"I'm scared about how this is going to turn out."
Julia Steed braced in her chair, and searched for reassurance in her therapist's eyes.
"Well listen, we take it a step at a time. This is so very involved. Bill's in therapy, you're in therapy. Trevor probably
should
be in therapy. You're in an emotional mess, you know?"
"
I
know. But Bill still believes this can all be managed. That it doesn't have to be 'serious.' I don't think he gets it."
Dr. Morales jotted notes. "Here's the thing. You've got a layer of very important relationships. Mother-son. Father-son. Husband-wife. And you're taking those relationships, and you're mixing in much different, and much more hazardous, circumstances. Physical love and emotional love. Roles. Expectations. These are all things difficult to manage on their own. Put them with your family dynamics, and there's a recipe for chaos."
"I know." Julia rubbed her eyes. "I sense that. I get that. I mean, Bill's right in a way, I guess. We're not at that point now. But... ."
"You're not at that point now? You told me when you first got here that you didn't feel comfortable with how things are right now."
"Me, myself, no. I mean, it's not like anyone is angry or upset with anyone else."
"But?"
"But, I can't just have sex like this... with... my son. And not feel something from it."
"And, what do you feel?"
"Several things."
"Several? Interesting."
"I know what you're thinking." Julia stared a long moment. "How can she even do this? I get that. I still get that. And there's no easy answer."
Her attention went off to the side, as she chose her words before continuing.
"I'll say this though. Couple of weeks ago, it hit me that he's a man now. A grown, mature man... not like before. Absolutely nothing like before. But a big part of this is from Trevor himself."
"How so?"
"When this first came up, and I was shocked, inside I decided to let him follow-through. Surely,
surely
, I told myself, he'll see this as ridiculous at a certain point. He'll get to a point where he'll not want to go forward. I fully expected that."
Dr. Morales wrote on her pad more.
Julia continued. "And then... he didn't stop. He didn't let up. He didn't get turned off." Julia's eyes narrowed and wandered, as she appeared to contemplate yet again what she was about to say.
Then, her eyes returned to the doctor's eyes. "He didn't lose interest at all. He actually pushed harder for it to happen"
"And," the doctor's tone dipped, "your interest did change."
Julia gulped. Pressed forward. "When Bill didn't object... ." She sarcastically chuckled. "When Bill
agreed
... I stopped talking to myself about it in a way. I decided to react."
The doctor didn't try to interject.
"I've sure reacted---that much is certain---but let me tell you something else. I learned something I never, never expected."
The therapist arched her eyes.
"Over time, I've had some pretty intense experiences in my life. But there is nothing---
nothing
---that compares to the times I have been with Trevor." Julia leaned forward. "When you take the male-female aspect of it, and you add-in how much I already love him... . It becomes absolutely overwhelming."
The doctor shifted in her chair.
Julia slowly shook her head. "Each time... I felt like I might pass out at the end.
Each. Time.
I'm not exaggerating."
More notes from the doctor.
Julia straightened back up. "But for me, as a woman, I've developed these other feelings. And this scares me. I think about him all the time. I want to be with him all the time. I care very much what he thinks of me. What he thinks of us. It's silly. Actually, it's stupid. But... I can't help it."
"And you've told Bill about it?"
"I did. I told Bill. I actually said, 'I'm in love with him.' I told him that this week when the car thing' happened."
The doctor struck a firm tone. "I want you to understand. There's not a lot of literature on exactly your kind of circumstances, but the case studies overall are strong about usual outcomes. These things seldom end well. They just don't."
"Why?"
"Different reasons, but think about this. You're changing from a nurturing and non-physical role over to a romantic and physical one. You're in your forties and he's in his twenties. What happens when the affair part of it ends? How will everyone feel?"
Julia's head slightly nodded, and she peered down a second. When her face lifted again, she dabbed at her eyes.
"I understand. I get it."
"We're about out of time today. You mentioned you also told Bill you didn't want, um,
things
happening in front of him?"
"Yeah. But, I know he's not going to let that go. And there's this ridiculous side of it that makes me think about him going along with all this happening. That somehow this justifies him getting to... ."
The doctor pursed her lips.
"But there's one other thing, too."
The doctor returned to her pad.
"I did some reading once this all started. Trying to learn about taboos and all. Well, I also wound-up reading about different kinds of sex. Different 'kinks.' Haven't ever really explored that."
The doctor jotted again.