"So we're clear on this," my coworker stated before either of us looked at the menus, "It's my treat this time. That's what we agreed to last week, so I don't want you trying to fight me over the bill today."
I couldn't help smiling, "I know Emma, I haven't forgotten. And next time around it'll be my treat again."
She smiled back, "That works. So does that mean this is going to become a weekly tradition?"
"Maybe?" I shrugged as I finally had a look at my menu. "I certainly wouldn't complain."
She chuckled a bit before her smile faded. "Is this going to be another serious discussion? Should I just go ahead and order us a bottle of wine right off the bat?"
I grimaced as I looked up at her again, "I'll never turn down wine. As for the conversation, I don't have anything to say that's as heavy or as shocking as I did last week."
"But you do have something to say," she pointed out. "The full moon was Friday night, or Saturday morning. You had a huge decision to make, and I'm dying to find out what happened."
Before I could respond she added, "And I know something definitely happened Theresa. You've obviously changed. Rosa and Bev noticed it too, you're taller than you were last week."
That made me smile, although my cheeks coloured slightly as well. I nodded, "You're right. So let's go ahead and order some wine along with our lunch. Then I'll tell you all about it."
With that decision out of the way it didn't take either of us long to make our selections for lunch. The waiter took our orders then headed off, and within a minute or two we were sipping our wine as we awaited our food. And that's when the conversation started in earnest.
"So what happened?" Emma asked. "I'm guessing you took Amy up on her offer?"
I nodded, "I did. She and I had a long conversation last Wednesday evening, after you and I talked over lunch that day? That left me with two full days to think it over, two nights to sleep on it. Then Friday evening when I got home from work I made the decision."
She asked quietly, "So you're immortal now? Is that why you got taller?"
"Except she's immortal too, and last time I saw her she was the opposite of tall," she added with a smirk.
"Amy's still a shortie," I replied with a grin. That shifted to a bit of a blush as I admitted, "I asked her to make me a bit taller again. My original height was five-foot-six, then last summer she made me five-eight? Now I'm five-ten."
Emma's eyebrows crept up as she asked, "I guess you must really like being tall?"
My blush got a bit brighter as I nodded, "I do. But more than that, I uh, like the height difference between us. So does Amy."
"Ah," my coworker gave me a knowing look. "So the growth spurt isn't really part of the immortality, that was just a bonus to spice things up for you and your girlfriend."
I nodded, then had another sip of my wine before continuing with my story. I didn't get very far though, as soon as I told her about the brief visit to Amethyst's heavenly realm Emma interrupted me with more questions.
"You visited heaven?!" she gasped in surprise. "That's incredible! So there really is a heaven then? Does that mean there's also a hell? What was heaven like?"
That left me cringing a bit, and I had another sip of wine before finally answering. "First off it was Amethyst's heavenly realm, not generic 'heaven'. And I only got to see a small part of it? Call it the waiting room or the front entrance or something? It was beautiful though, peaceful and idyllic."
"And I have no idea if hell is a real place," I added with a grimace. "Or maybe there's more than one? I got the impression every god has their own version of heaven, so maybe it's the same thing for demons? Maybe each of them has their own hell."
My coworker shook her head, "Demons don't come from hell. The one I know doesn't even believe it exists. And demons don't have anything to do with any of our biblical legends either, they're not like the demons or devils in pop culture."
That caught me off-guard, "Oh, huh. So where do they come from?"
She replied "They're from right here on Earth, same as us."
"So anyways that's amazing Tess! You've actually been to heaven," she added with another smile. Then she smirked, "That reminds me of an old saying? Everybody wants to get into heaven, but nobody wants to die? Now you've proved that's possible."
I found myself cringing once again as I admitted, "Not exactly..."
Emma stared at me in growing shock as I quietly told her about that minor technical detail. She ended up gulping down the rest of her wine before responding in a half-whisper, "So you actually died? You died and went to heaven, then you were resurrected into an immortal body. Just like your girlfriend."
"More or less," I nodded.
We were both quiet for another couple seconds as she watched me with a thoughtful look on her face. Finally she asked, "Are you still human?"
"Sort of?" I replied.
Before I could relay what Amy told me about the classical hero stuff our waiter returned with our food. Emma had another pasta dish, cheese tortellini in a white cream sauce. And I went with a sandwich again, roast beef au jus with a side of fries.
The timing was very inconvenient though, and I couldn't help worrying that Emma was now thinking of me as a supernatural rather than a human. Which in turn left me wondering if that would make her feel uncomfortable around me.
