Daizi sighed in frustration as she went down the stairs, rejoining her husband who was doing his absolute best to entertain Ivy while simultaneously feeling like the worst person he knew and wanting to curl up in a hole and never emerge. But he couldn't do that because he had children and he was doing everything in his power to not worry his baby. Daizi wished she could comfort Alec. She knew he was upset---frankly, his comment he maybe had nothing to talk about with his therapist was almost an insult to her intelligence. This kid with a burgeoning hoarder probmem who had given his father the silent treatment for four full days now because he didn't give the right kind of advice had nothing to talk about in therapy? Sure. She totally believed that. It wasn't like a lifetime of trauma took time to work through or anything.
She wanted to hold him and she wanted to help him but he didn't want that--although she was very certain if she didn't try to talk to him about it, he'd end up snapping that she didn't care. He didn't want it, and she was going to respect his wishes if it killed her. She was willing to believe he could handle his feelings himself, even though this war of attrition seemed to suggest otherwise.
"I am going to schedule another family therapist appointment," Daizi said, stern but whispered, sitting down in the living room.
"He will not go."
"He will. He can sulk silently the entire time, but he will be in that room." Daizi replied solidly, "We're not his friends, we're his parents."
