You get used to tackling a problem and suddenly another crops up and confounds the earlier one; that is what 47-year-old Bess was facing right then.
Alba, the 24-year-old daughter of Bess, was a loner by nature, hardly spoke to anyone, a bit gawky, spectacled, buried herself in books and thought she was unattractive. Mother daughter relationship was also not at its zenith, with whatever Bess saying ending up in an unexpected argument.
As if this were not enough, Alba suffered a fracture in her foot and remained confined to the bed for the past two weeks with her foot in bandage. This left Alba even more depressed and mother-daughter relationship hit another low after an attempted pep talk went awry, with the daughter misinterpreting Bess' advice as nitpicking. After that sore episode, Alba seldom spoke to her mother.
With such a situation prevailing at home, Bess was waiting to meet a psychiatrist to seek advice as to how to handle the situation. He was a close friend and Bess felt she could easily confide in him. He called her in soon and after exchanging pleasantries she told him everything.
After a patient hearing he said: "As you say, Alba is an introvert and being bedridden has made her more depressed. In such cases, interaction with friends or with parents will help a lot, but since you and she have developed a rift in relationship and with your husband travelling mostly, the situation is tricky to handle. All I can advise is to try to make your daughter feel comfortable with you, and try to help her back on her feet as soon as possible. It would help greatly if she spoke to friends or had someone to confide in."
"She doesn't have many friends. Er... there is one more thing; she feels I am more attractive and sees me as a rival, that is another angle which I thought I should tell you...er, maybe it is my imagination," Bess smiled nervously.
"No, no, Bess. Your thoughts are justified. That happens in many cases where sons see fathers as rivals and girls see moms as competition. More so in cases where the father or mother is more appreciated by people around them or are successful. The situation has to be handled carefully, wherein you try to be jaded in front of her and try not to dominate her. And avoid all types of suggestions, advice or patronizing behavior. I would also suggest that she be on her feet soon. It is not my area of concern but you should give her physiotherapy and that would be a great help," he finished.
"Her bandage was removed yesterday. I will call the physio," she said and talked for sometime, taking his advice on more issues.
Later, at home Bess called up a physiotherapist who said he would send someone soon.
She gave food to Alba and tried to throw in a word or two in the still pool of silence and got a nod or 'ya' as reply from her daughter. Bess dressed a bit shabbily, put on spectacles, which she rarely needed, and tried not to be attractive or cheerful, in an attempt to make her daughter feel confident. Alba, with her nose buried in a book, appeared to hardly notice any of this.
The daily routine for the past two weeks had gone something like this: Bess would take up breakfast, lunch and dinner for Alba; a maid would come and help Alba wash and change clothes. Any attempt at conversation was short and bitter. Alba's dad called her once in a while and they chatted, but not in Bess' presence. Alba and her dad hit it off well together as both were on the unattractive side and, maybe Bess felt, they didn't like her as she was a looker.
Bess had a rather usual and justified doubt that her daughter could be a lesbian, but she had seen the addresses of the websites Alba browsed and later found they contained nude photos of gym-chiselled guys. At least she was interested in guys. Her intellectual attitude put off guys resulting in her going without dates and boyfriends for some time. She had rejected those boys who showed an interest in her. Bess thought it was time she helped her daughter rediscover her life, but how? That was the million dollar question.
The physiotherapist came next morning; a youthful guy maybe 25 or so, in boxers and T shirt. He flashed a smile and said he was Joe and asked who needed his help. Bess took her to Alba and, after introductions, thought it fit to leave them alone so that her daughter would feel comfortable talking to this guy about her problems.