The Un-niversary

So, what a relief it had been--for Will, Luke and Eren--when Corinne did a straight beeline towards her brother, and didn't even notice Duncan coming in to welcome her as she arrived. Curved, like he wasn't even there.

'Answer your messages!' she had immediately complained to Eren, when she got there, her finger almost stabbing him in the chest 'I had to talk to one of your friends to figure out where you were staying!' she explained, looking around as if trying to find the guy but failing. Looking straight at Duncan, but not acknowledging it had been him. And Duncan's face might as well have fallen to the floor. Did she really not actually realize he was there? Or was Corinne shrewder, now, than Eren remembered her being?

Really, other than Eren, the group of teenagers was just standing around, trying to figure out if they should even be in the general area or move on. Half-pretending not to be transfixed by Corinne's presence, half-interested in knowing whatever was actually happening. At least Luke had gotten a 'hello'.

But now, the cute girl they had been dreaming about since morning was just completely focused on their black-haired friend.

"What am I doing??? What do you think, dummy?" said Corinne with a silly face, still holding his hands "I'm bringing you home for the week!" she declared, with a big smile.

"What?? Why??" Eren jumped. Will and Duncan and Lucas just looked around and at each other.

"It's our parent's anniversary, and I can't well fly to Taiwan to bring dad over, can I???" Corinne argued. "So: you're gonna have to do!" she teased, with a shrug.

"But- did you ask mom about this?" he asked, managing to get around the Doctor Boudreaux conundrum. Eren didn't know how much Corinne knew, after all, or how much he was allowed to share.

"Listen, mom needs you there, ok?" she said, to Eren's incredulous eyes "And even if she doesn't, I traveled to see you and dad, and now I got you plane tickets, and so now you're coming with me!" she scolded.

She was just so cute, with her fists over her hips, trying to look tough. Eren still didn't say anything, though.

"I don't care what some stupid doctor says, ok? I wanted to spend some time with you..." she pouted, half-mumbling as she lowered her tone considerably. She was looking quite a bit more vulnerable, all of a sudden.

She was sad.

It wasn't super obvious, but Eren got it. They knew each other. And he missed his older sister, too.

He sighed, a resigned smile growing on his face.

"How did you get the tickets?" he asked, more out of curiosity than anything else.

"Oh, I just used dad's credit card" she responded, matter-of-factly. Not a care in the world.

Eren snorted a laugh.

"Hey! They were cheap!" she defended herself, unable to stop herself from smiling, either "It's barely a flight, you know? I could have driven here!"

"I know, I know" Eren conceded. It was true. A plane ticket to Primrose Bay from Cape Heaven was barely a couple hundred, if that. Less than an hour flying. It took you longer to get through the airports. Driving was just a pain because the highway was so cramped this time of the year.

"Well, but I bought them, so you're coming!" Corinne sentenced, and Eren was ready to relent.

"Alright, alright" conceded Eren, lifting his hands "I'll go, I guess" he said, looking around to his friends, all of whom were stuck in place, both seeing the conversation unfold and futilely trying not to eavesdrop or, really, be there for Corinne to notice them staring.

"Sorry guys, it's been a great few days, but I gotta bounce early" he declared, over his shoulder, to his group of friends.

"Yeah, no problem" said Will, with an understanding tone.

"No biggie, dude. We get it." Said Luke, a friendly smirk on his face.

"Right" said Duncan, still struggling to get the words out of his throat, after having the air more or less kicked out of him by a mule.

After a quick round of cursory greetings and then even quicker goodbyes, Eren and Corinne were gone.

And then Duncan groaned loudly, after seeing he had been unfollowed.

---------------------------------------------------

"So, did you really ask mom if I should be coming?" asked Eren, letting his head hit the backrest of his plane seat as he looked his sister's way.

She was caught. And didn't have enough energy to make up some story anymore.

"So what if I didn't? Couldn't you just be coming home to see me? Why should mom have so much to do with it?" Corinne admitted, without wasting a single breath before arguing her case right away.

"I mean, it's fine. I don't really care that much. But Dr. Boudreaux said..." Eren trailed off, not really sure if he should continue, or what exactly Corinne had been told.

