Sagehen Mesa - Part 11 - Dr. Ellen's Recent Cases

 Greetings, it's Dr. Ellen Talbot speaking. Or rather it's Dr. Ellen McDowell now. I have recently wed Jonathan McDowell, a former client whom I cured of Never Not Nude Syndrome, or NNNS for sort. The poor man had an aversion to clothes. With some intensive therapy and the right medication, Jonathan has managed to become more tolerant of clothing, especially when he needs to be out in public. This has really improved his quality of life and saved his job at the hospital. 

He has even been promoted from bedpan cleaner to paramedic! Once Jonathan no longer needed therapy, he started asking me out, first to coffee, then dinner. We spent some quality time together and became quite fond of each other. 

Before we knew it, we had exchanged our marriage vows, and he moved in with me. This was quite providential for poor Tess Mahon, whom I found on my doorstep one night after her husband had evicted her and her infant daughter from their home. 

I explained to Tess that my new husband had just moved in with me and had a house of his own that he was planning to rent. I arranged for Jonathan to take her over and show her the house and see if it would suit her needs. It did, but she was short on money and in the midst of a divorce. I learned she doesn't have money of her own. We decided we would take one of her sculptures as payment for the first month, and by then she could start making regular rent payments. 

This still meant I needed to end my honeymoon and start bringing in some income. It's time to schedule some more clients. 

I met Fidel and Sheryl Vest at the festival grounds when I went to collect some honey for my elixirs, and they looked like they could use a little spark to their marriage. 

Fidel was obviously trying to gain his wife's attention, but she determinedly insisted on remaining unimpressed. Judging by her ensemble she chose to wear out in public, it seemed obvious she had quit caring about making a good impression on anyone, including her husband. I schmoozed them into agreeing to come to a couples' therapy session the next day. 

However, only Fidel arrived. He explained that they had just had a baby and Sheryl felt uncomfortable leaving the newborn with a babysitter. 

I explained that couples therapy worked best when both parties were present for the session, but I was willing to meet with each separately if that was what they needed. 

Fidel is one of our local star athletes, so I began the session letting him know that I had been to a few of the games and recognized him. 

I congratulated him on his team's recent win over the Alpha Alpacas. And asked if his job took him away from home frequently. 

"I would prefer to be home, but yes, my job requires me to travel out of town every other week," he explained. 

"I play both baseball and football, so when one season ends, the other one starts. There's no downtime in between."

The problem seems obvious. Fidel and Sheryl, while being in love with each other, are not spending enough quality time together, just the two of them, and now they have added a child to the mix. 

I suggested that they start small, with things they could do together when he was in town, for instance, they could cook up a nice dinner together while the baby slept, or better yet, he could encourage Sheryl to take a nap when the baby sleeps and surprise her by having a simple meal ready for her when she woke up. The idea left him flabbergasted. It was clear he had never thought of doing such a thing before. 

"Wow, I never thought of fixing dinner for her. She's a chef, so I figured she wanted to do all the cooking," he explained. "Do you really think she would like me to cook for her?" 

"Have you been living under a rock? If cooking is what she does all day at work, doesn't it make sense that she would like a break from it when she gets home?"

"You could also set up a home gym, so you could do some of your training at home and watch the baby. This would give her a chance to get out of the house once in awhile. Maybe she could go the spa or get a makeover to lift her mood," I suggested.

 

He said it was worth a try, and he would start by watching baby Rusty so Sheryl could also pay me a visit. 

A few days later, I had a session with Sheryl. 

"I see you have come here straight from work, Sheryl. Do you enjoy your job?"

"It's what I've always wanted to do," she explained, "but now that we have baby Rusty, I really wish I could spend more time at home with him. Babies need so much attention."

"Perhaps you could re-think the way you make a living using your culinary expertise," I suggested. "Have you considered becoming a caterer or running your own business so you could keep your own hours and take little Rusty to work with you? Or perhaps you could create your own cookbook and sell it."

"I do have a large collection of recipes I could use in a cookbook, but isn't writing difficult?"

"I could never be a writer like you."

"Creating a cookbook would be a lot different from writing a self-help book." I explained. "The recipes would fill most of the book. You could create the dishes and photograph them to entice the reader to try them, and just write a brief introduction about yourself and what you like about each recipe," I suggested. 

"If you already have the recipes, the book should come together quickly. The extra income from the book might enable you to cut your work hours and give you more time to spend with your child. That way you could achieve a healthier work/life balance." 

Also, you should make time to pamper yourself. Let Fidel watch Rusty while you take a nice long bubble bath or take a trip to the spa. Make sure you get out and attend some social engagements and get to know some new people. 

The couple must have taken at least some of my advise because word around town is they are very affectionate to each other. 

I called Fidel to confirm that they were on the right track. 

"Oh, hi Dr. Ellen. . . . Yes, Sheryl has been working on a cookbook, and she's very excited about it." 

"We've been cooking up the recipes together on the weeks that I'm home, and it's really improved our relationship to spend that time together."

