Chapter Four

"Alright I'm going to call some groups for mini therapy sessions where we can speak more privately within a smaller group. First on my list," Dr. Gelding said, looking down at her notes, "Scott, Lou, and Amy. The rest of you can wait here and talk."

"Oh, dibs on the couch!" Scott burst out, met with disgusted stares and shaking heads. They all took a seat and Dr. Gelding started to say, "Hello every-"

"Ohhh is this the time where I get to spill all my innermost secrets that I locked deep away at the bottom of my heart. Wellll, for starters, I'm completely addicted to those blueberry muffins. Oh also, there's this creepy boy who stays at Heartland who is always there whenever I come and I think he might be plotting to kill me. He has unsettling emerald green eyes and dark brown hair. His body shape, you ask? HORSE."

" Scott…calm down. You're not talking about Ty. Ty Baldwin who just rode in the car with for 30 minutes?" Lou exclaimed in exasperation.

"OH! That's who it is! I thought he was just following me around. So you see him too? Hm, maybe he is real!"

"SHUT UP SCOTT! You're so annoying, can't you just be quiet for one SECOND! You know who Ty is, you've known who him for 10 years you idi-" Amy yelled.

"OK, that's enough I can see you have some serious problems with each other. Good job girls, this just gave me a taste of how you interact naturally."

"BUT!"

"That's enough girls. That's enough…Send in the next group."

"Scott is not a girl…" Lou muttered icily under her breath.

"Next group! Amy and Lou you can stay, Scott send in Nancy."

"Will you guys describe each of your relationships with each other? Lou and Amy, please go first."

"Well, Amy is a...well she's my sister what can I say. Sure we get into fights about little matters like who fed the horses but I think our relationship is pretty solid."

"Lou," Amy responded, barely suppressing her anger, "if you hadn't lied that one time about feeding Jigsaw just because it was 5 in the morning well MAYBE Jigsaw wouldn't have gotten sick due to hunger and we would have been able to start training him earlier."

"Amy that was a year and a half ago. Who cares if we had to wait another day?"

"TY DID, I DID, AND JIGSAW SURE DID!"

"Hold up, Lou, Amy, it's ok we all mistakes!" Nancy tried to reassure.

"NANCY! Stay out of this! Just because Grandpa took pity on you doesn't mean you're our mom! You can't reprimand us! You're one of the reasons we fight!"

"Woah there!" Dr. Gelding interjected. "You're blaming each other for things that don't even matter. You guys are more important than the horses."

"Excuse me….are you kidding me. What is your problem, the horses are our LIVES."

"Well guys! Maybe that's your problem."

"Amy, Lou, Marion here has a good point. You should listen to her."

"Would you just shut it! I'm not listening to either of you!"

"OK, OK please stop we're getting nowhere. We're ending this session by each of you saying something nice about everyone else in this room. Amy, please."

"Fine…well Lou you're really good at making other people feel bad about themselves. Nancy, the only thing you're good at is cooking. Gelding, you're a therapist what else can I say."

"Um, thanks Amy…real positive. Your turn Lou!"

"Nancy, great job at pretending to be our mom. Newsflash! You're not. Amy, good job at putting the horses at the top. I only wish you would treat everyone else the same way. And Dr. Gelding, thanks for trying to hold us together, sadly it'll never work. Done."

"….Nancy!" Dr. Gelding replied, trying to hold in her anger.

"Lou, you're beautiful, just like your mom was-"

"IS," Lou retorted, stalking out of the room.

"And Amy, I love you as if you were my own. Finally, Marion, thanks for doing this for us. We're really grateful, even if we don't show it," Nancy finished.

"You're welcome…send in Scott, Jack, and Ty please."

"How are you all coping today?" Dr. Gelding started the session with.

"Charming, simply charming. Swell, fantabulous, just like the muffins! Hey TY!" Scott turned to Dr. Gelding and said, "This is my stalker. He's going to be the death of you." Scott then punched Ty chummily in the shoulder. Ty jerked away and glared at Scott silently; rejecting the symbol of friendship.

"Well guys let's get back to the question. I'm feeling pretty positive about this therapy today," Grandpa replied.

