Page 51 of Arthur
That was such a relief. “Thank you. I understand you’ve not yet met with Edric, but already, this is such a relief. You are absolutely correct. We’re the issue, and we’ve completely spoiled our son by always being there to ensure he’s entertained. With our others, they read to themselves, or they had their other siblings to spend time with. With Edric, it’s different, and we’ve overcompensated because of that.”
Dr. Brauer nodded. “It is good that you can see that. Being able to do so is part of the way to fix it. It is incredibly difficult when parents won’t accept that they are part of the issue. This one is truly minor compared to others I’ve helped with. Edric is young, and at his age, it will be so much easier to address the issues and change the trajectory.”
“Again, thank you. What do you suggest first?”
Dr. Brauer nodded. “It’s my pleasure. And first, I would suggest that I meet with Edric and introduce myself. I’m going to ask him some questions, let him tell me some stories, and we’llsee what it is that he views his life as. I’ll start to suggest certain things that he can do alone and see if any are of interest to him.”
“Sounds like a plan. He’s in the atrium with Patrick now. I can take you there if you’d like.”
“Perfect. I can meet your One then, and after my session with Edric, I can talk to the two of you together.”
That worked for me. I slid from the desk at the same time Dr. Brauer stood from his chair. I wasn’t exactly short at six three, but Dr. Brauer was a gargoyle, and like dragons, they were all incredibly tall, and I had to look up at the psychologist. I led him from my office and down the hallway to the main foyer and then to the back of the manor, where the atrium was. It pained me to have it no longer be solely Patrick’s sanctuary. He was more than happy to share it though, and I had plans on adding a smaller atrium to our own quarters for him and him alone. He loved his plants, and the atrium had been a perfect place for the children’s indoor play area. It was warm and inviting in the winter, and with the solar shade in the summer, it was still sunny but provided some protection from the heat.
I led Dr. Brauer through the manor and to the atrium, where Patrick was with Edric. We found them at one of the tables, building with blocks. Patrick knew I was on the way because I’d had our bond completely open the entire time, so he’d heard everything Dr. Brauer and I had discussed.
“There you are,” Patrick said as we approached.
“Here I am,” I said. I gently touched Patrick’s waist as I leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. I then bent down and kissed the top of Edric’s head. “What are you doing?” I asked him.
“Making a dragon. I wanted a gold one like Chin because he’s the prettiest. But they had red, so that’s what I’m building.”
I glanced at Patrick, who shrugged.“Yes, I could make him gold blocks, but he needs to learn to deal with the fact thateverything can’t always be what we want,”Patrick told me through our bond.
I nodded before glancing back at Dr. Brauer. “Edric?” When our son immediately looked up at me, I was thankful. “This is Hawthorne,” I said, indicating the gargoyle behind me. “He’s going to talk to you for a bit and ask you some questions. Sound good?”
Edric’s eyes lit up. Of course our son would love that someone wanted to talk specifically with him.
“Hello, Edric,” Dr. Brauer said. “Would you like to go over to the couch over there and talk with me for a bit?”
Edric immediately hopped up and followed Dr. Brauer over to the other side of the atrium, leaving me with Patrick.
“So we created a little monster,”Patrick said through our bond as he leaned into my chest.
“We did what we thought was best for all of us. But we understood there was an issue early enough that we can fix it,”I responded.“We’ll work with Dr. Brauer, and we’ll figure out a way to fix things.”I glanced at the blocks down on the table.
“Where did the blocks come from?”
“Matthew. He said Ollie loves them and can sit and do them for hours in their quarters. I looked at the website, and they had several dragon sets, but this one was the one Edric seemed most interested in.”
We definitely needed to see about getting more if he was interested in them. They would be good for his quiet time that we needed to implement in the evenings.
“Can we fix this?” Patrick asked, his voice just above a whisper.
I placed my hand low on his stomach as I kissed his forehead. “Most certainly. It won’t be an overnight thing, but it’s definitely fixable.” The biggest obstacle was we understood we had an issue, and we were willing to address it. Laughter drewour attention, and I watched as Edric giggled at something Dr. Brauer said. Yeah, we could definitely fix this. Like I had said, it would take time, but Edric was young, and we still had plenty of years yet to mold him into an amazing young man. We were both willing to do the work; we just needed the best tools in order to do it. That was where Dr. Brauer came in. He had the experience we didn’t, and he would be able to best tell us how we needed to tackle our situation. I wasn’t certain where the council had found him, but I was thankful that they had and that he was willing to help us here at the coven.
“How are you feeling?” I asked Patrick. I knew he was tired. I could feel that through our bond.
“Tired,” he said. “A little hungry, and I was actually about to get a snack for the two of us when you came in.”
“Would you like me to get you something?”
Patrick shook his head. “Grantham made brownies, and I can’t help it. I really want a brownie or two. But if I have one and Edric sees, he’ll not continue with Dr. Brauer. It’s more important than me getting a snack.”
I didn’t agree. I leaned in closer. “Go to the kitchen and get you your brownies. Then, when you come back, they’ll probably be finished, and we can discuss some things while Edric has his own brownie.”
I felt Patrick hesitate for only a moment before he kissed me quickly and then left. I chuckled as I watched my One leave the atrium and head toward the kitchen. I didn’t blame him. Even if he wasn’t pregnant, it was brownies, and Grantham made some of the absolute best ones. Patrick deserved to get his snack, and I had no issues with watching over our son and the doctor from here.
I didn’t wish to interrupt, but I was still close enough if needed. I just hoped that Dr. Brauer had more insight and ideas for us quickly. Patrick’s pregnancy was tiring for him, and withEdric demanding so much attention, that didn’t help. We needed to figure out more low-key activities. I glanced down at the blocks again, and when I saw the box on the chair beside where Patrick had been sitting, I picked it up and pulled out my phone to go to the website on the back. More blocks would be added to our collection, even if Edric didn’t take to them like I hoped he would. They looked as if they were a good thing to have around the coven, and that was important.