PART 5: Therapists

Chapter 30: That Tears It

Word of our burgeoning private massage practice spread quickly over the next weeks.

Alas, one of the early calls our advertising efforts generated was from The Goat. My mobile number’s the one on the flyers, not Kaitlyn’s, else none of the rest would’ve happened, I’m sure.

I was reluctant enough to take his appointment, but I decided to offer him an olive branch, wanting to try smoothing over this ongoing low-grade fight between him and my wife. Besides, I didn’t feel we had a moral right to turn away someone asking for any sort of healing we could provide. That had to violate our Oath, didn’t it?

It took some doing, but I managed to talk Kaitlyn into accepting, even though Ed insisted that she do his massage alone.

I felt like a referee at a martial arts match that evening, standing between them, making sure they shook hands before retreating to their corners. My little internal imp almost prodded me into telling them to bow to each other then come out fighting, but I managed to keep my lips together, just went into the house, knowing my Kaitlyn was quite capable of handling Ed.

I came out running ten minutes later, drawn by all the shouting, Kaitlyn yelling half-coherently at Ed’s retreating back, his body hunched protectively over the wadded bundle of clothing in his arms, dressed only in his boxers.

“What in the name of Minsky’s blessèd left mouse button is going on, you two‽” I demanded as I stormed out onto the deck overlooking the patio.

Kaitlyn ignored me, just kept yelling at Ed as he scrambled into the protection of the juniper maze, “And don’t you ever dare come back!”

I let her seethe for a while, the radiating fury creating a sort of invisible touch-me-not boundary I wasn’t about to cross. I waited until the sound of Ed’s car faded into the desert wind before asking quietly, “What happened?”

“It was going all right,” she began tightly, but then she exploded, “…until that fucking pervert demanded I take my clothes off!” She ended on a near scream, running into my arms, veritably vibrating there, tears of frustration beginning to glisten in her eyes.

On the face of it, this made no sense. She’d bent the rules under the right circumstances, as for Ranger Chris and others before him, so why not Ed?

No, even without being there to witness his insult, I realized it had to be the way he’d said it, built atop all those years of perving on her at work, all the resentments from our past battles. Those two just hadn’t been able to work through their history, and it’d blown up on them.

“I’m sorry, babe. I wanted this to work, for you two to settle this thing amicably.”

She sniffled. “Yeah, I know you did.” Then she vexedly pounded my shoulder a few times with her small fist.

Her small, speed-bag boppin’ martial arts trained fist.

I let her.

Ow.

We refunded Ed’s fee; only moral.

And then I blocked his perv-ass phone number; only sensible.

Nostril zits.

Sigh.