"Don't tell me you think you're ugly?" Beca asked, shocked. Chloe looked at her again, and the blush on her face became even more noticeable.

"I don't know."

"I thought you were pretty confident about all that."

"I was joking, Beca."

"Well, we've gone out once. I've never seen so many men looking at the same time."

"You're exaggerating."

"Am I? CR couldn't stop talking about you, Jesse too. They were actually pissing me off."

"Seriously?"

"Of course. Didn't you notice anything that night? CR was all over you."

"I didn't notice anything." in fact, the doctor looked surprised.

"Seriously? What did you talk about when you went for a smoke? asked Beca, getting up from her chair with her arms folded across her chest.

"Nothing special."

"Are you sure? Tell me the conversation, I'll tell you if it was special or not."

"She told me that I didn't look like a smoker, that my hair smelled good and that I dressed very well."

"What's the question then?" Beca inquired as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What question?" Chloe looked confused.

"Did she say anything about your eyes? Something like 'oh, you're eyes are really nice, I've never seen anything like them before'. Dunno, something like this."

"Yes."

"I'm sorry you went through that. She thinks she can seduce anyone."

"But she's cute and very interesting. It's good she has all that self esteem."

"Please, let's change the subject."

"You brought the subject up."

"I didn't want those details, Doc. I just wanted the overall picture of things. I don't want to picture CR flirting with you. What a disgusting image."

"So you think I'm not good enough for her?" Chloe asked with a hurt look.

"No, not at all. You're too good for her."

"Too good?"

"Yes, Doc, she wouldn't even know what to do with you."

"Are we talking about sex?"

"Okay, I'm leaving, it was great to relive my teenage years and all my heartbreaks. In about six months I'll show up here again, right after I deal with this trauma."

"I just wanted to know what you were referring to. It sounded like you were talking about sex."

"Would you stop saying ... that?"

"What? Sex?"

"Dude!"

"Do you have a problem with s- that word?"

"No, but it's weird."

"I think it's perfectly natural. Don't you talk openly about it?"

"Of course not! It's an intimate thing. And I'm not talking about you and CR doing it. It creeps me out. It gives me a vomit goosebump."

"A what?"

"You know that shiver, a goosebump you feel right before you throw up? That's it, that's what I call it."

"Were you imagining me having sex with CR?"

"I swear I'll throw up all over your office." Beca threatened, looking around the room.

"You didn't answer me."

"Of course it's disgusting to think about CR having sex."

"About CR?" Chloe asked curiously.

"Yeah, I have known her for a long time. Don't tell me you like to imagine your friends having sex. That's fuc- that's weird, doc. CR doesn't have sex for all I care about."

"I'm sorry for the image. I won't talk about it again."

"Thank you from the bottom of my heart." said Beca, clasping her hands to her chest dramatically. She sat down again and took a deep breath before looking at the psychologist. Chloe looked thoughtful as she smoothed her skirt. She took a deep breath and smiled.

"I think we're done for the day. I've made you feel happy, sad, and finally very nauseous, it seems."

"Yeah, you're worse than a roller coaster."

"It's good to know that I'm beginning to understand your analogies better."

"I'm training your social skills, huh?"

"I guess."

"One day you'll tell me all about your love life." Beca assured her.

"It would be very unethical to do so."

"No one needs to know."

"Still, I doubt you can make me talk about it."

"Is it that dark?"

"No, but I don't want you to forget that I'm the psychologist."

"Of course I won't forget it, Doc," Beca stated, emphasizing the last word.

"Well, I guess we're done or do you want to talk about anything else?"

"It depends, if you have pills for nausea, I can stay a little longer."

"Sorry, I don't."

"I'm leaving, then. Was I your last appointment for the day?"

"You're always my last appointment. But it's not a problem, I always go home in a good mood due to your moments of brilliance."

"Oh, you're spoiling me, Doc. I'm leaving then, my cat needs food otherwise he'll kill me while I sleep and it will take a while for my dad to find my corpse."

"You're a drama queen."

"You don't know what Marty looks like when he's hungry. He becomes a freakin' lion. And what do you do when you get home, besides feeding your dog?"

"It depends. Sometimes I go home, have dinner and a glass of wine while I watch a documentary or a movie."

"Drink a glass of wine? Let me guess, it has to be a good wine, doesn't it?"

"Of course. Beca, before you leave, I just want to make some things clear."

"Tell me, doc."

"I don't really want you to stop thinking of me as your psychologist. I am afraid that if you do, I won't be able to help you. Not that I have no interest in being your friend, but I'm very afraid of losing the psychologist / patient relationship with you. Don't get me wrong, I just don't want you to start thinking I can't help you."

