left the store, uncapping it as soon as he got out of the store. Henson staved off flashbacks as best as he could as he just took in the sights of the town. He breathed in deeply and walked off, actually feeling good.
“Hey, you missed an appointment the other day; what was up with that?” Stacy asked as she noticed Henson on the street.
“I was tied up with other things.” He replied, trying to be as casual as possible but didn’t know what else to say. They both kept walking the same way down the street and Henson started trying to think up a reason to head in another direction. “So how many appointments can I miss? I just wonder; I thought it was one.”
“Well, it is.” Stacy replied, noticing a slight jump in Henson’s step. “Jacinda just said you had a good reason to have missed it. She sent guards looking for you, ya know.”
“Yeah, I heard about that part.” Henson replied, feeling a bit more relaxed and felt like it was getting easier to just talk to nearly random people. He had only ever really spoken to her a few times. “I did have a good reason.”
“Not gonna tell me, huh?” Stacy said in a joking tone of voice, as if she was teasing Henson but he just faked a smile, playing the part. “Alright, well I’ll see ya later for a few. Maybe stand by my desk for a few. We can chat before your appointments. Why not?”
Henson nodded, not really sure how he felt about it but was glad to be making friends. The only other person besides Jacinda and the bartender that Henson had gotten to know was Darren, and that wasn’t a healthy relationship. He thought about the Pete guy he had met that seemed friendly, but Henson had been too drunk and didn’t give him a chance. He hoped he would be at the bar some other time but didn’t plan on going there for a while. Henson actually felt like talking to random people but he was still too nervous and shy to try it. He wanted to be social, but he just didn’t really know how. He used to be talkative when he was younger, before the military, but even then he wasn’t a conversationalist and didn’t quite know how to steer conversations or properly end them.
He still wasn’t sure if he was going to go to the session with Jacinda or try to get hold of Dr. Jones. The more he thought about it the more he realized that he just needed to relax again, get used to being around people and be friendly. He sighed as he still didn’t quite feel like going to see Jacinda but didn’t want to be unfit for the rest of his days. For once, his flashbacks actually helped him figure things out as he heard echoes of his superiors telling him to do what he has to do repeatedly in his head. He gritted his teeth and made his decision, knowing he had to go to the session with Jacinda.
When it came time for the session, Henson headed for the office, looking forward more to talking to Stacy than to his actual session with Jacinda. It was so rare to talk to someone he had no interest in. He made himself continue on, feeling himself wanting to turn back and go home every step of the way. It was worse that the first time he had gone there but at least that time he had talking to Stacy to look forward to. When he walked in she flashed a smile at him but held up her finger as she finished up some paperwork.
“Hi, nice to see you.” Stacy said. “How’s the rest of your day been?”
“Are you the secretary or the counselor?” Another patient asked in an irritated tone of voice from the waiting room just to the side.
“Sir, she happens to be a friend of mine.” Henson said in a calm yet stern tone of voice but squeezed his jaws shut
“Hey, you missed an appointment the other day; what was up with that?” Stacy asked as she noticed Henson on the street.
“I was tied up with other things.” He replied, trying to be as casual as possible but didn’t know what else to say. They both kept walking the same way down the street and Henson started trying to think up a reason to head in another direction. “So how many appointments can I miss? I just wonder; I thought it was one.”
“Well, it is.” Stacy replied, noticing a slight jump in Henson’s step. “Jacinda just said you had a good reason to have missed it. She sent guards looking for you, ya know.”
“Yeah, I heard about that part.” Henson replied, feeling a bit more relaxed and felt like it was getting easier to just talk to nearly random people. He had only ever really spoken to her a few times. “I did have a good reason.”
“Not gonna tell me, huh?” Stacy said in a joking tone of voice, as if she was teasing Henson but he just faked a smile, playing the part. “Alright, well I’ll see ya later for a few. Maybe stand by my desk for a few. We can chat before your appointments. Why not?”
Henson nodded, not really sure how he felt about it but was glad to be making friends. The only other person besides Jacinda and the bartender that Henson had gotten to know was Darren, and that wasn’t a healthy relationship. He thought about the Pete guy he had met that seemed friendly, but Henson had been too drunk and didn’t give him a chance. He hoped he would be at the bar some other time but didn’t plan on going there for a while. Henson actually felt like talking to random people but he was still too nervous and shy to try it. He wanted to be social, but he just didn’t really know how. He used to be talkative when he was younger, before the military, but even then he wasn’t a conversationalist and didn’t quite know how to steer conversations or properly end them.
He still wasn’t sure if he was going to go to the session with Jacinda or try to get hold of Dr. Jones. The more he thought about it the more he realized that he just needed to relax again, get used to being around people and be friendly. He sighed as he still didn’t quite feel like going to see Jacinda but didn’t want to be unfit for the rest of his days. For once, his flashbacks actually helped him figure things out as he heard echoes of his superiors telling him to do what he has to do repeatedly in his head. He gritted his teeth and made his decision, knowing he had to go to the session with Jacinda.
When it came time for the session, Henson headed for the office, looking forward more to talking to Stacy than to his actual session with Jacinda. It was so rare to talk to someone he had no interest in. He made himself continue on, feeling himself wanting to turn back and go home every step of the way. It was worse that the first time he had gone there but at least that time he had talking to Stacy to look forward to. When he walked in she flashed a smile at him but held up her finger as she finished up some paperwork.
“Hi, nice to see you.” Stacy said. “How’s the rest of your day been?”
“Are you the secretary or the counselor?” Another patient asked in an irritated tone of voice from the waiting room just to the side.
“Sir, she happens to be a friend of mine.” Henson said in a calm yet stern tone of voice but squeezed his jaws shut
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