Back Talk by Saxon Bennett

content.
    “That’s a good spot,” Anne said. She never thought she’d be concerned about a dog guest but she was now. She pulled two Amstel Light beers from the rounded, retro, turquoise fridge. All the appliances in the kitchen were art deco colors and the walls were painted a light yellow.
    “I didn’t think they made this kind of stuff anymore,” Hilton said, indicating the appliances.
    “Neither did I, but Gerald found a company that makes all this stuff in southern California, so here we are in his dream kitchen.”
    “Is he like an interior designer or something?”
    “Not yet but he’ll probably end up being one. He works in marketing at the moment. It’s kind of a progression—being straight, getting married and then deciding he liked boys.” Anne took a sip of beer. She had yet to share any of this with anyone else.
    60
    All content of this eBook is copyrighted.

    She was just as guilty as Hilton when it came to playing it close to the vest. She didn’t like people knowing too much about the things she truly held precious. Her pain was one of them. It was the one great failure of her life and it still burned even though a year and a half had passed. A first-year psych student could tell her that this was a bad plan and she probably did need some counseling, but to what end? She could pay someone to sit and listen in an office somewhere. She would use copious amounts of Kleenex while she told some bespectacled stranger that she was still angry and hurt.
    Instead, she told her pickle-heiress new friend and employee the worst story of her life.
    “Yeah, that’s pretty fucked up. It’s not like you can hope to compete.”
    Anne laughed. “Not unless I miraculously sprouted a penis in the middle of the night.”
    “Like those sea monkey things that kids grow.”
    “What are those things exactly?” Anne asked.
    “They’re tiny brine shrimp. Have you been to therapy?” Hilton asked out of the blue.
    “No. I mean, what’s the point?” Anne was taken aback. They’d gone from shrimp to shrinks. “He’s got his life and I’ve got mine.”
    “My father sent me to therapy for years. I don’t think it accomplished much. I did a lot of coloring and we played games but that was about it.” Hilton finished her beer.
    “You want another one?”
    “Sure.”
    “After your mother died?” Anne finished her beer and got them both another.
    “Yeah, I guess they thought the trauma of seeing my mother dead on the beach was too much for a six-year-old. They never knew I helped her. We strapped the diving weights on together.
    She kissed me good-bye and then went off into the Sound. I knew she wasn’t coming back. She was so unhappy except for that day.
    That day she was happy. I missed her but I can’t help thinking she was better off.”
    Anne tried to imagine Hilton as a child standing there watching 61
    All content of this eBook is copyrighted.

    the whole thing—the disconnect must have begun at that very moment. Attempting to lighten the mood, knowing almost intrinsically that if she didn’t she’d lose Hilton again to that remote place, she said, “So basically, you’re saying therapy is stupid.”
    Hilton laughed. “Not exactly. We all need some psychic tweaking now and then. Therapists tell you what you already know but refuse to admit to yourself. So if you can get yourself to cowboy up you’ll save yourself a ton of cash and keep a lot of tissue out of the landfill.”
    “Okay, I’ll cowboy up. I’m pissed off that the love of my life dumped me. There, I said it.”
    “Do you feel better?”
    “No.”
    “But you didn’t waste a hundred bucks finding that out.” Hilton took another swig of beer. Shannon rolled on her side and promptly fell asleep.
    “Is that how much they charge?”
    “A good one.”
    “Let’s go sit in the living room. It’s more comfortable. I think I’d take my hundred dollars and buy a nice shirt and a box of really expensive chocolates and that’s