Hello all my dearest friends and readers! I apologize for taking so long updating the story. I have been suffering from a case of writer's block for it and was very close to putting it on hold. But thank goodness that didn't happen Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!
One more thing, I am open to suggestions for future chapters. So, if you have any, don't be afraid to drop them in a review (i.e. YoursTheAuthor-Thank you very much by the way) or in a PM if you wish.
With that all said, enjoy!
The Triple Butterfly Effect
Tom took a deep breath as he stared at the small orange bottle in his hand. There was still time before Henry and Linda would arrive, so he used this time to take a dose of medication that the doctor had prescribed to him. After swallowing the small pink pill with some water, he took another deep breath as he stared at the sink.
"Stupid things…" he whispered.
. . .
"So, Mr. Connor, tell me what's been going on." An older man said while tapping a pen on a small notepad.
Not used to explaining his feelings to a complete stranger, Tom was almost reluctant to answer.
"Well, last week I had been getting little to no sleep, and although I knew why, I couldn't bring myself to tell my wife until I became cornered by her impatience and frustration and I told her everything." He said after a few moments.
The therapist immediately became confused. "Why wouldn't you tell your wife about this problem? I'm sure she would have given you advice to the best of her ability."
"As much as I love Allison, I never really saw or felt the need to pour out my feelings. Besides, I always believed I burdened her enough with my problems before we got married." Tom slowly responded.
For the therapist, this was starting to become a case that he had never dealt with before.
"Allison figured out that I had a PTSD attack that night and was able to do so because it had happened when we were dating."
Now the therapist had something to work with.
. . .
Zephrina was sitting at the kitchen table, curiously watching her mother take out some beige colored balls wrapped in plastic wrap and placed them on the table.
"We are going to be making cookies for when your father comes home." Allison told her daughter after unwrapping the cookie dough balls and placing them in a small amount of flour and after placing it in front of the child, Allison takes out a rolling pin and demonstrated on how to use it.
To Zephrina, the process looked easy enough, and after a few moments, was copying her mother's demonstration and listening when Allison told her to sprinkle more flour on the dough.
As Allison was working with her own set of dough, her thoughts started to turn to Tom and how he was doing. To Allison's dismay and frustration, he told her that he wanted to go by himself.
"I hope he tells the therapist everything he needs to know." She thought.
. . .
"Well Tom if you don't mind my asking, what happened that triggered the first attack.?"
Knowing where the path was going, Tom gave the therapist a short answer.
"Trust me, it's not "what", it's "who"." The repairman said while cracking his knuckles.
"And who is this person you speak of?" the therapist asked confusion and concern in his voice.
Tom stood up from his seat and walked over to the window overlooking the park.
"Joey Drew…"
He then started to explain his previous life at Joey Drew Studios and exactly how nefarious his boss was. From the work conditions to the verbal and sometimes physical abuse…everything. He ended the conversation by explaining his secret relationship with Allison and the lengths he went to keep her safe from Joey Drew. The therapist couldn't believe it.
"Well the fact that you were able to deal with Joey Drew for that amount of time and what you endured to keep the love of your life safe shows exactly the kind of man you are."
He looked at his watch. "Well Tom we are running low on time, so I am going to ask a couple of more questions."
The repairman nodded. "Fine go ahead…"
"How is your life now and what caused the second attack?"
. . .
The scent of sugar had filled the kitchen as Allison pulled out a tray of cookies from the oven and set them on the counter to cool off. With Zephrina's helps, cookies in the shapes of stars, circles, and hearts were made. While Allison was taking care of the freshly made cookies, the child was cleaning off the table.
Zephrina truly enjoyed helping her mother bake cookies. She loved the way the dough felt as she molded it and the way it smelled when it finished baking.
She hoped that they would do it again sometime…hopefully with both of her parents.
The child had become very worried about her father and had hoped that whatever was going on would go away.
. . .
"My life is great. Allison and I are making a living for each other (Romance In Ink-Allison's part). We have a five-year-old daughter…everything's great."
The therapist smiled. "Wife, child, happy life, you managed to get it all."
After Tom explained the second episode and the thoughts he had, the therapist took out a notepad and after some writing, handed Tom the page which turned out to be a prescription.
"I want you to take this medication twice daily and I also suggest you come back again, should something happen."
The repairman thanked the therapist for his time and walked out of the office, glad the session was over, but upset that he would be on medication.