"Since you're starting to understand my analogies, let me make one. My dad used to play football and he knew a lot of people. Referees, players from other teams. But when they entered the field, they all knew their roles. When I meet someone, it takes me a long time to lower my walls. Except for rare cases when I feel an immediate connection and I soon start talking a lot and saying silly things. It was your case. But I don't forget you're my psychologist and I still look at you knowing that you can help me. Don't worry about it. I can separate the waters. Call me the modern Moses."

"I don't want you to get upset with me or to think I don't like your personality or your jokes, I really like them. That's why I'm worried."

"I take you seriously. You always get what I say. Go home, have dinner, drink your glass of wine, and watch anything on television less annoying than a documentary."

"Do you think documentaries are boring?"

"The ones you see? I'm pretty sure they are."

"What kind of documentaries do you think I watch?"

"Dunno, something about psychology or science. Or the Discovery Channel. The kind of programs we see when we don't where we put the tv remote. Did I get it right?"

"Some, yes.

"Okay then, go home. Everything is very clear and you aren't losing your authority or breaking your ethics. I swear." Beca said, clapping her right hand to her chest as if she were making a solemn oath.

"Drama queen, again."

"Oh, you haven't seen the worst yet. Good evening, Doc.

"Goodbye, Beca." Chloe said with a smile. She stared at the door for a while. She packed her notebook, looked around the office, turned off the light, and left. She walked for a few minutes until she reached her car. As she drove, she couldn't stop thinking about Beca's words. In fact, it was good for her not to worry so much from time to time. After all, the girl was pragmatic and discerning. She would certainly remember that at the end of the day she was the patient and Chloe was the psychologist. When Chloe got home, she fed her dog and took a plastic container out of the fridge to immediately put it in the microwave. While the food was heating, she took off her high-heels, tied her hair in a ponytail, and put on a pair of sweatpants. Instead of dining at the kitchen table while reading some psychology article, she turned on the tv and sat down with the food tray resting on her lap. She grabbed the remote and stared at it as if she had never seen anything like that before. She closed her eyes and pressed a random number on the remote. When she looked at the tv, there was a romcom on. She remembered Beca and smiled. Dinner tasted better and she didn't feel so alone in her apartment.

As she opened the door to her apartment, Beca bumped into Marty, who was standing on two legs, begging for a treat.

"You're fuckin' clingy dude. I gotta find you a Jennifer." Beca sneered as she played with the cat. Marty began to purr. When he got tired, he went to the bowl of food.

"I know, you're just using me to get food. I'll give you some tuna just because I'm feeling very happy today." The cat kept staring at her and only moved when he saw Beca picking up a can of tuna and pouring it into his bowl of food. He started to eat as if the world was ending and that was his last meal. Beca laughed and went to heat up her own dinner. She sat down with the plate between her and the computer. She sent some more resumes, checked her email, and browsed through facebook. She had a new message and she was really suprised to see it was a message from Charlie. She gaped at the thought of how small the probability of it happening on the very same day she told Chloe their story.

"Hello Beca,

I know I haven't said anything since I thanked you for sending me those old photos. I don't know why but today I wanted to tell you some things, especially because you helped me when I asked you for help and if you hadn't, maybe none of this would happen. I wanted you to know that I'm going to fulfill a dream. I'm going to be a dad. Alice told me about it today and I'm so happy that I almost feel the need to share this with everyone.

You helped me a lot when you made me think about the relationship I have with her and how, sometimes, you have to know how to give people a second chance. We've been okay, we hardly fight and she even mentioned that we should get married. I know it may seem weird that I'm telling all this to my ex-girlfriend, but first of all you were my friend and after all, you knew how to still be my friend when I needed one."

It seems like we lived a lifetime in a few years. And it's very difficult to completely erase this, no matter how much I've tried. It's almost as if I stored everything in different files and sometimes I just I blow the dust off and I'm browsing through everything. I skip a lot of things because if I think about them a lot, it still hurts me. Maybe you feel the same way. But I grew up with you, just as I imagine you grew up with me.

Anyway, I sincerely hope that everything is fine with you and that you are fulfilling your dreams too. And I hope everything is fine with your family. Send them my greetings.

All the best for you.

Charlie"

Beca reread the message several times. Her ex-boyfriend was going to be a dad. She remembered her talk with Chloe and began to wonder if she was happy with the news. She was. For the first time in a long time she began to think that maybe she hadn't lost the love of her life. She lost only one love. A very important love, but only one. And even if he was the love of her life? How many people are lucky enough to have that for the rest of their lives? Not many.

