Page 3 of Someone Like You

I knew that he was lying. It was more than likely that he was not able to talk her into coming today. I knew when I had to skip a week with them, this would happen, but there was no way around it. I had already paid for the non-refundable conference in full, three months prior.

“So, Mr. Perez, I guess it’s just you today. Is there anything specific that you would like to discuss?”

He lowered his six-foot, three-inch frame onto the chocolate leather couch across from my desk. Focusing on the crease linesin the pants of his Versace suit, he cleared his throat before finally looking up at me.

“Dr. Champagne, I have only one concern.”

“And that is?” I could feel the frown lines etching themselves deeply between my eyebrows. My mama hated it when I frowned. She always said that frowns marred the normally smooth planes of my beautiful chocolate skin.

I couldn’t help it, though. I was nervous, alone in the office with my client. My fingers found their way to my cross once more before I recalled what happened the last time he was here. I placed my hands in my lap and angled my head slightly as I focused on him.

“Will I be able to save my marriage?” Casimir Perez’s voice portrayed no emotion.

“Mr. Perez, you know that I can’t—”

“Doctor, I don’t judge people lightly. You have certain guidelines and a code of ethics you must adhere to because of your license, and I respect that, but I’m not an idiot, Dr. Champagne. The man you see sitting before you didn’t come from where people think I do. I’m not who you think I am. So, I know when people are keeping it real with me, and I know when they’re bullshitting me. Truth is, you already drew your conclusions upon meeting Beth and me, and I just want to know what that conclusion is.”

I was shocked at his revelation that he wasn’t who I thought he was. Even the language he used and the way he spoke now, with a guttural, edgy bite and not the usual refined low tone, told me he was someone different than I might imagine. And that appealed to something deeper within me.

“Mr. Perez,” I began again, shaking my head.

Casimir Perez held his hand up. “Dr. Champagne, please. You don’t understand. I’ve invested five years of my life intothis marriage, and though my wife made sure that I benefited financially, I have yet to find what I’ve been truly looking for.”

“And what’s that, Mr. Perez?” I asked and rested my chin on my steepled fingers.

“Love.”

“You don’t believe it exists within your marriage?”

“Oh, it exists, Doctor. Just not in the form that I desire.” He crossed his right ankle over his left knee and stretched his arms out along the back of the couch. My eyes instantly dropped to his lap, and I briefly closed my eyes for a moment to try and expel the image I had seen.

The man couldn’t hide his package if he wanted to. And in the position he sat in, it was very prominent, even in a relaxed state.

Wearing a thoughtful expression, he explained, “My wife loves the fact that she’s married to a black man, which is a quiet rebellion against her grandparents and her mother. That’s a little fact that I didn’t learn until our first year into the marriage. Her father was all for the marriage, but her mother and her maternal grandparents shunned the idea. The Huffingtons would love to appear progressive because it’s great for business, but nothing could be further from the truth. My wife also loves the fact that she can say she’s married. There were a series of broken engagements before I came along, and they weren’t by her choice. My wife is more in love with the idea of marriage than she is with me or the marriage itself. That’s about the only thing that my wife loves, other than continually informing everyone that she pulled me up out of the muck and mire.”

“What does true love look like to you, Mr. Perez?”

“When we can look beyond one another’s flaws and see the true inner beauty that a person carries. When we desire to see our significant other flourish in every area of their lives, we are willing to do whatever we must to be an integral part of that. When it’s so difficult to imagine your life without the other onebecause they are an interwoven part of you . . . you don’t exist without them. They are your breath and the reason you live each day. You’ll sacrifice everything just to see them happy, and you don’t mind.”

I closed my eyes at the sorrow and regret I heard in his voice. My heart resonated with his words. I understood that he had never known true love, not even in the marriage he was in now. I had experienced it, and I appreciated the beauty of having it in my life. Yet, I wasn’t so sure the adage was true. Was it better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all? Sometimes, I didn’t feel that way because the ache from the loneliness and loss could become unbearable.

“Something tells me that a woman like you might understand that type of love,” he stated when I opened my eyes again.

“Let’s focus on you, Mr. Perez. Can you honestly say that you feel that way for Mrs. Perez, and is there a possibility that you could be hindering both her and your ability to feel that way?”

One large hand ran down his face as he stroked the bristly hairs of his charcoal beard that highlighted his mocha-colored face.

“At one time, I did feel that way. However, now . . . I just feel empty inside. It’s more of a business arrangement than a marriage. I gave her all of me, and I don’t have anything else left to give.”

“Did you complete your assignment?”

He sighed and then rested his head in his palm, his elbow propped on the arm of the couch. “Of course,” he replied with a charming smile.

“I’m guessing Mrs. Perez didn’t?” I leaned forward and rested my arms on my desk. I knew when I gave the assignment that Bethany Perez wouldn’t participate. Yet, a part of me had hoped that, for her husband’s sake, she would.

As he stroked his beard, his glowing onyx eyes regarded me closely. “Doctor, again, you’re not a foolish woman. You knew she wouldn’t from the moment you gave her the assignment. What were you trying to prove?”

“Nothing. I honestly hoped, for your sake, Bethany would look beyond her feelings and give you what you needed, and vice versa. Now, you also knew she wouldn’t give her all to marriage counseling when you first started coming. Yet, you attended anyway.”

---