RP:Some Progress
Summary - Alvina and Harper return to Noah for another therapy session and things seem to be slightly better than the week prior. The doctor recommends that Alvina adopt a dog for her daughter so that she can learn some responsibility.
Location - Dr. Noah Atwood’s office in Cenril.
Noah eagerly waits for his next patient to show up and thankfully the wait isn’t that long, as the receptionist leads the mother and daughter back to his office. The psychiatrist smiles at Alvina and Harper and motions for them to take a seat, as he did the week prior. Buddy lies before the hearth and his tail wags when he sees Harper. “Hello Mrs. Landon and Harper! How are you ladies, today? How did you both feel after your last session?” He waits for their answer before he adds, “Today, I would like to speak with Harper alone for most of the session, if that’s alright? Then you can come back at the end, Mrs. Landon? She will be in a safe place and if she feels uncomfortable you can come right back in, but I think this therapy may work best if she’s treated without your influence. At least for a few sessions.” Kids have a habit of saying things to deliberately upset their parents, and Harper proved that in their last session. Also, he hopes to learn more about how the girl feels. She could be clamming up about her true emotions if she fears her mother will find her weak, and he cannot properly assess the situation with them bickering back and forth.
Alvina and Harper move to occupy the same places on the couch they'd taken last time after Harper greets Buddy by the hearth. Mrs. Landon answers first, before Harper's on the couch. "Doing well, I think." Her smile is less fragile than last time as she looks at Harper. Alvina's had the 'pleasure' of working with a therapist before so she knows therapy isn't an overnight cure.
Harper shifts on her end of the couch. She'd been under the impression they wouldn't be back so soon, even though they'd discussed it last session. So Harper's answer is more clipped "Good" out of obligation.
Alvina doesn't love the way he says 'without your influence'. She can't help but take it personally, like her influence was a bad one. She knows that's not what he means though so she takes a deep breath before agreeing with the plan. Harper might have an easier time if she's not there, as much as it pains her to think about. Like it's a mark on the grading card of parenthood. "Of course." To Harper she adds, "I'll just be in the waiting room if you need me." Alvina reaches out to touch Harper's shoulder lightly, reassuringly before she stands completely to leave the two of them to their session.
Harper looks hesitant about this but Buddy's existence makes it more tolerable. "Okay." She agrees. Her eyes follow her mother to the door and only come back to Dr. Atwood when Alvina's gone. Alone, Harper feels like she's immediately too in focus and under a magnifying glass. "I did a journal entry." She says, fidgeting.
Noah smiles at the mother and daughter and his smile widens when Harper goes over to the hearth to greet Buddy. The retriever rolls onto his side and gives the girl his paw as his tail endlessly thumps against the floor. He adores kids and is an excellent therapy dog, with much better bedside manner than his master who is currently shoo’ing Alvina out of his office. Noah waves the redhead off with his hands and doesn’t address Harper until her mother is on her way to the waiting room.
“Parents. Yikes.” He offers Harper a wry grin as if claiming that his own folks hovered too much when he was a kid. His intention isn’t to insult Alvina, but to gain some trust from Harper. Kids are more likely to open up if they feel a connection with their doctor and Noah knows not to veer too far from behaving in a professional manner.
Noah raises his eyebrows at Harper’s words, “You did? That’s great!” He goes quiet when Buddy jumps onto the couch and lays down with his head on the girl's lap. He knows better than to jump on the furniture but he’s also a sucker for attention and will keep nudging Harper until she pets him. “Buddy really likes you. Do you have any pets at home?” He’s starting off friendly enough and after a few moments, he asks, “How have things been the past week? Did you see your Dad? Has Mom been better about giving you space?”
After the basics are out of the way, Noah dips his quill in the ink and asks, “Harper… Would you mind reading your journal entry to me?”
Harper laughs quietly at what the doctor says about parents. "Yeah." She agrees, wondering why another adult would not like parents. She thinks parents are like a skin you shed when you're old enough to live on your own. She also can't imagine an adult as a kid.
