Chapter 7

On Thursday afternoon at 1:30, Neal Caffrey packed up his things, left his office in midtown Manhattan and headed over to Brooklyn to pick up his wife for her doctor's appointment. He'd been looking forward to the meeting with Dr. Cooper all week; he was confident the good doctor would find a way to make Sara understand that there were solutions to her present predicament.

Sara appeared optimistic on the drive over, certainly more so than Neal had seen her in a few weeks. She sat in the car and actually chatted with her husband, asking him about how the kids were and how things were going at work. She hadn't shown an interest in anything in weeks and Neal happily chatted with her as they drove through the street of Brooklyn making their way to the medical clinic.

Shortly after their arrival, Sara's name was called and Neal rose in the waiting room, standing awkwardly next his wife. They hadn't discussed whether or not he would be welcome to go in with her and he didn't know what her preference was - although he had been hoping to be included in the discussion.

The receptionist put an end to the suspense. 'Mr. Caffrey, you can wait here. The doctor will let you know when you can go in' she said, directing him to take a seat.

Neal looked up expectantly at his wife, giving her an encouraging wink as she walked away.

Sara walked in to the doctor's office, summoning up all the bravado she could muster and found the good doctor, sitting at her desk, waiting for her.

'Sara! It seems I saw you just a few weeks ago' she said as she greeted her patient.

'You did, Liam's only six weeks old' Sara responded, not quite able to look the doctor in the eye.

'Neal came in to see me earlier this week' the doctor admitted. After all, honesty was the best policy and she wasn't about to hide the fact that Neal had initiated the appointment - no news to Sara.

'I know, I feel like my daddy made a doctor's appointment for me...' said Sara, laughing nervously.

'Well, he's the furthest thing from your daddy, but he does love you very much and he's worried that you haven't been feeling well' said Dr. Cooper, putting all the cards on the table.

Sara let out a deep sigh. This was definitely more difficult than she thought it would be. As with all things in her life, she felt the need to appear competent and in charge but she began to feel quite the opposite as the now familiar feeling of anguish rose in her chest.

Her face betrayed her despite her efforts to the contrary. 'Sara, this is no time to be stoic. You need to tell me what's going on' said the doctor, leaning in to make her point.

'I really... I really don't know. That's the truth. I just... nothing seems right, Dr. Cooper' Sara stammered as tears appeared, unbidden.

'Are you having trouble sleeping?' asked Dr. Cooper.

Sara nodded.

'And what about your appetite?' she continued.

Sara shook her head – she took no pleasure whatsoever in food these days.

'Neal says you cry a lot?'

Sara put up her hands in a gesture of surrender as the tears continued to flow.

'Sara, those are classic symptoms of post-partum depression but it's something that can be treated with medication. Tell me about the baby, how's he doing?' the kind doctor asked.

'That's the worst part, Dr. Cooper. You know how it took us almost three years for me to get pregnant again and now that he's here... I just don't understand. It's like I can't connect with him and I feel so guilty.'

At this, Sara's crying morphed into sobs and Dr. Cooper pushed a box of tissues towards her, urging her to take one.

'Sara, that doesn't make you a bad mother. Depression is not something you can control or make disappear on your own. You haven't done anything wrong' she said, her voice sincere.

'But we do need to talk about where we go from here' she added. 'What do you say we ask Neal to come in and we can try to figure this out?'

WCWCWC

Once Neal had joined them, Dr. Cooper had explained the type of medication that might help Sara as well as their side effects. Counselling was discussed and Dr. Cooper recommended they do it together, as a couple. The more the discussion wore on, the more Sara's mood seemed to deteriorate and by the time they left, to Neal's dismay, she had reverted to being sullen and uncommunicative.

The couple drove back to Brooklyn in silence. Although they were armed with a prescription for an anti-depressant, Sara had not yet agreed to take it and Neal knew that until she did, things would not be getting any better. Sara's concern that the drugs would impede her mental capacities, although understandable, was standing in the way of her getting a grip on this illness and Neal was beginning to feel frustrated.