So as soon as the waiter left us alone I gave her that same explanation my girlfriend told me, to try and reassure her that I was still more human than any of the other options.
"Ok that actually makes sense," she nodded slowly. "And it's a good analogy too, like a hero according to the classical or mythological definition. Still mostly human, but a little closer to the divine than the rest of us."
I shrugged, "I guess? I don't feel any closer to the divine than I did last week. I feel different though? The best way I can think of describing it is more alive."
"Or more awake and more alert?" I added with a frown. "Or just more... Honestly the more I try to define it the harder it is to put into words."
Emma just smiled, "It sounds amazing, even if you can't exactly describe it."
After that the conversation paused again as we both focused on our lunch for a few minutes. The food was acceptable, we were eating in another of those standard North American family-style restaurants. Then wine was ok too, but not something I'd have picked for myself.
When I was about halfway through my sandwich I decided to change the subject slightly. I had some questions for Emma, that came out of my conversations with Amy the previous week.
"I hope this doesn't catch you too off-guard," I said after washing down a bite of my sandwich with some wine. "I was wondering though, how would you feel about taking on some supernatural clients?"
My coworker looked thoughtful as she munched on another tortellini. Then she responded with a question of her own, "Did you have anyone specific in mind? Is this about a referral? Or are you asking more in a general sense?"
I replied, "A bit of both, I suppose? In general terms I guess there's a good chance we could have supernatural clients without ever knowing it? If they look and act human and don't tell us they're not, odds are we'd never figure it out on our own."
Emma looked thoughtful again for another second or two. Then she shrugged, "In that case it's irrelevant, right? If we can't tell that they're supernatural and they don't tell us, it probably has no bearing on therapy."
"I suppose you're right," I agreed. "What if they did tell you though? Would you be ok working with a witch, or a werewolf? Or what about someone obviously different like a catgirl or a kitsune?"
She shrugged again, "I try not to discriminate as it is, but honestly I have no idea how I'd react if someone obviously non-human came to see me about therapy. I'd like to think I'd handle it the same way I would for any other visible minority though."
"Why all the questions Tess?" she added. "Is this hypothetical, or do you expect more supernaturals to start showing up at our office looking for therapy?"
I shook my head and apologized, "Sorry Emma. I didn't mean to make a big deal out of it? I suppose I'm asking for two reasons. I might be mistaken but I got the feeling both Amy and her angel could use some help? And obviously it would be inappropriate and unprofessional for me to take them on as clients. If they asked, I'd like to refer them both to you?"
"The other reason is my young plural client," I added. "She doesn't have any more appointments booked with me at the moment, but if she and Amy are going to be working together then I'll be seeing her a lot more in a social setting. And since you're our resident expert on plurality, I think it would be in her best interest to start seeing you instead."
Emma grimaced slightly, "You told me about that last week. Your young plural patient turned out to be a goddess. That's... I honestly don't know if I'm qualified to handle that."
I smiled, "It's definitely not the sort of thing they taught in any of my psychotherapy classes."
"They didn't really cover that sort of thing in my psychology course either," she responded. "Then again, I have managed to sit down an eight thousand year old demoness and put her in her place on more than one occasion. And I can handle a pair of young demon twins without too much trouble. So perhaps a teenage goddess wouldn't be that hard to wrangle after all?"
There was actually a lot to unpack in that statement, and for a moment I got hung up on the eight thousand year old demon part. It certainly outdid Amy and her three thousand years, by a wide margin. Except that was immediately forgotten as I focused on the next part, about young demon twins. I couldn't help thinking of her twin daughters, and how she still hadn't told me most of the details of her family's encounters with the supernatural. It left me thinking she'd just accidentally let something slip that she didn't mean for me to know.
Rather than put her on the spot though I let it pass. My expression became serious again as I asked, "What do you think Emma? Would you consider taking on my client? We'd probably do the first session together, I'd want to introduce you in person, and maybe we could go over some of her history together."
"Obviously there's some information she's discussed with me that never made it into my case notes," I admitted, while my cheeks coloured. "I know that's bound to get me in trouble with Bev if she ever found out, but..."
My coworker nodded, "I get it Tess. Now that you've pointed it out, I can see that's one area where supernatural clients would have to be handled differently. Unless we talked with Bev first?"
She elaborated, "What I mean is, she already knows you're a cleric right? She's met your girlfriend goddess, and she knows you've performed a miracle. So both she and Rosa are at least aware that the supernatural exists. Maybe that's the next step? You and I could try and explain that the rabbit hole goes a lot deeper, and that if we're working with supernatural clients we need to accurately record that sort of thing in our notes."
