Shameless (The Therapist #2), стр. 18
“Liam,” the man says, cutting off my thoughts, which I should thank him for. “Liam Gardner. And you are?”
“Tessa Milton,” I answer, and the two of us shake hands. His is twice the size of mine and wraps around my dainty little hand like a warm blanket.
“It’s nice to meet you, Tessa,” Liam says with a megawatt smile. “You here blowing off steam, too?”
“Yeah, I most definitely am,” I tell him with a half-hearted smile of my own.
“Yeah, me too. You know, when you’re born, they should print out a memo that tells you how annoying your parents will be when you get older so you can be prepared.”
I giggle. “Right? Yeah, that would be helpful. I wish someone would’ve told me how crazy my mother would be. Probably could’ve saved me years of therapy.”
“I hear you. Cheers to that,” Liam says, raising his glass and tilting it towards me for a toast. I have to react fast and raise my glass to meet his. “My father is a lawyer, and I’m a paralegal. I’m sure you can imagine how disappointed he is.”
“Ah, I see. Dad wants you to take the bar and be like him,” I state.
“Exactly, and no matter how good I am at my job, it’s never good enough for him. Even if he wins case after case because of my legal work, it means nothing. I’ll never be good enough until I’m doing what he’s doing. To him, I’m nothing if I don't take the bar exam. He’s getting ready to retire and wants me to take over his firm. Maybe I’d want to do it if he wasn’t so pushy about it, you know? But if I chose to do it, I’d want it to be on my terms. I’m done doing shit because he wants me to. At some point, parents have to realize that their kids have lives of their own, and at some point, kids have to say, ‘Fuck what my parents think.’ You know?”
As surprised as I am about how Liam, a complete stranger, just opened up to me about his personal business, I can’t help but relate. If only I’d been given a manual on how to deal with my mother and her expectations, maybe I wouldn’t feel like such a disappointment to her all the time. If only life was that easy.
“Unfortunately, I know exactly what you mean,” I say to Liam as I finish off my first drink and slide the one he bought in front of me. “I’m having to deal with my mother in the same way right now, that’s what I’m drinking to. I guess I never got to the point in my life where I could tell my parents, ‘Fuck you.’ I think, maybe, I’m finally getting there.”
“Better late than never,” Liam says. “The hardest part of it for me is accepting that making my own decisions and living my life the way I want is something I have to do for me. I also have to learn to be okay with pissing my father off. As kids, we never want to disappoint our parents, but when you're an adult and miserable because you’re still trying not to disappoint them, that’s when you know it’s time for a change. It’s hard, but we have to accept that they don’t have to like what we do, they just have to respect us, and if they can't respect us for making our own decisions, it’s okay to love them from a distance. In my case, loving him from a distance just might be my only option.”
Liam knocks back the rest of his drink and places the glass back on the soaked napkin with a thud. I can tell that whatever he has been through has him emotional, and he just wanted to blunt the pain with a quick drink. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have a Missy to clear his cloudy skies.
“Well, I’ve rambled to a stranger enough for one night,” Liam says as he stands up and drops a few dollars on the counter to tip the bartender. “It was nice talking to you, Tessa Milton. Thanks for letting me vent.”
“It was nice talking to you as well,” I reply, doing my best to smile through the emotion our conversation conjured up. “I hope everything works out for you.”
“Thanks. I think it will,” Liam states. He stands up straight and smiles. “I don’t know the ins and outs of your situation with your mother, but it sounds sort of similar to mine. Don’t forget that it’s your life. She doesn’t have to like what you do, but she should still respect you. If she can't, you’ll know what you have to do. Your happiness is always the most important thing. Have a good night, Tessa. Hopefully, I’ll see you here again some time.”
“I hope so. That’d be nice,” I reply, just before Liam turns on his heel and walks out of the restaurant.
Once Liam is gone, my mind starts to run wild with thoughts. Between my therapy session with Dr. Colson, and now my conversations with Missy and Liam, I feel more motivated than ever. Maybe Brandon dumping me wasn’t such a bad thing after all. Maybe it’s the start of an important part of my life. The way I’m feeling right now, the next steps in my life might not be anything my mother can appreciate. But, maybe that’s okay. My happiness is the most important thing.
“So, how’d it go?” Missy asks from behind me as she reaches her seat and sits back down. “I may have watched you two from across the room. So, did you get his number? You guys having sex later on tonight?”
“Geez, Missy. You’re wild tonight,” I