"Yeah, what did she say? Nobody would tell me anything" Corinne immediately asked, with a pout--showing her hand without Eren having to even ask her to.

It was one of Eren's favorite things about her. He really loved how transparent his sister always was.

For a second, he had thought leading Duncan on to get him to spill the beans on where they were going was a crafty move--but then he realized she was still only being her simple, upfront self. It had been Duncan alone who had bamboozled himself.

The thought made Eren snicker again. Corinne might have been his older sister, but she was too adorable.

"What? What's funny?" she asked, with a confused smile on her lips.

"Nothing, Cori" said her brother "you're just adorable" he laughed.

"Um..." answered Corinne, with a blush. She was a bit confused at the compliment, but also unable to hide her smile at having gotten it.

After a soft giggle, she went back on the attack, however.

"So what was it Dr. Boudreaux said, though?" she insisted "can't you tell me?" she again asked, in the sweetest of tones. It would have convinced anyone in the world. Anyone but Eren.

He shrugged.

"To be completely honest with you, I don't remember that much" he lied. Unlike his sister, Eren was much more comfortable with twisting the truth a little bit. Hiding strategic parts of it. Even of himself. And he was much more accustomed to doing so, too.

"Something about mom needing to reconnect with her womanhood as opposed to her motherhood or something like that" he fibbed, giving her part of the truth, but not really sharing anything that sensitive.

Eren could see in Corinne's eyes that his answer wasn't exactly what she was looking for, but he continued.

"My being there this week would get in the way of her process or something" he explained, with some annoyance in his voice "but I don't know the details--maybe she sees herself as a mom around me because I'm the youngest?" he offered, with an exaggerated raise of his shoulders and an apologetic smile; hopefully giving his sister a little bit more than she had probably gotten from their mom.

Maybe this would get her to settle a bit. He knew she wouldn't stop until getting some sort of answer, after all.

And this did seem to calm her appetite down a little bit. Her eyes changed.

Well, she trusted him, after all.

"I see..." she said, with a long breath. She still didn't seem completely convinced, thought Eren, but at least she seemed a little bit more at peace with the whole situation. It no doubt helped that he was going to be home, after all.

"Well, I think it's all pretty dumb!" she laughed, in a way that calmed Eren down. The feelings of relief really came through, finally.

Eren laughed along, and offered her another shoulder raise.

"I know, but when they told me I could go to the beach for a few days, hang around some girls in bikinis... I figured I'd just do it, you know?" he offered, with another smirk and a shrug. Lighten the mood and land the point for her sister, finally. So that she could put her million-miles-a-minute mind at ease.

Corinne finally laughed back at his acting like a cad.

"Oooh... you're lucky you're cute!" she said, slapping him lightly on the shoulder, as he offered a coy little smile.

It put Eren at ease, as well. He would actually hate it for Corinne to discover anything about the mess he had made for no reason at all. And making her feel bad because of it was no prize, either.

Eren actually remembered perfectly well what the issue was, according to Dr. Boudreaux.

'Your son is protective of you in a way that is detrimental to your image of yourself' she had told his mom. This, despite Eren's every complaint. Eren could do nothing to convince Dr. Boudreaux of the innocuous nature of their incident. It had really been nothing, but Dr. Boudreaux would hear none of it.

In the end, he had simply resigned himself to whatever it was she thought he should do. He wasn't about to spend hours upon hours on convincing some weirdo therapist that he wasn't into... whatever it was she thought he was into. His mom? She never quite said it, but...

'Kids see their mothers as a source of healthy and purifying love. Of safety and care. And mothers respond to this normal, healthy need. However, in cases where the child overextends his demand for this kind of care, mothers can forget themselves in providing this safe, often sterile love--as a force of habit.' She had said.

So--that he had some sort of developmental issue, in so many words. And that if his mom wanted to save her marriage, she shouldn't simply ignore it, or let it be. Because he was the youngest? Because he was male? It seemed like a pretty bold conclusion to jump to. But if Dr. Boudreaux had mentioned, he didn't remember. He had only gone as a +1 to a couple of specific sessions, after all. He wasn't the patient himself, and he wasn't that interested to begin with.