I found myself blushing more as I admitted, "I honestly never thought of that? But it's a really good point Emma. Maybe that's the best solution, rather than trying to sneak around and treat non-human clients behind her back."
"Maybe it's something we can bring up at the weekly staff meeting?" she suggested. "I could even initiate the conversation, if you're still worried about broaching supernatural topics with our boss."
"Thanks," I grimaced. "I'd appreciate that."
Emma nodded, "Of course Tess. And as for your client, I think ultimately it has to be her decision? Obviously it's one thing for you to end the professional relationship, but if she doesn't want to start seeing me that's entirely her call. But if you want to make the suggestion, I'm fine with that. And I like the idea of having a joint session, for introductions so she can get to know me while having a familiar face there too."
I smiled, "That sounds perfect. Thanks again Emma."
"My pleasure," she replied, as we both focused on our meal again for a bit.
Rather than finish my wine I ended up ordering some soda, while Emma asked for a coffee. Then after we'd both had enough to eat the two of us continued our conversation. She had a few more questions about my brief time in the afterlife, and about my new life as an immortal.
Once again there wasn't a whole lot I could tell her, about either subject. I hadn't actually tested my lack of mortality yet, and I really wasn't in a hurry to do so either. Not that I didn't trust Amy and her magic, but I couldn't imagine any near-death experience being something fun or amusing.
I hadn't had a chance to experiment with my new magical prowess either. According to my girlfriend I had the potential, but I still needed to actually learn how to do it. Which probably meant more magic lessons in my future. Except instead of the boring wise-woman stuff she tried to teach me over the winter this time it'd be the fun flashy kind of magic, like the stuff I could do thanks to my enchanted engagement ring.
Eventually we had to get back to work, and as agreed I didn't try and protest when Emma paid for our meals. We talked a bit more during the short drive back to the office, about approaching Bev at the next staff meeting about openly working with supernatural clients.
It was a little scary, but also kind of exciting too. And even though I hadn't said anything to Emma about it, I knew if things didn't go well with Beverly there was always another option. It was still early days, but sooner or later I was going to open my own clinic. Then I could handle my clients however I felt was best for them.
"So we're clear on this," my coworker stated before either of us looked at the menus, "It's my treat this time. That's what we agreed to last week, so I don't want you trying to fight me over the bill today."
I couldn't help smiling, "I know Emma, I haven't forgotten. And next time around it'll be my treat again."
She smiled back, "That works. So does that mean this is going to become a weekly tradition?"
"Maybe?" I shrugged as I finally had a look at my menu. "I certainly wouldn't complain."
She chuckled a bit before her smile faded. "Is this going to be another serious discussion? Should I just go ahead and order us a bottle of wine right off the bat?"
I grimaced as I looked up at her again, "I'll never turn down wine. As for the conversation, I don't have anything to say that's as heavy or as shocking as I did last week."
"But you do have something to say," she pointed out. "The full moon was Friday night, or Saturday morning. You had a huge decision to make, and I'm dying to find out what happened."
Before I could respond she added, "And I know something definitely happened Theresa. You've obviously changed. Rosa and Bev noticed it too, you're taller than you were last week."
That made me smile, although my cheeks coloured slightly as well. I nodded, "You're right. So let's go ahead and order some wine along with our lunch. Then I'll tell you all about it."
With that decision out of the way it didn't take either of us long to make our selections for lunch. The waiter took our orders then headed off, and within a minute or two we were sipping our wine as we awaited our food. And that's when the conversation started in earnest.
"So what happened?" Emma asked. "I'm guessing you took Amy up on her offer?"
I nodded, "I did. She and I had a long conversation last Wednesday evening, after you and I talked over lunch that day? That left me with two full days to think it over, two nights to sleep on it. Then Friday evening when I got home from work I made the decision."
She asked quietly, "So you're immortal now? Is that why you got taller?"
"Except she's immortal too, and last time I saw her she was the opposite of tall," she added with a smirk.
"Amy's still a shortie," I replied with a grin. That shifted to a bit of a blush as I admitted, "I asked her to make me a bit taller again. My original height was five-foot-six, then last summer she made me five-eight? Now I'm five-ten."
Emma's eyebrows crept up as she asked, "I guess you must really like being tall?"
My blush got a bit brighter as I nodded, "I do. But more than that, I uh, like the height difference between us. So does Amy."
