Suppressed Niles by Pat Councilor
When Daphne came downstairs, she found that Niles had bathed and fed the kids and had warm cinnamon French toast with apple and strawberry compote waiting for her. He had fresh coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice ready.
"Niles, what have I done to deserve this?" she asked in amazement.
He pulled her chair out for her. "My love, I just wanted to show you how much I appreciate you and love you."
Kissing him on the cheek, she took a seat. "Everything looks so wonderful."
Niles' cell phone sounded. He walked over and took it up from the counter to answer it. "Hello."
"Dr. Crane, this is Dr. Nox. I've been going over your case and I think we should meet."
Niles was a bit puzzled. "Dr. Nox, it's Saturday."
"Yes, I am aware of that. Can you be in my office in thirty minutes."
"But of course."
"See you then." He hung up.
"Your doctor wants to meet with you?" Daphne asked.
"Yes, in thirty minutes," he said with a concerned look on his face.
"You will call me if you find out anything new."
"Of course." He closed his cell phone.
Niles couldn't arrive at Doctor Nox's office fast enough. What did Nox discover that needed to be addressed over the weekend?
"Thanks for coming in on such short notice Niles." He shook hands with him. "Please, have a seat."
"Thank you. I am very eager to hear what you have to say."
Dr. Nox took a seat in the chair next to him. "Well, I think I have discovered why you are having these suppressed emotions."
"Please doctor, don't keep me in suspense."
"Niles, through all of our sessions, we've talked about how you've pined over Daphne for over seven years before you two started dating."
"That's true."
"Taking everything into consideration, I believe you are upset with yourself."
Niles tilted his head. "I'm sorry doctor, I think I may have missed something."
"For seven years, you've admired Daphne; almost obsessed over her without her knowledge."
Niles nodded.
"You've talked about how you were ready on several occasions to reveal your feelings for her, but something always took place that convinced you that it wasn't the right time."
"Okay," Niles said almost as a question.
"She found out your feelings for her through someone else. She confided in your brother and it was your brother that informed you that he thought she felt the same way for you that you did for her. For seven years, you've waited for the perfect moment to reveal your love for her; to take that bold leap; to risk it all in the name of love. Seven years is a long time to build these emotions and now you feel suppressed emotions because deep down, you feel like you were robbed of your chance to do just that."
Niles looked up at the ceiling as if he was in deep thought. It looked like someone had just thrown a bucket of cold water on him. He laid back on the couch and placed his hands over his face. "Doctor, you're right. I do feel slighted. I feel very slighted."
"Of course, now that we have identified the cause, it will be so much easier to overcome these feelings."
"Of course."
"May I purpose something?"
Niles dropped his hands away from his face. "Please."
"What would you say about allowing me to hypnotize you one last time. It's a way of going back and experiencing that moment as if it did exist. I am not suggesting that we make new memories for you, but I think it would help you overcome these feelings of regret."
"What are you saying? I would create the setting?"
"If you would like, or you can go back to a time where you wished you would have told her."
Niles took a deep breath and held it for several moments before letting it go. "But you just reiterated how there was never a good time to tell her."
"You can go back and change that."
"What if it backfires? What if I can't convince my subconscious that there was a good time to tell her? She could react negatively."
"Niles, don't kid yourself. We've discussed this relationship in detail. You have the perfect marriage. There is no way she wouldn't reciprocate your feelings. This is just a simple experiment. We've already identified the problem. The results of this experiment could not complicate things. I'm just offering you a chance to experience what you feel that you've missed out on."
Niles rested his jaw in his hand. "How much time do I have to think about this?"
"Take all the time you need."
"I'll do it."
"Well, that wasn't any time at all." Nox smiled.
"When can we do this?"
"Niles, we're here in my office on a Saturday. We can do it right here, right now."
Niles nodded. "Yes. Yes, let me just take a moment to call Daphne."