Despite Neal's eagerness to go for counselling, Sara had totally nixed the idea, saying she was not comfortable with sharing their intimate relationship with a complete stranger. For the umpteenth time in their long relationship, Neal cursed the wonderful dichotomy that was Sara Ellis – her determination and tenacity, her best qualities by far, were also her inevitable downfall and he cringed at the thought that she was impeding her own recovery because of her stubbornness.

There was still so much to do in order to convince her to get with the program and Neal began to feel disheartened and exhausted. He insisted Sara stay at the Burkes for another few days and she could sense that despite his usually patient nature, Neal was growing irritated with her lack of cooperation.

They parted ways rather uneasily and Neal made his way back to White Plains to pick up Hope and Liam at the Masons. There was still a little time before dinner and fresh air would do them all some good. So he placed Liam in his stroller and took Hope by the hand and headed out to their neighbourhood park to play for a while. It was a beautiful summer day, not too hot, just pleasant enough and Hope took no time in getting settled in the sandbox where she met up with a couple of her friends from the neighborhood.

Neal sat on a nearby park bench, breathing deeply, trying to shake his annoyance at Sara and watching as children played and squealed nearby. It was not like him to be angry at his wife – she was much more likely to fly off the handle – but he couldn't remember ever being this livid before. He began to devise a plan; there was no way the situation could continue like this. He grabbed his phone and dialed Sara's number, waiting patiently as it went to voicemail.

'Sara, it's me. Look, I'm sorry about how we left things. We have to talk. I'll come by tomorrow afternoon after work.' He was just about to hang up, thinking better of it. 'I love you' he added before hanging up.

Dammit, she could push his buttons like nobody else he thought as he waved back to Hope, smiling at him from a nearby swing.

He took in his surroundings, realizing that people were slowly starting to leave the park and he peeked at his watch; it was already 5:00 and the kids would be getting hungry before too long. He glanced at Liam still snoozing in his baby carriage; he'd be waking up any minute now.

'Hope!' he called from his spot on the bench. 'Five more minutes!'

The park was a large communal area backing onto several backyards in the neighborhood, an enclave with no direct access to the street, just sidewalks zigzagging the green space. He suddenly spotted a familiar form strolling towards him and his eyes widened in surprise as he recognized Michelle Young walking along one of the paths, cell phone in hand, ostensibly reading a text. He'd thought for sure he wouldn't run into her for another twenty years, if ever.

'Michelle? What are you doing out here in suburbia?' Neal called out to her.

She looked up, equally surprised.

'Neal – what... I was supposed to have dinner with an old friend, over on Pineview' she explained, pointing to the nearby street. 'But she just texted me that one of her kids is sick and she has to cancel. Dammit, I came all the way out here and I do mean, out here... Sorry, no offence, do you live around here?' she asked as she finally put her phone away in her purse.

'Yeah' Neal pointed. 'Right over there on Meadowbrook.'

'That's incredible... what are the odds?' asked Michelle looking over to where Neal had pointed, a row of beige coloured suburban homes.

'Daddy, I'm hungry!' came Hope's voice as she ran over, curious about the newcomer.

'Yeah, sweet pea, it's time to go home for dinner' Neal said as he turned to check on Liam.

'You must be Hope' said the woman as she crouched down to say hello the the child. 'I'm Michelle, your daddy's friend.'

Hope nodded. 'You're pretty' she said to Michelle who just smiled in response. 'You look like a Barbie.'

Neal rolled his eyes at his daughter's girlie comment.

'Oh, I loved Barbie when I was a little girl' Michelle responded with a winning smile.

'I have lots of Barbies at home' Hope said proudly. 'And I have the Barbie Dreamhouse.'

Michelle touched her hand and smiled. 'You are so lucky' she said. 'I've always wanted the Barbie Dreamhouse.'

Hope's spontaneous response was just what the woman had hoped for. 'You can come to our house and see it if you like. Huh, Daddy?' she said, looking up at Neal.

He shrugged rather uncomfortably. What could he possibly say other than 'Sure' - which is exactly what he said.

'I would love that!' responded Michelle, taking Hope's outstretched hand.

The foursome made their way to 4788 Meadowbrook and Neal took Liam out of his stroller and prepared to warm up a bottle for him while Hope eagerly showed off her collection of dolls to Michelle.