"Ah," my coworker gave me a knowing look. "So the growth spurt isn't really part of the immortality, that was just a bonus to spice things up for you and your girlfriend."
I nodded, then had another sip of my wine before continuing with my story. I didn't get very far though, as soon as I told her about the brief visit to Amethyst's heavenly realm Emma interrupted me with more questions.
"You visited heaven?!" she gasped in surprise. "That's incredible! So there really is a heaven then? Does that mean there's also a hell? What was heaven like?"
That left me cringing a bit, and I had another sip of wine before finally answering. "First off it was Amethyst's heavenly realm, not generic 'heaven'. And I only got to see a small part of it? Call it the waiting room or the front entrance or something? It was beautiful though, peaceful and idyllic."
"And I have no idea if hell is a real place," I added with a grimace. "Or maybe there's more than one? I got the impression every god has their own version of heaven, so maybe it's the same thing for demons? Maybe each of them has their own hell."
My coworker shook her head, "Demons don't come from hell. The one I know doesn't even believe it exists. And demons don't have anything to do with any of our biblical legends either, they're not like the demons or devils in pop culture."
That caught me off-guard, "Oh, huh. So where do they come from?"
She replied "They're from right here on Earth, same as us."
"So anyways that's amazing Tess! You've actually been to heaven," she added with another smile. Then she smirked, "That reminds me of an old saying? Everybody wants to get into heaven, but nobody wants to die? Now you've proved that's possible."
I found myself cringing once again as I admitted, "Not exactly..."
Emma stared at me in growing shock as I quietly told her about that minor technical detail. She ended up gulping down the rest of her wine before responding in a half-whisper, "So you actually died? You died and went to heaven, then you were resurrected into an immortal body. Just like your girlfriend."
"More or less," I nodded.
We were both quiet for another couple seconds as she watched me with a thoughtful look on her face. Finally she asked, "Are you still human?"
"Sort of?" I replied.
Before I could relay what Amy told me about the classical hero stuff our waiter returned with our food. Emma had another pasta dish, cheese tortellini in a white cream sauce. And I went with a sandwich again, roast beef au jus with a side of fries.
The timing was very inconvenient though, and I couldn't help worrying that Emma was now thinking of me as a supernatural rather than a human. Which in turn left me wondering if that would make her feel uncomfortable around me.
So as soon as the waiter left us alone I gave her that same explanation my girlfriend told me, to try and reassure her that I was still more human than any of the other options.
"Ok that actually makes sense," she nodded slowly. "And it's a good analogy too, like a hero according to the classical or mythological definition. Still mostly human, but a little closer to the divine than the rest of us."
I shrugged, "I guess? I don't feel any closer to the divine than I did last week. I feel different though? The best way I can think of describing it is more alive."
"Or more awake and more alert?" I added with a frown. "Or just more... Honestly the more I try to define it the harder it is to put into words."
Emma just smiled, "It sounds amazing, even if you can't exactly describe it."
After that the conversation paused again as we both focused on our lunch for a few minutes. The food was acceptable, we were eating in another of those standard North American family-style restaurants. Then wine was ok too, but not something I'd have picked for myself.
When I was about halfway through my sandwich I decided to change the subject slightly. I had some questions for Emma, that came out of my conversations with Amy the previous week.
"I hope this doesn't catch you too off-guard," I said after washing down a bite of my sandwich with some wine. "I was wondering though, how would you feel about taking on some supernatural clients?"
My coworker looked thoughtful as she munched on another tortellini. Then she responded with a question of her own, "Did you have anyone specific in mind? Is this about a referral? Or are you asking more in a general sense?"
I replied, "A bit of both, I suppose? In general terms I guess there's a good chance we could have supernatural clients without ever knowing it? If they look and act human and don't tell us they're not, odds are we'd never figure it out on our own."
Emma looked thoughtful again for another second or two. Then she shrugged, "In that case it's irrelevant, right? If we can't tell that they're supernatural and they don't tell us, it probably has no bearing on therapy."
"I suppose you're right," I agreed. "What if they did tell you though? Would you be ok working with a witch, or a werewolf? Or what about someone obviously different like a catgirl or a kitsune?"
She shrugged again, "I try not to discriminate as it is, but honestly I have no idea how I'd react if someone obviously non-human came to see me about therapy. I'd like to think I'd handle it the same way I would for any other visible minority though."
"Why all the questions Tess?" she added. "Is this hypothetical, or do you expect more supernaturals to start showing up at our office looking for therapy?"
