We were both filling out clipboards in the stupid bright office. Jesus, why did the office have to be so bright and cheerful? We had taken a few hours from our day at the office to visit the local office of 'From Head to Toe' which was like a 10 minute walk from our apartment. It was on a really nice street with a few boutiques and the place was nice, minimal, and way too fucking bright.

"Is this being filmed in High def or something?" I asked her.

"Just shut up and fill out the forms. I'm sure they'll address whatever minute imperfections you might have."

She looked me up and down.

"Hey, I hope you know what you've signed up for. I wonder who is going to make the bigger sacrifice? I asked rhetorically.

"ME" we both said simultaneously.

We both kind of laughed and shook our heads. Maybe it was her that was going to make the sacrifice... nope, it was me. Definitely me and I looked down at my feet. They looked fine. I had on some nice white sneakers that I spent some decent money on. My girlfriend was wearing some clean converses and looked pretty casual with some baggy jeans showing that she didn't put in too much time into her appearance.

Luckily, the office (studio) was right near some cool coffee shops, a good mixology place, and some decent kind of cool bookshop/music places that looked like they could be fun to go to afterwards.

"Molly and JP? You can follow me."

I finished signing the information and I grabbed my coffee and followed my girlfriend down the hall. Along the hallway, there were different rooms that professionals were entering and exiting. I peaked in and couldn't see anything too interesting. It was clinical, but warm. The walls were painted in a funky blue color and the trim was white and everyone looked great. We stood out like weirdos.

The receptionist pointed us into the Oasis room. We walked in and she shut the door behind us. Thankfully the lights were dim and the room was as nice. Real nice.

There were three chairs, two on one side probably one for my girlfriend and one for me... and then one for Dr. Cooper. There was a a desk and an arc floor lamp that illuminated the areas above the chairs. On the walls were boring modern art pieces, but at least they tried I said.

We plodded over to the chairs and plopped down in a comfortable thud.

"How long you think we'll have to wait" I asked after a few seconds.

My girlfriend brought out her phone and just started looking at stupid TikToks. Flipping through and ignoring me.

"Hey," I said tapping her foot with mine. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," she whispered angrily. "Just regretting this whole thing!"

"Same here... let's get out of here before we do someth-" I swallowed my sentence when Dr. Cooper arrived right as I stood up to leave.

She smiled and held out clipboards in her hand and said "please don't stand up! It's so nice to meet you both," she said as she grasped my girlfriend's hands first with both hands and they shared a warm smile and then she said "It's so nice to meet you, too, James."

"It's JP," I said. "James Pierce."

"Nice name," Dr. Cooper said. "Strong."

"Yeah, well my parents named me after Henry James and I'm actually related to one of the founders of a company that has its foundation actually -"

"Nobody cares," my girlfriend said. "Nobody cares."

Dr. Cooper smiled and breathed a deep breath and sat down facing both of us. My girlfriend put away her TikTok.

She looked at us both and breathed again.

"Okay," Dr. Cooper said. "First of all, some good introductions. You've read over the literature and everything but you are in good hands. You are on the road to better people to a healed relationship."

"Or our money back?" I said with disdain.

"If I could legally promise to return your money if you're not happy with the results, I would."

"Of course," I said with a closed mouth grin.

She gave us her credentials and we walked about what brought us here. We talked for about 45 minutes and just talked about the process and reviewed the timelines. It all sounded fine and some parts I just had to mentally block out and just focus on the next five minutes. There was something scary about the whole thing that I just had to get out of my mind. like a bandaid. Like a bandaid. It'll be quick like a bandaid. It'll hurt at first and then it'll be over. And then the healing can begin. And who knows... maybe we'll figure it out. Maybe we'll work it out. Maybe we'll do it for Madeline.

"It's like going to the dentist!" Dr. Cooper smiled. "Nobody likes it at first, but then you realize you're a better person, a healthier person, and you'll recommend it to people who need it."

"Want to get started?"

NOPE