Forged in Fire: Chapter 18

“I always thought I’d breathe fire at her. Like maybe I’d turn into an actual dragon, breathe fire, and disintegrate her where she stood. I never thought that seeing her would make my heart feel so….full,” said Bette.

Dr. Burrows nodded. “When was the last time you had pictured reuniting with your mother?”

“Maybe not since my late teenage years. I built up this wall around my heart. Kept telling myself that I was glad she as out of my life. That she must be some kind of cancerous presence to be selfish enough to leave behind her child. But seeing her was different. It’s like I felt something inside of me just snap. And then all the anger just turned to sadness and then to relief and joy,” she said.

“How did you leave things?” asked Dr. Burrows.

“She will be here on Wednesday for the opening. I’m honestly very excited about that. Can I tell you something, Dr. Burrows?”

“Of course.”

“Going through all the things that have happened this past year, it just makes all the anger seem silly. I could be dead right now. If Tina and I hadn’t left….if I had been driving my car, it’s very possible I’d be dead. And then I would never have had any resolution. Life is a gift. It’s precious. I try to hold on to the anger and the pain, but I just can’t.”

Dr. Burrows smiled. “That’s a good thing. As long as you are dealing with resolution of emotion and not denial of your feelings, then it’s a good thing.”

Bette nodded. “Okay. That makes sense.”

“And which are you feeling? You’ve had quite a year. You are most likely fatigued by catastrophe. That can make it easy to just hide the more complex emotions.”

Bette shrugged. “I don’t know. But more than anything I’m feeling…hopeful.”

Dr. Burrows smiled. “That’s excellent. Let’s focus on that.”

After her morning appointment with Dr. Burrows, Bette headed into work at the gallery. She had known the appointment would eat up some of her time, but she knew it was important to work on herself. As she headed into her office amid the din of contractors and construction, she was proud of herself.