"Stupid things…" he whispered.
. . .
Tom's gaze left the sink when he felt his shoulder being tapped.
"I've been calling you. Henry and Linda are going to be here in a few minutes." Allison said, ceasing the tapping.
The repairman looked at the pill bottle and then to his wife.
"Sorry Allison, I just had a flashback." He said while putting the pill bottle back on the cabinet.
Almost immediately afterwards, knocking on the door was heard, meaning the Steins had arrived.
Before following Allison to answer the door, Tom took a few moments to wipe his face with cold water and after drying it off, caught up with her.
. . .
Henry and Linda had admitted to each other that they were quite nervous. While Henry was also a bit at ease due to already knowing Allison and Tom, Linda only knew of them from what her husband had told her.
"I know I only worked there for only a year, but I know Allison and Tom well enough to know that they are very special. Allison was known as the studio's angel and Tom was the only one brave enough to rebel against Joey. These people are good." Henry said, taking his wife's hand.
Back inside the house, Allison and Tom had noticed that the couple had looked quite nervous, so as a courtesy, decided to put out some coffee and cookies out for them.
"You ready?" Allison asked softly.
The repairman nodded. "Yes, lets hope these are the ones."
With their own nerves, Allison and Tom opened the door and welcomed Henry and Linda into their home.
. . .
"We know our request would be a surprise to you, so we are glad that it was accepted." Linda softly said while accepting a cup of coffee from Allison.
"It's no problem at all. We are just really happy that you have an interest in watching Zephrina. Tom and I have already interviewed several other people but neither of them seemed responsible enough." She responded as she sat on the couch next to her husband.
Over the next hour, both couples answered each other's questions…all with positive answers which put Allison and Tom at ease about choosing Henry and Linda as Zephrina's babysitters. That is until…
"So, is there anything about Zephrina that we should be aware of? Any habits or quirks of any kind?" Henry suddenly asked.
With nerves already on edge, Allison and Tom took a while to answer.
"Well, the thing is that Zephrina has very bad social issues. In fact, the only thing she can say is my name. So, we're hoping that we working, we would eventually be able to send her to a speech therapist." Allison said while taking her husband's hand.
"That was the turn-off point with the others because they wanted a normal child and not a child with a defect." Tom continued.
But to their surprise, Henry and Linda didn't seem to be affected by the mention of Zephrina's condition.
"Well, that's rather selfish and insensitive of them. The fact that they refused just because she has social problems shows that they expected something quick and easy." Linda responded while taking Allison's free hand.
Seeing his wife console Allison was no surprise for Henry. Linda was always one to help someone when they needed help to where she was considered a mother to them.
That was one of the things that attracted him to her.
"We really hope that you two would consider us to watch your daughter. We know that this condition will bring obstacles, but things will turn out okay." Henry said joining the three on the couch.
After another hour of questioning and positive answering, Allison and Tom decided it was time.
"So, are you ready to meet her?" Allison nervously asked.
Henry and Linda smiled immediately.
"Yes, we are Miss Allison." The latter said.
. . .
Zephrina was on her bed drawing when her mother came in looking both excited and nervous. She was aware that her parents were looking for something called "a good babysitter" and that Allison was going to get her when it was time to meet her parents' choice. She didn't really have any expectations, as long as she knew that she would be in good hands when her parents weren't around.
Allison joined her daughter on the bed. "Zephrina, your father and I are friends with these people. So, we know that they are very nice."
The fact that Allison and Tom knew these people confused the child, but Zephrina always trusted her parents' judgement, so she believed her.
"Are you ready to meet some new people?"
Zephrina nodded and followed Allison out of the room.
. . .
"So, it would be best if you didn't mention anything about Joey Drew Studios…the building, experiences, and above all, Joey himself." Tom said while waiting for his wife and daughter.
Henry completely understood why Tom would request something like this. He remembered when Allison came into the picture, Tom was so protective over her to where he seemed possessive, even though there was literally only one thing in the entire studio that was a threat to her life. So, it made sense that him and Allison would want to keep their daughter in the dark.
"Of course, Tom. We won't say anything." Henry truthfully said.
The repairman nodded in gratitude, knowing that his request will be accepted.
Soon, they heard Allison's voice.
"Zephrina's here and she's ready to meet you."
I hope you enjoyed it!
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