Regardless, the doctor was convinced it did come down to him somehow. All of it, due to some stupid misunderstanding--a meaningless quarrel, that neither his mom nor himself thought was a big deal. Much less whatever sinister thing the therapist seemed completely convinced it was. Not that she had told him, either! Maybe she hadn't even told his mom. Dr. Boudreaux seemed to be very roundabout in how she approached things, to be honest. Like she knew more than she let on.

But! Regardless, the most important thing was that his mom seemed convinced that the doctor was worth every penny and every minute of their time. That her every word was a precious nugget of knowledge, capable of changing their lives. So, Eren simply went along with it.

Why argue about it with his mom? And what could be the harm, right?

Looking to his right, sitting next to the window, he could see the harm. His sister deserved having her family when she needed them. And he was sure that his mom wanted to be there for her, too.

So, screw 'Doctors orders'. He was flying back home to be with his sister.

---------------------------------------------------

It had been three days since Corinne Feinman had showed up at her doorstep, and Gabrielle Boudreaux felt a tinge of concern over having heard nothing else from her even after having denying her so sternly. Someone like Corinne wasn't so easily dissuaded--Gabrielle could tell.

She clicked her tongue. Between the Morrison boy, that poor Sanders guy, and the Andersen kid, God knows she had enough to worry about. Each of those cases alone would have her hands full. And it's not like she had a session with Natalie that day, either, so it didn't make her much good to worry now.

And yet... something didn't sit quite right with her.

It was late at night, and Gabrielle sat behind a pile of books and therapy notes, trying in vain to figure a way out of the same mazes she had now seen time and time again.

Should she really go out of her way for the Feinman's? Would it even achieve anything? Eren and Natalie seemed both perfectly cooperative, too. So was she worrying about nothing?

Corinne alone wouldn't be enough to change both of their minds, right? Would she really fly out to find her brother, wherever it was he was banished to?

Gabrielle took a deep breath, in an effort to better control her anxiety.

She had really gone out of her usual toolbox with the Feinman's, she reminded herself. None of how she had handled their case was the usual way of handling things. But she was running out of options, and she had to start trying out unorthodox stuff until something stuck.

She had known this case was going to be trouble the very first day they came in for a session. Natalie really was exceptionally attractive. But then again, she thought the same about nearly every woman that came into her clinic. It's like Primrose Bay had a screening process for hot people.

Still, it didn't change the facts: Natalie Feinman was a sexpot. A thick mane of curly black hair that fell right below her shoulder blades, alabaster skin, striking gray eyes, high cheekbones, sharp features on a sculpted face... with a body to die for. And she wasn't modest about it, either. She had no problem with showing a little skin--and even a lot of skin, sometimes. The perk of her breasts seemed to have soundly defeated gravity, and her hips were unfairly wide for a woman with such a thin waist.

And yet she looked her age. 39. More or less--Emphasis on less. But not because of her body, which made her look in her twenties. No. It was in her countenance, and her expression, and her attitude, and her confidence... she looked like a mother of two, not a girl.

And such a bombastic combination was lost on exactly no man around her. None. It couldn't possibly be lost on anyone, much less sexually healthy members of the opposite sex.

Which was the entire issue. Or part of it was. Or maybe none of it was? Gabrielle hoped it was part of it. For the sake of her practice. Truth is, she still hadn't cracked this kind of case at all. What, exactly, the predictive factors were. Maybe the sample was just skewed because they were all from the upper-crust of Primrose Bay.

As for the specifics of the Feinman's, it was just a typical marriage consultation: She wanted more excitement in the bedroom, he was really busy with work... but nonetheless performed often and well. She was just dissatisfied regardless. That last part was worth looking at--worth a therapist rate, anyways--but still nothing so out of the norm. In a normal town.

Eren was a well-adjusted kid. A bit snarky--like teenagers often were--and otherwise a bit introverted; but nothing outside the norm. He was a good-looking kid, too. Very good-looking. On the lanky side of athletic, but fairly well-proportioned. He had a really handsome face to go with it, though. Very much like his mother: with sharp features, and a long nose, and dark hair, and gray eyes. Unlike his mother's tight curls, he had his father's softer, wavy curls but--other than that--the kid was very much the spitting image of his mother.

