Page 63 of Even in the Dark

Dylan:You already know about it. The room trashing Friday night that you invited Phil and Diane to rehash in your office on Saturday.

Dr. Morley:So how did that lead to you reading to Kenzie?

Dylan:I’m not talking about that anymore. You asked me to tell you something that happened since Saturday, and I did.

Dr. Morley:Okay. We don’t have to talk about Friday again. Tell me about Kenzie. Remind me how old she is?

Dylan:Five, I think.

Dr. Morley:Mm. Great age… Tell me about her.

Dylan:Kenzie’s cool.

Dr. Morley:How so?

Dylan:She’s just… super random.

Dr. Morley:What do you mean by ‘random’?

Dylan:She says stuff and does stuff whenever. Whatever comes into her head, or I guess whenever she feels like doing something, she does it. And she’s just… happy. Pretty much all the time.

Dr. Morley:Great way to be.

Dylan:I guess. If you’re a kid.

Dr. Morley:Not if you’re older, though?

Dylan:Not all the time like that. Would be weird.

Dr. Morley:Really? I feel like I’m a pretty happy guy most of the time. You think that’s weird?

Dylan:[no response]

Dr. Morley:[laughs] You’re giving me ashrug?Wow—and I brought you a Big Mac combo…

Dylan:You’re fine.

Dr. Morley:No. Maybe I am weird… I joined a bowling league last month. That probably makes me at least partially weird, doesn’t it?

Dylan:Maybe not for an old guy.

Dr. Morley:So now I’m weirdandold.

Dylan:How old are you?

Dr. Morley:Fifty-four.

Dylan:Old enough.

Dr. Morley:[laughs] Keep this up and I just might spike that chocolate shake with Tabasco sauce next time.

Dylan:[no response]

Dr. Morley:So here’s a question for you—where do you imagine yourself when you’re my age? An old geezer of fifty-four. Where do you picture yourself living? What are you doing for a job? For fun?

Dylan:Never really thought about it before.

Dr. Morley:You should sometime… It can be neat to think about. Imagining the stuff you’d like to see and do. The kind of job you’d have if you could do anything. That’s the silver lining to all this crappy stuff you’re going through—you get to re-invent yourself… Start thinking about what kind of person you want to be and the life you want and slowly start taking the steps to make it happen. You don’t have to just survive anymore. You canlive.

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