The next morning, they made coffee and a list. It was a list of options. He ran through the list of therapists with words like anxiety, family systems, and boundaries written next to them. He hovered over boundaries long enough to smile, surprised by his own relief. “Structure that doesn’t squeeze,” Evelyn said. “Structure that holds,” he echoed, testing the phrase.
In session one, he sat very straight and answered everything like an exam. The therapist’s tone slowed the clock. “You learned that love arrives as correction,” she said. “What happens if love arrives as permission?” He glanced at Evelyn. She didn’t fill the silence. She nodded once, encouraging him to try answering it.