He seemed fairly close with his mom--in the way the youngest child sometimes is--but he was closer to his sister; which was a little bit more worthy of note, since that wasn't usually the case when different-sex siblings were so close in age. And especially at their particular age. But it was still nothing that would come even close to being a cause for concern. Interesting, and worth a look, but far from something that should raise alarm.

And as for Alex--the father--he seemed to have a great relationship with both of his children. Closer to Eren than Corinne, the way the mother told it. Although when Dr. Boudreaux listened to Alex, it seemed more like the other way around. So, some miscommunication there--probably a speck of intergenerational jealousy acting up beneath the mother's surface--but, again, nothing so particular or unusual or unmanageable as to warrant urgent concern.

The one incident that stood out in her mind was that, recently--while his father was out of town--Eren had come home early from school and found his mom sunbathing in a particularly revealing bikini, in a particularly visible place. So, a place in their yard where the neighbors could spot her. 'Ogle her', the boy had called it. And so, he had come out and warned her about it. Sternly. This, in turn, had led to an argument in which some strong words were used.

That was it. That was their entire file. She didn't even know why it worried her so much. The details of the argument weren't even that scandalous but, in the recounting of the events, they had nonetheless made Gabrielle's instincts flare up. The way they told it, more than what they told--maybe?

Nothing particularly in common with the Blumenfeld case. Or the Pritchett's. Or, God forbid, the Cavanagh's. Or any other such case.

"Uuuugh..." Gabrielle groaned, letting her head fall back as she buried her eyes in her forearm.

She sighed.

She could really find no common piece between all these cases, outside of... something she had felt about them. She just had a hunch. It was always just the hunch. And, so far, it had been correct. Even the times she went out of her way to prove to herself that it couldn't possibly be correct--which was almost always, given their nature--she had been right the first time, and wrong about doubting herself. So: she would trust her hunch this time, and for once get a patient across the finish line.

It was a bit too late to check on her patients, now, but she put a reminder on her scheduling app to make sure she'd do so tomorrow.

She looked at the calendar. Tomorrow was the big day: The big "20 year Anniversary Date" that Alex Feinman would miss. An ultimately small loss that Natalie would have to contend with on her own, with just Corinne to support her. It would maybe be a hiccup in the reigniting of their marriage--if they were stubborn enough to let it--but no doubt completely preferable to what Gabrielle feared the alternative would be.

See, that--you don't ever come back from.

---------------------------------------------------

The next morning, Gabrielle Boudreaux woke up at her usual time, had a small breakfast after her morning run, and left for her clinic.

On the way there, her first patient cancelled, and it otherwise wasn't a particularly busy morning, so she figured she could hit the gym early, and still be in time for her 9:15 appointment.

While she was doing her squats, her reminder went off about calling the Feinman's. To check in on them. But because her phone was in 'don't disturb' mode, she couldn't notice.

It would be only after her 10:00 appointment--at 10:45, then--that she'd finally noticed the reminder.

And so, she called.

Their home number didn't pick up.

After trying a third time, she wondered if it was worth trying Natalie's personal number. She struggled with the choice because all of her concern was still only based on a hunch that she had. But it was a hunch that hadn't paid off yet because she always hesitated to follow up on it, she then reminded herself. And so, she dialed her directly.

But it didn't connect at all. Possibly somewhere without service?

Alright, well. Maybe she took a trip. With Corinne, or something. And Corinne wouldn't go so far as to go meet Eren, right? Take Natalie with her? Where even was Eren? They hadn't told her. They had just followed her suggestion and made it 'a plane away'. Somewhere without service?

No, that was nuts. Natalie wouldn't agree to something like that, either. Natalie was committed to her recommendation, even if Corinne wasn't.

Shit. This just made her more anxious.

But her 10:45 was already here, so she would have to leave it for later.

At 13:00 she had to take care of an emergency patient, which got in the way of her usual lunch break. Very unorthodox, but she couldn't help herself. Poor guy. Sadly, there was not that much she could do for him at this point--other than try to help him deal with his situation, and get him back on his feet as best she could.