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Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2017 9:17 pm
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"I love whatever you've done with your hair," said Risha, the therapist, brightly. "You look so much younger, I hope you don't mind me saying! At any rate, we're trying to convince Ezra that keeping up with his exercises for his legs will keep him playing piano and cello for many years to come, and that focusing exclusively on his hands will just make the tension worse--"
Ezra made a rude noise, and self-consciously shoved his hands in his pockets. "I stop when it hurts," he said. "And I'm not making progress fast enough, so--"
"You're progressing as fast as you need to go," said Risha, still brightly. "Don't you think, Dr. Townhome?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2017 9:51 pm
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< I didn't know this would happen, > Leila meekly beamed over. < I'm so sorry. > This was horrifying. She didn't have the parenting experience for this. And the compliments interspersed with the concerns were making her feel extremely weird.
Once the therapist had finished her spiel, Leila took a deep breath, and bent down to retrieve her papers before attempting a reply.
This took her a very long time, and even though her forensics work had trained her to keep a composed expression when she needed it, on the inside she was panicking. She had absolutely nothing to go on. Her opinions were threadbare, and insignificant against the ones she should actually have, which she didn't ******** know. What kind of mom had she turned out to be by the time Ezra was in his 20s? Was she a cool mom? A stern mom? Exactly like her own mother (which would honestly be fine)? She glanced to Ezra for a cue and realized that was ridiculous.
"Um," she repeated, gritting her teeth.
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Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2017 1:00 pm
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Ezra gave Leila look back that said I wish I was dead pretty clearly.
"I know you're not a medical doctor," Risha hurried to assure Leila, possibly misinterpreting the um. "But it's very important for his continued recovery that he continue doing all of his exercises at the pace at which they are set in order to avoid further injury to his hands. It's a very delicate time!"
Leila was clearly being used by the therapist to either guilt Ezra into compliance or else to explain, again, why Ezra was ******** up.
"Risha, I think your problem is with me," said Ezra, "so we should leave my mom out of it."
"Nonsense," said Risha. "A support system is vital in a situation like yours! Keeping your mothers in the loop is something you ought to have been doing yourself."
Ezra looked, again, like he was waiting for death.
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Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2017 2:20 pm
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Then it was Leila's turn to shrug. "It'll be a while. She's probably still mad at me for talking her into going today." Recalling that made her laugh a little bit. She didn't need to explain why, because the comparison was obvious.
They both knew well enough where the shitty hospital cafe thing was, and she wordlessly walked with him over there in apparent acceptance of his offer. Leila was grateful for the drink (partially because up until opening it and taking a sip, she still had vomit taste in her mouth). She also accepted the slightly crumpled document back, and busied her hands smoothing it out on the table. Her own name was centered on the first page, followed by institutional credentials and the beginning of a research statement -- it was her CV.
More accurately, it was the CV of the Leila she'd replaced.
Calmer, but still cautious, she said, "Looks like I'm not that much of a mom." Not that either of them could have anticipated a situation in which she'd be expected to, truly, act as a parent in such a way. She was still shaken by it, along with everything else on her mind.
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