Chapter 3
The mind is a powerful thing, it receives our reality and allows us to exist, in concert with other minds. It is a tool of sorts and, in the hands of an artist, a craftsman, it can shape lives into a harmonious symphony. In the hands of evil or insanity it can be used to create chaos and misery.
I had suspected that Chris was using some sort of behavior modification techniques
But I could not think of anything I had ever read about in modern medicine that could deliver the kind of quick, consistent, results that Kim was experiencing.
Her attitude adjustments have been stellar... her interactions with me, the boys, with Chris, my sister...
What ever Chris was doing was working far beyond anything that I had ever expected.
I was interested, to say the least, curious to know, anxious about knowing... unsure if I was making a good choice by interfering... maybe I should just let things progress and stay out of the way. And yet... Chris seem non-pulsed about my concerns, or that I had questions... she even encouraged me to ask and, rather than hide or avoid, she offered to let me in, include me in what was going on and how it all worked. I was encouraged that Chris was as concerned as I was about Kim's reluctance and resistance to resolving the split she had created in her relationship with me.
Freeway traffic was unexpectedly light for a Friday, so I was home earlier than normal.
Kim's car was gone, but my sister's was here.
I walked into the house, not knowing what to expect. I found no kids, no Kim and the door to Chris' bedroom closed. What I heard was the breast pump running... (yeah... it's not weird that I know that sound. Kim has been using it at least twice a day since she got it.)
So... is Kim home and expressing milk and there is something wrong with Jeni's car so she took Kim's? Or is Jeni and Chris using the pump during a therapy session? Not my business if they are, but...
Knowing that Chris had arranged for me to sit in on a session with Kim this evening, I was skipping the home repair and renovations today, so the shower was where I headed.
Shower and shaved in under 7 minutes, no Marine Corps record, but even though boot camp was years away, the lessons still maintained value. A towel around my waist, I opened the door at the same time Jeni walked out of her session. Her double take upon seeing me with just a towel, all but shook her tits right out of the halter top she was wearing.
"Hey Jeff... what a treat! Hey Chris... have you ever seen my brother naked before?" she darted her hands out to grab the towel, but I saw her coming a mile off. I deflected her arms away and spun her as she came forward, so she ended up with her back to my chest and our arms across her chest. She, playful still, bumped me with her butt, trying to wiggle out, but when her ass hit my thigh and our arms dragged across her tits, she exclaimed, "Owowowow!!! Shit! Ouch!"
I let her go, she jumped away from me, one hand going to her tits the other to the crack of her ass.
Chris's stepped out of the door at the same time, Jeni stumbling into her.
Jeni laughed as she rubbed first one nipple, then the other, leaving them swollen and poking out, while also holding her other hand on her but crack.
"I forgot for a moment how tender I was. Kim's little nipple torture machine is awesome but leaves you sore for a bit after..."
"What in the hell are you wearing in your pants Jeni?"
Her yoga pants did not hide much more than her halter top did, and when she turned her hips toward me and stuck her butt out saying, "A new "ass"sesory, yeh wanna see?" Her thumbs hooked into the waist band and, I have no doubt that she would have, in the next instant, pulled them down over the curve of her ass, but was stopped by a well placed palm cracking smartly on her butt cheek.
"Behave yourself Jeni!" Chris was firm, but not loud... "You go too far sometimes."
Instantly cowed, Jeni sheepishly apologized to me and then to Chris, then ran, embarrassed to the other room.
"Don't you leave yet!"
Jeni stopped where she stood and waited.
"Wow... she never obeyed mom like that... not ever."
I looked at Chris who just gave me a look that was a cross between a smile and a grimace... "Come see me when you are done getting clean clothes."
Chris took Jeni, in much the same way as she had Kim, hands on each side of her face, forehead to forehead, nose to nose. Jeni had tears on her cheeks, but was nodding her head yes and smiling after Chris first spoke to her.
I went and got dressed.
Chris was sitting at the table, two drinks, a glass of wine and a glass of ice water waiting. I came and sat down and took a sip of my water.
"Jeni gonna be okay?" I asked
"She is impetuous to be sure, and loves her little brother to pieces... we are still working on setting boundaries... sometimes, as repressed feeling are freed up to be expressed instead of tamped down and repressed, we have trouble establishing more realistic societal boundaries. She is a work in progress."
"Aren't we all.."
"The same person that gave you such a large portion of nice, also gave you an overflowing helping of wisdom and empathy, to go along with your health, strength and uncommon rugged good looks."
"Flattery?"
"Truth... and maybe a bit of flattery... they don't have to be mutually exclusive... Okay... Kim should be home soon. She went to drop off a bunch of frozen milk pouches and sit in on one of the smaller support group meetings. Your mom has the kids this afternoon. She 'sacrificed' her session today for Jeni, so your mom will be over tomorrow morning. The boys will be staying over night with them so Kim's session can be free of parental interruptions."
"So... how does this work? You can make me invisible? What... do I hide under a blanket?"
"No... no secret formula to drink... no long lasting dangerous side affects. I have been working suggestions into Kim's sessions that you can not cross the threshold of my room. She was afraid that you would get impatient and barge in demanding answers or compliance or threatening to kick me out. She was even so worked up one night that she swore you were sitting in the corner. So, building on that, I am confident that you can sit in the corner, and, as long as you do not move and do not interact at all, I can convince her that you are not there. You just have to act like you are a part of the wall."
"So... what you are telling me is that all of this progress is simply 'the power of suggestion'? What are you, some sort of side show hypnotist? Is that the big trick? Is that why..."
"I understand your reaction Jeff. But let me assure you, this is not a trick... it's not a show or deception. No one has their choice taken away, no one is controlled or manipulated... as I said with your sister... what I work on is opening closed doors. Unlocking locked thoughts and feeling, allowing things hidden to be seen in the light.
So much of what we suppress is done out of fear. Fear of reprisal if we don't act right. Fear of rejection, as with Kim... Fear of loss of control. She has dealt with that for years, so we are working on setting personal boundaries with Kim as well as your sister and your mom. Everyone that is new to freedom has to figure out the difference between freedom and license... the reasons why just because I can, does not mean I should... when I should and when it is not appropriate... these are new lines we have to draw for ourselves.
I can't put anyone in a trance and tell them to go do something that they don't want to do... I can help them go through their emotional baggage and unlock the suitcases full of crap... see what still needs to be kept under lock and key, and what can be stripped of fear and be let out to play. Some things, like a real desire to hurt or kill... those things need to be locked up... but then we work on how to stay sane with that locked away.