A marriage rescued, thanks to my sage advice. I will need to write a book about marriage now. 

I was wanting to work on my fitness, and since this town doesn't have a public gym, I stopped by the firehouse to see if I could use their equipment. I ran into Hannah Baum there. Apparently she is still trying to find the right career for herself. She's tried teaching and athletics so far, but found them unfulfilling, so now she's a firefighter. 

I updated her on my recent marriage to Jonathan, and asked her how she and Anton were getting on. 

"Oh, Anton and I have parted ways. I don't think either of us really felt that certain spark you would expect from a romantic relationship. We're still friends, though," she said. 

"I've been mainly focusing on my new career. I get to maintain the fire alarms and fire truck just in case there is a fire in the area, but there hasn't been any fires since I've joined the force."

"Are there any single young men among your co-workers?" I asked. 

"I've met a couple interesting men." 

"One of them is a bit of an odd duck. He refuses to wear the prescribed safety helmet when fighting fires, but instead insists on wearing this old top hat that he inherited from his grandfather. It hasn't been an issue since there haven't been any fires lately, but it's an OSHA nightmare waiting to happen. Maybe you could help him, since you seem to be an expert on getting people to wear appropriate clothing?" She asked. 

I gave Hannah my card to pass on to the young man. Hopefully he decides to pay me a visit before he gets hurt. 

On another visit to the community garden to collect some ingredients, I ran into Tess. 

"Guess what, Dr. Ellen. Anton Dexter and I have been communicating through social media lately, and we are in LOVE!" she enthused.

"I did not know that," I said. "I'm glad you and Anton are getting along so well, but I would urge you to take your time and slowly grow this relationship. Spend some face-to-face time and heal up from your very recent divorce," I counseled. 

"If you move to fast, you might find yourself alone and pregnant," I warned. 

"You have no understanding of this relationship, Dr. Ellen! Anton is an honorable man, he plans to marry me!" She shouted. 

I fear it won't be long before one or both of them pay me a visit due to marital problems. It goes to show you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink! I'd better get started on that marriage book. I think it will be a best seller!

Sure enough, Anton and Tess quickly became a married couple. 

I was interrupted by a phone call from Kellee Culpepper. She would like to schedule a session with me because she has been plagued with dark thoughts lately. 

We scheduled an appointment for the following day. 

"So you are a retired school teacher, is that correct?"

"Yes, I retired shortly after getting engaged to Chuck."

"And what have you done since retiring and getting married?" I asked. 

"That's just it, I really haven't done much of anything. We never went away on a honeymoon because Chuck was too concerned about how his brother Ben would adjust to living alone. That man is a loose cannon, especially when it comes to women, and I don't think he has a clue about how to keep house or even cook for himself. His personal hygiene has dropped as well. Rumors are that he's been seen around down with residue from the pie eating contest all over his face, and he participated in the contest a week ago!" Kellee explained.  "Feel like Chuck is so concerned about Ben that we can't enjoy our retirement years, and we're just waiting for the reaper."

"You are much too young to be waiting for the reaper. Do you have any hobbies or pastimes you enjoy or would like to explore?" I asked. 

"I always thought it would be fun to grow a garden and learn how to grow my own vegetables, but school responsibilities always kept me too busy to commit to a garden. 

"We have year-around school in this district, so I'm working even during the prime growing season. I'd have time now, but I'm really hoping I can talk Chuck into traveling once in a while, and I wouldn't want my garden plants to die from neglect if the opportunity to travel arises."

"Have you considered participating in the community garden out at the festival grounds? If you volunteered there, you could garden when you feel like it, and others would be there to take over if you needed to be out of town for awhile," I advised. "You said you'd like to take a belated honeymoon with Chuck, correct? What kind of vacation would you like to take? In what activities would you like to participate?

"Both Chuck and I love to fish," Kellee enthused. I would love to take a nice long vacation and maybe rent a houseboat and spend our days fishing and our evenings dining out in nice restaurants."

"Have you broached the subject of a vacation with Chuck?" I asked. 

"I have hinted about it, but he's so obsessed over his brother's welfare that I don't think I got through to him," she sighed. 

"The thing about men is they don't pick up on hints. You need to be plain in your speaking when dealing with them. Subtlety is not your friend," I quipped.

I was getting hungry so I suggested we go to the Bistro and hatch a plan for her to convince Chuck to take her on her bucket list trip. 

"I hope I can convince Chuck to take somewhere warm this winter. The cold weather is rough on these old bones," Kellee said.

"I would definitely prescribe a tropical vacation this winter," I affirmed. 

I checked in with Kellee a few days later to see if she had talked to Chuck about taking a vacation.

She reported that she broached the subject over breakfast. He said he'd think about it, and she was relieved that he didn't say no. He said they would need someone to house sit and take care of the dogs and look in on Ben, but if someone could be found, he'd love to go on a nice fishing trip. 

His response gave Kellee the hope she needed, and that night she had sweet dreams of a lovely tropical vacation. 

Now I should see if I can talk to Ben regarding the matter of his personal hygiene.