"How about those famous blueberry muffins! You could write a cookbook and sell it on Amazon, or is it eBay, or Google, or Froogle!"

"Thanks…Scott would you like to ask a relevant question?"

"Suresies! How are you and Amy Ty? Too bad you haven't tied the knot, although if you had decided earlier we coulda, should, woulda, had a double wedding. Wouldn't that have been something! A Fleming fest!"

Ty's spine stiffened and his fists clenched noticeably. "Yes, how about that Ty?" Dr. Gelding questioned.

"It's fine."

"Just fine? How about….superdeeduper, fabulous, amazing, marvelous-"

"Yes Scott, yes. It's just magnificently terrific," Ty answered sarcastically.

"Oh great!" (Drama drama!)

"Anyway, um how's our latest horse doing? Hickory was it?"

Ty's lit up with fascination, "We're trying lavender oil to calm him, star of Bethlehem and rescue remedy for shock, and Bach remedies to overall make the horse feel more at home. We've concocted a new bran mash that we just can't wait to try."

"Oh that's simply fascinating! Who would be this "we" you talk of?" (Nice catch!)

"Oh…um. Me and Amy…"

"Well that's a wrap. How about you each say something you've learned about each other today?"

"Scott- you're a thesaurus. Ty-you really care and know a lot about helping horses." Jack (always the good one) started.

"Well, Jack I already kind of knew this, but you can cook a mean muffin! And when I say mean, I mean delish! Also, Ty-I learned you aren't stalking me. I think…" Scott said, giving Ty another friendly punch.

"Um, Scott I'll go with Jack on the wordy one. And Jack, you have a good way of getting us all back on track," Ty offered with a small smile. (There's a first for everything!)

"Well, we certainly had a…productive day and I learned a lot about you. (The good and the bad.) If it's not too much to ask, I would like to assign each of you an independent homework assignment."

"Sure, that sounds fine!"

"Alright, Jack, your homework is to write a journal entry about a cow living on a ranch. The trick-write it from the cow's point of view. (What the heck! Maybe all those days Jack was researching ranch life should have been spent focusing on good therapists.) Nancy, your homework is to write a review about the book Is She Gone? Um, Scott…your assignment is to sit in a room by yourself for 2 sets of 30 minutes listening to music. Lou, please write a reflection on your relationship with your mother and how it affected your life. Ty, make a list of things that you like about yourself and everyone at Heartland. No horses though. Last but not least, Amy write a poem about Heartland and what it means to you. OK that's it! See you all in a few days!

"Thanks Dr. Gelding, bye!" They all chirped.

When the Heartlanders had all exited the room, Dr. Gelding collapsed on a chair, weary from listening to the Heartland family's troubles. Maybe I need to go to therapy, this is stressing me out! Marion thought to herself.

FROM THE DESK OF DR. MARION GELDING

DOCTOR'S NOTES- HEARTLAND FAM

Jack:

Makes good muffins, I'll have to ask for the recipe
Always assumes he's right

Nancy:

Does she have a last name? Not that I know of

Always calls me Marion…even though it clearly upsets everyone else

Needs to stop talking about the mom or how she can be theirs, clearly, the kids don't like it so shut up!

Continues to act like she loves everyone

Doesn't consider the others feelings

Confused about how she plays a role…

Lou:

Verrrry sensitive about the mother, does she think she is alive?

Clearly has coping issues involving death

RUDE, needs to work on attitude

Amy:Bottom of Form

Really need to do further tests on this one!

Anger issues

Needs to learn how to rephrase her thoughts in a manner that everyone stops hating her

Self-centered, only cares about herself!

Scott:

Needs some tests too!

Completely delusional, believes someone he has known for 10 years is stalking him and trying to kill him

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS KID

Too wordy…needs to give others a chance to talk and stop butting in with ridiculous comments that get people off track and make NO SENSE whatsoever. May have to duct tape mouth next session….

Ty:

Can sadly understand how Scott thinks he may be planning to kill him…

Those unsettling eyes!

Doesn't talk much

Has a large knowledge of horses, an obsession

Quite possibly depressed, withdrawal from drugs?

Tests will proceed