Buddy's appearance softens her body language. Especially that big, fluffy tail of his. "I'll take him home." She says, with all the child serious she can muster while knowing it doesn't work that way. "I have a sister that's a dog most of the time." Clarification if he asked for it would amount to - they were werewolves and her youngest sister preferred being in a 'dog' form for most of her life. "We were going to get a dog but Meadow was born and we didn't need another dog. Does Buddy eat shoes?" Meadow definitely ate shoes.
Noah's question about the week gives her pause. "No, I haven't seen him but that's nothing new." Her tone tells of bitterness but the direction is indiscernible. "But it was fine. Mom was less of a busy body about everything except she got all these notebooks out of her closet and showed them to me, like, individually until I picked one." Harper rolls her eyes. Who has a closet full of notebooks? The doctor's tone changes a little and she stiffens, like she'd said something wrong or said too much. It takes her a second to hear his question.
"I forgot to bring it." Harper admits, "But I can probably remember some of it." That counted as a half credit right? "Uuhhh, my girlfriend got a really small guitar, which is cool. She's going to teach me how to play it too. And my sister ate my shoes, which was annoying but mom said we'd get some new ones. And school was boring. Some kids don't want to talk to me because they think my dad'll have them whacked if they make me mad." Where did she learn this phrase? "My team won our soccer game." Harper scrunches her face, straining to remember anything else but nothing comes to mind.
Noah looks deep in thought when Harper states that she will keep Buddy, because in his opinion he finds that children have a more fulfilling childhood when they have a pet. It teaches them responsibility and boundaries and he makes a note of this to discuss with Alvina when he finishes here with Harper. The dog wags his tail and nuzzles the girl's middle with his snout. He enjoys the attention and he is glad that she came back to visit.
After he learns that the family is a bunch of werewolves he falls silent. Noah has never come face to face with what he assumed was a mythical beast, but he’s unsure how to respond to such a statement. Is Harper saying that her sister is akin to a wolf? Is it like the statements she makes about her father being a mob boss? Children’s minds do tend to wander but he’s not sure if she’s telling the truth or merely jesting. Not wanting to offend Harper, as she’s rather forthcoming with all of this, he nods, “I see.”
“Does it bother you when some of the kids won’t talk to you because of your fathers business dealings? Or do you like that they are afraid of your father?” He smiles when she speaks of her soccer game and poses another question, “That’s great that your team won! Did your Mom come to see you play?” He already knows that Alvina was there because she’s the kind of doting mother that would be at -every- game and proudly cheer them on.
Noah listens to Harper speak and he’s relieved that she feels comfortable in his presence. Buddy makes things easier for the girl, it seems. He’s glad that she’s keeping a journal and it seems that she’s less angry at her mother. “I’m glad that things are going okay at home. I’m excited for you to learn to play guitar! Do you have any plans for the summer since school is ending soon?” He pauses, before he sneaks in, “Have you been keeping up with your homework? Any more fights at school?”
Harper looks down at Buddy when she answers. "I hate it. Everyone treats me different and it's not like it's my fault he works there." In her mind, 'the mob' is a business with an office and other employees instead of an underground presence. That's why she gets frustrated at school. "No one wants to be my partner for classes or talk in the locker room or run drills." So of course she'd lash out for attention, even violently to be seen for who she was instead of who her father was. "Other famous kids go there so why am I different? Even my sister fits in and we have the same dad." Harper's face sours on the topic. About soccer practice, she nods quietly to confirm her mother was there. She's always there. "She makes the snacks." It was a last ditch effort by Alvina to try and soften the team to Harper's existence.
"Do you play stuff?" Harper asks, curious to see if her doctor really appreciated it or if that's just a thing adults say when kids try new things. "My mom says dad will be coming for dinner again next week." So the effort is being made to keep Harper in the loop and their father involved. She fidgets when he asks about her getting in fights. "No." She lied, hoping not to be caught. The school hadn't told her mom because the school didn't know. Harper promised to break Henry's leg if he ratted her out. "And homework is boring." Harper sighs loudly, deflating and losing attention in the process.
