My little sister, Cassie, is eight years younger than I am. Cassie and I have always been close, even considering the age spread between us, so when she became depressed during the summer and didn't seem to break out of it, I was very concerned. Having amassed a considerable amount of unused sick time, personal time and vacation time, and, no longer being able to bear hearing her cry over the phone, I made the decision to go visit her. To say Cassie was happy about me coming would be an understatement, and she promised to have her spare bedroom ready for me and would even stock up on my favorite beer and wine.
Cassie had suffered through a horrible office romance which became public and vicious in the most horrific way. The man involved was a senior executive, and even though he was the one that initially came on to her, she was portrayed as an opportunist, man-stealer trying to seduce a happily married, and very powerful business man. She was immediately professionally humiliated, fired with no severance and effectively blacklisted at most of the agencies in town.
The bottom line was that Cassie needed my help -- someone's help - so I dropped everything and got on the plane to go see her. The first night I was there, she cuddled up with her head in my lap and I held her while she recounted the lurid details of her office affair and basically cried herself to sleep in my arms. I'd never seen my sister like this, and I knew I'd done the right thing by coming to see her.
Several weeks earlier, Cassie started seeing a therapist to help her get her life back on track. At first, I was skeptical that therapy would help, but, Cassie spoke so highly of Dr. Charm, and told me she trusted and identified with this woman, so I held my tongue. And, in a way, I was very happy to learn that Cassie wanted me to go with her to see the therapist the day after I arrived for my visit. Hopefully, I'd be able to assess the situation myself and find out if the therapist was helping Cassie, or not.
And so, I sat in the tiny waiting area at Dr. Brenda Charm's office for about thirty minutes before the doctor's door opened and she walked out and introduced herself. Immediately, my first impression was that I liked the woman, too. She had an unassuming smile on her face and her tone and demeanor was very warm and friendly. As she invited me in and closed the door behind her, she gestured to a small couch and invited me to sit next to Cassie.
Cassie's eyes were red, and there was a box of tissues on the table in front of her. My sister had obviously been upset and crying, and, as I sat next to Cassie, I put my arms around her and asked her if she was okay.
"Robert......," the doctor said, "or I guess its Rob, right?"
"Rob is fine." I answered, looking over at Cassie, who nodded her head and dabbed the tissue to her eyes.
"Cassie has give me permission to talk with you about what's going on in her life," the doctor began, "and if it's okay with you, I'm going to ask Cassie to step out for a few minutes so we can talk. Would that be okay with you?"
"Of course." I replied.
I watched as Dr. Charms stood and stretched her hand out to Cassie and then walked with her to the door. Stopping for a moment to whisper something into my sister's ear, she patted Cassie on the back, and then let my sister out. Turning back to me, she smiled and then returned to sit in an armchair across from me, crossed her legs primly and politely laid her hands in her lap and said, "It's nice you care about your sister so much that you came out to be with her for a while. She really appreciates what you're doing."
"It's not a problem for me at all." I replied. "I'd just like to see her get back to the old Cassie again."
"Well," the doctor said, "I think you can play a big part in making that happen, Rob. If you two are as close as she says you are, then I'm sure of it."
"At this point, I'm willing to do just about anything." I said. "It breaks my heart to see her cry and moping around like she's been doing."
"The situation is complicated, Rob," the doctor said, "and from what I gather, Cassie hasn't been completely forthcoming with you about her depression. But, before we talk much further, I need to tell you that you're probably going to be shocked at what you're going to hear from me today. You need to prepare yourself for that, and, if you're serious about helping your sister get back on her old self, you're going to need an open mind and accept some things as the way they are."
Although I heard her words, I had no idea what she was talking about. Doctor Charms could see I didn't understand what she was eluding to, and told me not to worry about it right this instant, saying, "For now, you need to accept the fact that you're going to be shocked, and, accept the fact that you can't change certain aspects of your sister's life. Can you do that?"
"A few moments ago I told you I'd be willing to do anything to help." I reminded the good doctor. "Shocked or not, Cassie is my sister and I love her. Whatever she needs...... whatever will help..... regardless of what it is, you can count on me. I'm your man."
Doctor Charms leaned back in her chair and smiled at me. "Very well then, Rob." The doctor replied. "I'm sure you're curiosity has been peaked now, so we might as well get the shocking part out of the way, so let's start there."
I nodded my head and tried to mentally prepare myself for whatever she was going to say. The doctor's attitude turned uncomfortable for a moment and she started to speak, and then she suddenly stopped. After a moment, she looked up at me and simply said, "Rob, your sister is what we call a compulsory exhibitionist."
I sat there for a minute trying to assimilate what she said, and when I didn't react or say anything, she added, "That means she can only achieve sexual gratification by exposing herself."
"I know what an exhibitionist is." I mumbled. "I've never heard of a compulsory exhibitionist, but, what makes you think that anyway? I thought it was the office affair that tore her life apart. " I asked.
"Rob, you might find it hard to believe, but Cassie admitted this to me herself," the doctor replied, "and we've spoken about it in great detail during her sessions. And I can assure you, it's definitely true. For Cassie, exposing herself is a very necessary part of what's normal for her, and with very minor exceptions, she can't achieve any type of sexual release unless it's associated with being exposed in some way."
The doctor explained that in years past, Cassie had been ashamed of her body -- specifically the size of her breasts, her puffy nipples and the way her genitals looked. "This feeling was intensified when a boyfriend she cared very much about broke up with her and told her it was because she was flat chested and had, what he described as a 'Small Dick' instead of a normal size clitoris." The doctor told me.
As the doctor continued to explain, she told me Cassie eventually met the man at work and he started flirting with her regularly. "He'd make suggestive comments," Doctor Charms told me, "even suggesting he could help her career if she went out with him. She resisted it for a while, and then one day he invited her out for drinks after work and she accepted."
"That evening," the doctor told me, "she caught him looking down her blouse and it excited her. As the night drew on, she unbuttoned her top button, and then another -- and then another until by the end of the night, her blouse was hanging unfastened and he was openly staring at her chest."