I shook my head and apologized, "Sorry Emma. I didn't mean to make a big deal out of it? I suppose I'm asking for two reasons. I might be mistaken but I got the feeling both Amy and her angel could use some help? And obviously it would be inappropriate and unprofessional for me to take them on as clients. If they asked, I'd like to refer them both to you?"
"The other reason is my young plural client," I added. "She doesn't have any more appointments booked with me at the moment, but if she and Amy are going to be working together then I'll be seeing her a lot more in a social setting. And since you're our resident expert on plurality, I think it would be in her best interest to start seeing you instead."
Emma grimaced slightly, "You told me about that last week. Your young plural patient turned out to be a goddess. That's... I honestly don't know if I'm qualified to handle that."
I smiled, "It's definitely not the sort of thing they taught in any of my psychotherapy classes."
"They didn't really cover that sort of thing in my psychology course either," she responded. "Then again, I have managed to sit down an eight thousand year old demoness and put her in her place on more than one occasion. And I can handle a pair of young demon twins without too much trouble. So perhaps a teenage goddess wouldn't be that hard to wrangle after all?"
There was actually a lot to unpack in that statement, and for a moment I got hung up on the eight thousand year old demon part. It certainly outdid Amy and her three thousand years, by a wide margin. Except that was immediately forgotten as I focused on the next part, about young demon twins. I couldn't help thinking of her twin daughters, and how she still hadn't told me most of the details of her family's encounters with the supernatural. It left me thinking she'd just accidentally let something slip that she didn't mean for me to know.
Rather than put her on the spot though I let it pass. My expression became serious again as I asked, "What do you think Emma? Would you consider taking on my client? We'd probably do the first session together, I'd want to introduce you in person, and maybe we could go over some of her history together."
"Obviously there's some information she's discussed with me that never made it into my case notes," I admitted, while my cheeks coloured. "I know that's bound to get me in trouble with Bev if she ever found out, but..."
My coworker nodded, "I get it Tess. Now that you've pointed it out, I can see that's one area where supernatural clients would have to be handled differently. Unless we talked with Bev first?"
She elaborated, "What I mean is, she already knows you're a cleric right? She's met your girlfriend goddess, and she knows you've performed a miracle. So both she and Rosa are at least aware that the supernatural exists. Maybe that's the next step? You and I could try and explain that the rabbit hole goes a lot deeper, and that if we're working with supernatural clients we need to accurately record that sort of thing in our notes."
I found myself blushing more as I admitted, "I honestly never thought of that? But it's a really good point Emma. Maybe that's the best solution, rather than trying to sneak around and treat non-human clients behind her back."
"Maybe it's something we can bring up at the weekly staff meeting?" she suggested. "I could even initiate the conversation, if you're still worried about broaching supernatural topics with our boss."
"Thanks," I grimaced. "I'd appreciate that."
Emma nodded, "Of course Tess. And as for your client, I think ultimately it has to be her decision? Obviously it's one thing for you to end the professional relationship, but if she doesn't want to start seeing me that's entirely her call. But if you want to make the suggestion, I'm fine with that. And I like the idea of having a joint session, for introductions so she can get to know me while having a familiar face there too."
I smiled, "That sounds perfect. Thanks again Emma."
"My pleasure," she replied, as we both focused on our meal again for a bit.
Rather than finish my wine I ended up ordering some soda, while Emma asked for a coffee. Then after we'd both had enough to eat the two of us continued our conversation. She had a few more questions about my brief time in the afterlife, and about my new life as an immortal.
Once again there wasn't a whole lot I could tell her, about either subject. I hadn't actually tested my lack of mortality yet, and I really wasn't in a hurry to do so either. Not that I didn't trust Amy and her magic, but I couldn't imagine any near-death experience being something fun or amusing.
I hadn't had a chance to experiment with my new magical prowess either. According to my girlfriend I had the potential, but I still needed to actually learn how to do it. Which probably meant more magic lessons in my future. Except instead of the boring wise-woman stuff she tried to teach me over the winter this time it'd be the fun flashy kind of magic, like the stuff I could do thanks to my enchanted engagement ring.
Eventually we had to get back to work, and as agreed I didn't try and protest when Emma paid for our meals. We talked a bit more during the short drive back to the office, about approaching Bev at the next staff meeting about openly working with supernatural clients.
It was a little scary, but also kind of exciting too. And even though I hadn't said anything to Emma about it, I knew if things didn't go well with Beverly there was always another option. It was still early days, but sooner or later I was going to open my own clinic. Then I could handle my clients however I felt was best for them.