Noah feels a pang in his heart when Harper talks about how the other kids at school ostracize her and how it makes her feel so alone. It’s likely why she lashes out and is in trouble often, because negative attention is still attention. She wants to stand out and be noticed. Noah gnaws on the inside of his cheek as the girl gives her mother a little credit for making snacks for the team and inviting her father over for dinner in the coming week. Those are small mountains to climb in Noah’s book, but he’s proud of Alvina for going out of her way to make her daughter happy. Most parents dump their kids in therapy and run off to the salon or to tackle errands. Mrs. Landon, however, is in the waiting room and worried about her child. “I find that the more you act out at school? It does get you attention because you are hurting someone or riling up a teacher, but that type of attention will push everyone away from you and make them dislike you for who -you- are and not the rumors about your father’s line of work. I know it’s lame to hear adults say this, but killing someone with kindness really does the trick! The more you last out, the bigger a target you are for bullying. My advice is to keep the friends you have by being yourself and try to ignore those brats that are picking on you. Act like it doesn’t bother you and they will think you are ‘cool’ for not reacting to their childish attempts.”
Noah was never bullied in his youth, likely because his father was the Viscount of Bardigherdon and he was next in line for that royal title. Still, he can relate to Harper’s feelings of not quite fitting in and he understands why she targets her mother and schoolmates. That suppressed anger has to go somewhere and it seems that as much as she’s upset about her father’s occupation, she also idolizes him. “I tried to learn to play the drums when I was about your age but I got carried away and accidentally put the stick through my eye. It was painful! After that, I sort of gave up any hopes I had of being a musician.” He made the story up to make her giggle but his poker face gives nothing away. “You need to do your homework and try to behave at school, Harper. Okay? It will get your parents off your back and you may make some friends if you change your attitude a little bit.” He reaches into his desk and pulls out a nifty little gadget that is in a triangular shape and has little rubber knobs and circular wheels for spinning. A less modernized version of a fidget spinner. “Play with this whenever you feel like you want to yell at a teacher or hit one of your classmates. It’s a calming toy and it will help you to focus on what’s really important.” He smiles and slides it across his desk, “Why don’t you and Buddy go wait in the lobby and you can send your Mom back to talk to me, okay?”
Harper thinks this advice is dumb. Adults don't understand how the school hierarchy functions. "I've tried that." She groans like she's insulted. In truth, she hadn't tried that. She'd been quiet instead and took a backseat when people started rejecting her for reaching out. "It's better if they dislike me for me." Then it's for what she's done and not her dad, even if what she'd done was wrong. She clams up after that, petting Buddy. She's grateful he's in her lap. Harper does listen to Dr. Atwood when he talks though.
"Through your eye?" She looks at him with a small, skeptical smile. "They don't do that." She informs him with a roll of her eyes. The lecture comes and she'd hoped this time would be different since her mom wasn't here. She acts how she feels. In her eyes, if people want to be worthy of her good behavior, they will treat her like she is good. Her view is warped but she's young. Her life is just starting. Harper takes the object and puts it in her pocket with evasive annoyance. She only perks up when he tells her to go get her mom. "I can take him to the waiting room with me?" Like it's the best thing he could have said. She wiggles out from under Buddy's face in her lap and calls his name near the door, staying close to the dog until the hallway cuts her out of sight.
Alvina files down the hall a few moments later with a tired smile. She closes the door gently behind her before taking the same place on the couch she always picked and folded her hands patiently on her lap. "How did it go?" She asks hesitantly.
The doctor nods and smiles when Harper brightens and leaves the room with the dog, and he cannot help but find it a tad touching that she’s so taken with the animal. Buddy didn’t even have any sort of official training; he simply wagged his tail and became a therapy dog on his own. The pair vanish down the hall and a moment later another’s steps are coming closer to the office. Noah looks up when Alvina enters the room and motions for her to take a seat while he finishes transcribing notes about Harper into her file.
“She seems better today than at our last visit. I know she’s relieved that you seem to have lessened on reacting negatively to everything she says and does during one of her episodes. You shouldn’t have to walk around on eggshells forever, I promise, but I do think for now it can’t hurt.” He pauses, “I asked her about school and I got the impression that she was holding back about her behavior. Harper is very upset with how some of the other students are treating her in regards to your husband's line of work. It’s understandable and I wish there were a better solution, but kids can be very cruel in their pre-teen and teenage years.” Shoulders lift in a simple shrug, “I did give her a little device to toy with to take the edge off her anger and redirect her attention.” Noah’s referring to the fidget spinner. “She mentioned that she’s learning to play an instrument and that her father will be coming for dinner again soon. I think that’s wonderful.”