'Would you like a glass of wine?' Neal asked, feeling somewhat awkward about having another woman in the house when Sara wasn't home.

'That'd be great, thanks!' the woman answered. She made her way to sit at the island in the kitchen where Neal was getting a start on dinner.

'Can Michelle stay for dinner?' Hope asked, obviously taken with the pretty woman.

Neal looked at Hope and let out a nervous sigh. 'I'm sure Michelle has better things to do than sit here and eat tuna casserole.'

'No, I'd love to stay' answered Michelle with a big grin. 'I love tuna casserole.'

Neal gave her a forced smile and carried on with the meal preparation. Within half an hour, the threesome was seated at the kitchen table while Liam was put down in his room to sleep. The conversation was pleasant and safe, the subjects revolving around things that would be of interest to a five-year-old, like favourite school subjects, favourite foods, what interior designers did for a living and Barbies, of course.

Neal tidied up the kitchen while Michelle played with Hope and when the time came, Neal excused himself to get Hope ready for bed.

'Can Michelle put me to bed?' Hope asked as Neal reluctantly agreed.

Twenty minutes later, Michelle reappeared, giggling. 'She's a hoot!' she said to Neal as she took a spot next to him on the couch.

'You don't know the half of it!' Neal responded in agreement.

'Neal, you have a lovely family and a lovely home' Michelle said, leaning in closer. 'Can I ask where your wife is?'

Neal looked away, uncomfortable with the question. He played with the coffee cup he was holding. 'She's... resting at her best friend's house. Trying to get a little distance from everything' he admitted.

Michelle placed her arm on Neal's and searched his eyes. 'This must be so hard on you, having to take care of everything' she said with concern.

'It's just temporary' he explained, his voice quiet. He was still feeling the sting from Sara's unwillingness to follow Dr. Cooper advice and he hoped his frustration wasn't too obvious.

He turned to face Michelle, giving her a shy smile and she stared into his eyes, softly touching his cheek. She had a kind face and he had fond memories of all the fun they'd had together and how easy life had been back then. Before he knew what was happening, Michelle leaned in and brought her lips to his, gently kissing him. It took Neal a few seconds to realize what was going on and he pulled away, stumbling somewhat as he got to his feet.

'Michelle...' he began. 'I think you've got the wrong idea, here. I love my wife very much and...'

'I understand, Neal' she said, standing to face him. 'But I can see the pain in your eyes and I just want you to know, I'm here if you need me.'

Neal looked down at his feet and began to fidget. 'Thanks... but I'm really not comfortable with you being here. Look, let me call you a cab' he added as he walked decisively over to the phone on the kitchen counter.

The doorbell rang as he was hanging up and Neal made his way to the front of the house to find Elizabeth Burke standing at the front door, smiling back at him.

'Hey Neal. Sorry, I hope I didn't wake the kids. I'm just picking something up for...' she stopped, dead in her tracks as she saw the pretty blonde appear from behind Neal with a mischievous smile on her face.

'El' Neal said, hesitantly. 'This is an old friend of mine, Michelle Young, she just happened to drop by...' Neal said, his voice trailing. He could only imagine what it looked like.

'Hi!' said Michelle, her voice lively. 'It's nice to meet you.'

They could hear a car horn out front and Michelle grabbed her purse. 'Oh, that'll be my cab' she said. 'Neal, thanks so much for dinner, it was great!' she added, kissing him gently on the cheek as El looked on in disbelief.

'It was nice to meet you, El' she said as she finally took her leave.

Elizabeth and Neal exchanged looks but he had the feeling that, not matter what he said, it would not be a satisfactory explanation for the naturally suspicious Mrs. Burke so he decided to avoid the topic altogether.

'What is it you're looking for?' he asked.

'Sara sent me over to get her iPad' Elizabeth answered, suddenly ill at ease.

'I'll get it for you' Neal said as he walked back to the kitchen to retrieve the tablet.

'How's Sara doing tonight?' he asked as he handed her the device.

'She's upset' El answered, leaving no doubt that she was trying to make Neal feel guilty.

'Look, Elizabeth, it's a long story but I can assure you it's not the one that's playing in your head right now' he said in attempt to clarify things.

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow of disapproval and off she went into the night.

TBC