
“Well, I remember that I overheard a conversation between her and my court appointed attorney. It was during one of the hearings that they had after I went to live with that man and Elle. I think I was around 11 or 12 at the time. It was before the pervert started doing things to me.”
Adele nodded her head. “Go on,” she said, scribbling in her notebook.
“I do remember that I was happy to see her. She didn’t usually show up to the status hearings. She claimed that she couldn’t get transportation, or some other excuse, but, really, I think that she was always too drunk to show up. But she did show on this day, and she looked pretty good.”
“Good in what way?”
“Well groomed, well dressed. She must have gone to the thrift store, because I remember that she was wearing a suit. Her hair was combed, and her eyes were focused. She didn’t smell like alcohol. It was as if, for that one day at least, she was really trying.”
I felt myself fidgeting, and I reached for a Kleenex. For some reason, the good memories of my mother made me cry even more than the bad ones. I guess because I had already cried all the tears that I was going to cry over the sad incidents.
Adele nodded her head. “So, this was a period where maybe you felt hopeful that she was trying to get you back. Like she managed to regain custody of you periodically throughout the years.”
“Well, yes. I mean, it broke my heart when she didn’t show to the hearings. I mean, I didn’t
“Well, I turn 24 in three more weeks. I was worried that he won’t be served in time, and he won’t be prosecuted for what he did to me when I was 13.”
Her face registered a slight grimace, but she recovered quickly. “Well, that’s a possibility. I’m not gonna lie. But, don’t worry, we have plenty of evidence of what happened to you recently.”
I was incredulous. “I don’t understand. I would think that the statute of limitations expiring would mean that this case would be a priority. You told me the last time I saw you that you would make an arrest within days. Now it seems that no arrest will be made before my birthday. What gives?”
“It’s complicated,” she said. “That’s all I can tell you. But I’ll certainly keep you posted on the progress of the investigation.”
Having been blown off, I trudged to Adele’s office. I waited in her waiting room, flipping through magazines and trying to calm down. That was why I didn’t want to get more involved. I didn’t want to experience this kind of extreme frustration.
Finally, Adele called me into her office. She had just emerged with a patient who was crying hysterically. She had her arm around the patient sympathetically, and directed her to the receptionist who was poised to schedule another appointment.
“Scotty,” she said. “Come on in.”
I sat down. I was starting to really look forward to seeing Adele. At first, I thought that seeing her every day was overkill, but Nick had insisted on it, so I went along. I soon found that the continuity that was provided by daily therapy, as opposed to weekly, was something that was helpful in my recovery.
“So,” she said. “We’ve been talking a lot about your mother. How are you feeling about her now?”
“Well, I have to say that the CBT is really helping. I’ve been able to replace most of my negative thoughts about her with positive ones. Every time I started to think about how she neglected me and verbally abused me, I would instantly replace those ideas with the positive memories I had of her. And I’ve even been remembering an important day when she really tried to protect me. So, I’m gradually starting to get over my feelings of hostility for my mother, which is helpful, because she talks to me through Skype once a week.”
“What is the new memory?” Adele asked me.
“Well, I remember that I overheard a conversation between her and my court appointed attorney. It was during one of the hearings that they had after I went to live with that man and Elle. I think I was around 11 or 12 at the time. It was before the pervert started doing things to me.”
Adele nodded her head. “Go on,” she said, scribbling in her notebook.
“I do remember that I was happy to see her. She didn’t usually show up to the status hearings. She claimed that she couldn’t get transportation, or some other excuse, but, really, I think that she was always too drunk to show up. But she did show on this day, and she looked pretty good.”
“Good in what way?”
“Well groomed, well dressed. She must have gone to the thrift store, because I remember that she was wearing a suit. Her hair was combed, and her eyes were focused. She didn’t smell like alcohol. It was as if, for that one day at least, she was really trying.”
I felt myself fidgeting, and I reached for a Kleenex. For some reason, the good memories of my mother made me cry even more than the bad ones. I guess because I had already cried all the tears that I was going to cry over the sad incidents.
Adele nodded her head. “So, this was a period where maybe you felt hopeful that she was trying to get you back. Like she managed to regain custody of you periodically throughout the years.”
“Well, yes. I mean, it broke my heart when she didn’t show to the hearings. I mean, I didn’t
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