Noah clears his throat and rests his chin upon joined hands, his hazel eyes boring into Alvina’s green orbs. She’s probably not going to like his next idea but he has to try because he believes that Harper will benefit. “I think that you should adopt a dog. Let me plead my case, please, and then you can shoot me down.” He smirks, “Kids benefit from having a pet because it’s something that they can control and care for, when they feel that their own life is out of whack. Harper will learn responsibility as she has to feed, exercise, groom, train, and provide entertainment for a new pet. She’s getting bullied at school and feeling very lonely and a dog will give her unconditional love and not expect anything in return. Her siblings will also benefit and it can be a wonderful bonding experience. You could adopt any pet, I’d imagine, but dogs are the most loving and obedient. Plus, Harper mentioned that your youngest daughter is a wolf pup so I’d imagine that your household would adjust to having a dog around. If you are dead set against adopting a pet, maybe Harper can get a little summer job walking dogs in the area. Or even volunteer at one of the local animal shelters… What do you think?”
“How have things been for you since our last visit?”The doctor falls silent as it’s Alvina’s turn to talk and he wants to address any concerns she may have, so he gives her his undivided attention.
Alvina nods in acknowledgement of Harper's improvement. "It hasn't been an overnight change." She sighs, looking weary but hopeful for progress that has been made. When Noah brings up the kids at school, Alvina looks sheepish in response. "I'm really at a loss for how to address it. Kids can be so cruel to each other." Adults understood the delicate balance of niceties and some were even in business with the Landons so the kid's behavior was likely just malicious for the sake of causing pain. Harper's reactions to the early rumors about Hudson's less than lawful involvement had been enough to fuel the fires.``Yes, with her girlfriend I think." She adds about the guitar. When the Doctor mentions her husband, her shoulders tighten with guilt. "It's been an interesting challenge to navigate." Having him to the house.
When Noah's gaze zooms in on her, Alvina blinks and straightens her skirt nervously. She doesn't try to interrupt his suggestion of getting a dog. "We do know the owner of the shelter in Kelay." She pauses to think. "I'm not against getting a dog, it just feels strange since we're...kind of magical dogs." She offers him a half smile, proof of the inside joke he didn't know. "That's what my husband used to call it. He joked all the time that we were just magic dogs." A sore spot she didn't enjoy touching on. Not everyone was pro Lycan, especially in Cenril. "I'll see if we can start with a foster program, on a trial period, to see how it goes." It sounded like the best of both worlds to Harper's mother. He turns his attention shortly after on asking how she is and it wasn't something she'd been prepared for, since she was here for Harper. She averts her gaze briefly. "I mean," she hesitates. "I don't really love the idea that my husband has a girlfriend half his age." She admits, just to say it outloud. She's sure Noah's asking about how she's feeling about things with Harper. His patient. Alvina gives him a small laugh, as if what she'd said had been a tired joke, before continuing. "Harper's been better. I think seeing her dad's helping but I'm worried it's also feeding a delusion that we're getting back together." It was a fine line to walk; playing at peace in a broken home. Hudson and Alvina had learned the steps a long time ago but the dance was...not ideal to her. "I'm not against him being in their lives." She adds, feeling the need to justify her reluctance. "It is just difficult for me, on a personal level, outside of being a mother."
The doctor is silent when Alvina discusses her daughter because he can see that this is a sensitive subject. No parent wants their child to be unhappy, and least of all, they don’t want to be the cause. It’s obvious that she cares a lot for her daughter and she’s aware of the happenings at school. Noah may seem stern to the redhead, but in reality he’s happy to see that Harper is so loved and that she’s getting the therapy that she needs. “I think that learning a new instrument and caring for a pet will help Harper to adjust, tremendously.” He doesn’t know the animal shelter that speaks of in Kelay, but he jots down a note to check out the place. Buddy is getting older and his joints aren’t as cushioned as they were when he was a puppy. Perhaps this place can point him in the direction of a vet or recommend a natural remedy. Noah refrains from speaking of the Landon’s lycanthropy situation because he’s still grasping at straws about races aside from humans existing. This is a -very- different world.