She replied to the message and closed the facebook window. Then she looked at her phone and hesitated. She looked at her watch; it wasn't that late. She picked up the phone and started a new text:

"To Dr. Beale: I know you gave me your number for emergencies, but I wanted to tell you about what just happened to me. Call it destiny or coincidence, whatever. Today we talked about my love life. You may not believe this, but Charlie sent me a message saying he's going to be a dad. Weird, isn't it? It seems like sometimes you just need to mention someone to bring that person back into your life. I mean, kinda. I thought you might find this interesting. I hope I haven't interrupted any of your annoying documentaries."

She put down her phone, thinking of many things at once. A few minutes later, as she was getting ready to go to sleep, she heard her phone ringing and picked it up.

"From Dr. Beale: In fact, it is a very curious thing. Did it make you feel anxious? I imagine it can't be easy to see someone with whom you've planed so many things to move on with another person. Especially with a kid. P.s. Do not worry, I was watching a romantic comedy and I must say I'm very entertained."

Beca laughed at the final part of the text but when she reread Chloe's words, it almost felt as if the doctor knew exactly what it meant to plan a life with someone and see everything suddenly vanish. She was really curious. There was something else there, something about the psychologist's own love affairs.

"To Dr. Beale: Do you want to talk about it now or do you want to leave it for the next appointment? Maybe you have something to tell me about planning things with someone. But don't worry, I'm fine. I just thought it was such a coincidence that I had to share it with you. P.s. I'm surprised. Looks like you found the remote today."

"From Dr. Beale: We can talk about this at the next appointment. I'm not used to texting and I'm not using our appointments to talk about me. I just wanted to know how you were feeling. I have nothing to tell you, don't forget what I told you earlier."

"Okay, you're changing the subject," Beca said out loud. "But I have warned you that I'm stubborn, Doc."

"To Dr. Beale: I was anxious, yes. Because I think you have something going on and you don't want to tell me about it because you're afraid of losing your authority. My analogy didn't work. I am deeply disappointed in myself."

"From Dr. Beale: I understood your analogy and I was slightly more rested, but I'm still worried. I can't help it."

"To Dr. Beale: I'm starting to think you don't want to be my friend."

"From Dr. Beale: On the contrary, and the problem is exactly that. What if we become friends? I can't go on being your psychologist."

"To Dr. Beale: If we become friends, I will have someone who is not only my friend, but who can help me with my problem because she is also a psychologist. It's not like I'm paying or anything."

"From Dr. Beale: Yes, on one hand you're right. I don't know what to think, honestly. This never happened to me. I already told you that I'm socially awkward."

"To Dr. Beale: You're watching a romcom, you changed your routine today. You have to relax a little more. But, if you want to make things more formal..."

"From Dr. Beale: What do you mean, Beca?"

"To Dr. Beale: Will you be my friend? (imagine you're in elementary school again and I've just given you a note with two squares on it. One has the word "yes" and the other one has the word "no".)"

"From Dr. Beale: Is there a third square with the word "maybe" on it?"

"To Dr. Beale: It would be funny. But no, this is as linear as possible. Yes or no? And you can't answer me later."

"From Dr. Beale: Your imagination sure runs wild. Yes, I want to be your friend."

"To Dr. Beale: Really? Are you serious about it?"

"From Dr. Beale: I am Beca."

"To Chloe: Thank God we're not facetiming each other. Nobody should see the dance moves I've just done. Do you have many appointments tomorrow?"

"From Chloe: No, my last appointment ends at 5:30 p.m."

"To Chloe: We could have dinner together."

"From Chloe: I can't say no, right?"

"To Chloe: You already know me so well."

"From Chloe: Okay, so be it. Will you meet at my office?"

"To Chloe: We have a deal. I'll see you tomorrow, Chloe."

"From Chloe: Good night, Beca."

As she put down her phone on her bedside table, Beca felt really happy, as if she had just won a gold medal at the Olympics. She did another little dance to the sound of some imaginary song. After brushing her teeth and fixing her hair, she layed in her bed with a big smile, not even thinking about the message Charlie had sent her. And that meant a lot.

I really have to tell you something. I've been writing everything in portuguese. I'm doing it because that way I'm not thinking about the right words to use, if it's too formal... It comes naturally to me because it's my native language. It was really hard for me to translate this chapter. I had to change many things because I need to remind myself that a lot of things are different in the US. And when I'm writing in portuguese I don't think about it. I never thought I would find it easier to translate cientific things instead of my own writing. It's plain weird.

Thanks again to everyone who's following the story and to everyone who left a review.