As the conversation detours to Hudson’s love life, the doctor quirks a brow at the mention of the man dating a much younger female. It could be that he’s going through a midlife crisis and he feels the need to fit in with a youthful crowd to relive his glory days. Although he’s never met the man, he has learned quite a deal about his business and his behavior, and Noah is not a fan. He also cannot see the appeal in Alvina marrying Hudson because she seems so put together and innocent. “How did you and Hudson meet? I’m curious as to how you became married… You seem so vastly different. Opposites do attract but…” He lifts his shoulders in a shrug and waits for the woman to elaborate. He maintains eye contact, takes notes, and interrupts when he has an appropriate question. Harper may be his patient, but Alvina can benefit from this as well. Divorce affects the whole family. Not just the children. “It’s understandable that you feel replaced by this other woman, or even that you are in some sort of competition. Those are natural emotions and acceptable in your shoes. Did he bring this new woman around the children, yet?”
Alvina’s expecting Noah to chide her for her semi-rude comment about Hudson’s girlfriend but he’s bypassed that topic completely in the beginning. Again, some level of shame makes her shrink her body away from him slightly. How did they meet? “We were both called in on a project for our guild. To make a little device for the flyers in the guild.” Despite herself, she smiles sadly, looking at her now normal two hands. “I flirted with him in a shamefully innocent way but he knew, of course. Looking back, I’m sure I was painfully transparent.” She trails her fingertips across the lines on her left palm lightly, lost in the memory. “I chirped ‘Master Alchemist’ at him in those days. I made him a little silver bracelet that he used to wear before…” He’d become a werewolf. Tears well in her eyes, recounting that fight. Recounting him building the addition on the house when she was pregnant with their twins. How he’d held her when, in the earliest days of their lives together, she’d miscarried a child they didn’t know they had. “I’ve never loved someone so much.”
After a long sigh, Alvina looks back up at the doctor. Tears trail her cheeks but she doesn’t move to wipe them away. She answers his little questions with a mix of bittersweet responses that show both how much she loved and resented parts of their lives together. When he validates her feelings about Cyndy, Alvina huffs a low laugh, hands wringing in her lap. “She seems like a nice person, it feels wrong to feel that way about her when she’s done nothing wrong. Neither of them have done anything wrong. We’re married on paper but…” Ugh, she hadn’t wanted to talk about this. She looks at the man across from her, weighing his age, trying to determine what he must think about all this fantasticalness. Alvina clears her throat. “No, he hasn’t and we haven’t really talked about it either. Per our arrangement so far, the children are to stay with me full time. I imagine in the future he’ll try to get a place that’s not a hotel. Or maybe he won’t, I don’t know. I’m not sure I’d be comfortable with them spending time there with his work. I mean, we’ve had bombs sent to our old house, it’s too dangerous.” Everything in her face reads that she’d die before she endangered their children. “You must think that all sounds quite dramatic and unrelated.” She felt bad for blathering on when he was Harper's doctor, not hers. Her voice grows small. “This is all for Harper’s sake, after all.”
There’s an understanding in the doctor's eyes as Alvina relives the past. Meeting and falling for Hudson seemed easy and acceptable, at least until the years went by and his work had tarnished their relationship. The woman is obviously still very much in love with her husband and that’s what makes this such a difficult situation. He moved on and she did not. He’s living it up in a hotel while she’s raising four children on her own. One of which is suffering and the reason for this visit. Noah doesn’t want to think of Hudson as a bad man as he’s never met the man, but both Alvina and Harper are painting him in a bad light and he cannot help but be sympathetic to the family. “There’s nothing wrong with still being in love with your husband, Alvina.” His words are nonjudgmental and soft as he nudges a box of tissues across his desk so that she can dry her eyes.
“This is primarily for Harper’s sake, the reason that you both are here. True. But… I don’t mind speaking to you. This is a safe place where you can tell me -anything- that’s on your mind and you know it’s not leaving this room.” He pauses, “A small part of Harper’s pain could be that she senses your pain, too. Ending a serious relationship is very difficult on your mind, body, and heart, and in my opinion I believe that you’ve been putting on a strong face for so long that you forget to lower your guard from time to time. It’s okay to let people in. It’s okay to give love another shot if someone great happens to come along. You -deserve- to be happy and feel loved and safe. Your husband can no longer do those things for you and he’s moved on, so you need to try and let him go…” The bomb scares are another indicator that the woman married the wrong man and love does have its limits, especially where chlidren are concerned. Noah hopes he isn’t being too harsh with his words because Alvina has already been brought to tears. “You need to let yourself heal and I think when your children see -you- feeling better, that they may feel better, too. Not that any of this is your fault, please don’t think that. I just think that Harper has learned how to pretend to be tough, to hide her vulnerability, because she has an excellent teacher.” A faint smile is given to the woman as Noah scribbles down some ingredients on a scrap of paper, “Go to the nearest apothecary and pick up some of these herbs and oils. They will help you to sleep and to ease your anxiety. I also am going to recommend a few supplements that Harper can take to level her mood a little throughout the day. These aren’t addictive substances and we can always taper them off if you both are uncomfortable or find that they aren’t working.”
Alvina keeps her eyes on her hands, a shaking sigh born into existence when Noah tells her she needs to let Hudson go. "I already did..." She whispers, eye lids closing to cut her tears. That's why he's gone, isn't it? It wasn't his decision alone. But she did agree all that time playing like things were fine and tending to the needs of everyone around her were finally catching up with her. She'd been able to dull it, tune it out for a while, but it'd come back tenfold. A new cut over an old scar. She wants to argue but just nods. "I couldn't fall apart afterwards, I had the kids with me." She sighs again. "And I was so full of loathing then too. So full of it I thought it would burn away any lingering doubt or sadness. But now that misery is all that's left." How can it be perfectly okay to still be in love with him but also let him go? It felt contrarian. Why would she -want- to feel this way? If she could, why would she not heal? His implication that Harper's behavior is due to her own is cutting. She doesn't think he's wrong but how did her trying to protect them turn into a dual edged sword? She mirrors his smile out of habit; thin lips and a nod before reaching for the paper he's giving her. She tries to see the words but they are blurred by the grief in her eyes. "Thank you." She says at long last, giving up on the words he'd scribbed for them. Alvina folds it neatly, the corner's matching up perfectly, and tucks it away before standing. "I'll schedule again with the front desk for Harper." There wasn't a promise she could make about her own healing. The future's a funny thing but she had no room to contemplate it. At the door, she pauses. Her expression thoughtful and crestfallen. "It's over and I'm still asking 'when'." Without clarifying, she moves back down the hall to gather Harper.
Noah doesn’t mean to upset Alvina by referring to the fact that children see much more than their parents let on, but he can see that his words had struck from the look in her eyes. She’s trying to mask her feelings with a tight lipped smile and nod as she folds the paper and commits to a future visit for her daughter. A part of Noah wants to gently push and tell Alvina to make a separate appointment for herself, but he doesn’t want to force the woman into therapy. It’s a two way street and both parties must be willing to put in the work. The doctor feels that he’s hinted enough that he’s there for Alvina, should she wish to confide and that he can help her sort through her emotions. From a clinical standpoint he can tell that she’s greatly struggling with the separation from her husband and being a single mom to four children isn’t easy by any means. “I hope to see you both soon. Think about everything I said…” He gesticulates with his hands but doesn’t reiterate their conversation. “I better go reclaim Buddy before Harper steals my dog.” He jests, but he also hopes that Alvina considers adding a pet to the family. It will do the kids a world of good. The pair walk silently down the hallway and part ways as the redhead goes to the front desk and Noah says goodbye to Harper. Once the mother and daughter exit the building, the doctor sighs and pats the golden retriever on the head, “Our work is just beginning with them Buddy, but there’s already been some progress.”