The Worst Gift - Scott and Rhian

This is a different take on my first story, The Worst Gift, which to my amazement recently reached 100,00 views. This is told from the point of view of Scott and Rhian, who found love at the end of the first story. Some comments have found Scott's reaction to his mother's infidelity surprising; they felt he would have been more forgiving. I don't agree and I hope this story explains why.

The self-serving, patronising of Noreen the counsellor took over at times and I must admit I find her quite amusing; I may even visit her again, at some point, if only to find out if she ever gets that holiday home!

I looked at the young couple in front of me. They were a beautiful couple. Mid-twenties. They held hands nervously as they stepped into my office, and I caught them smiling reassuringly at each other. I work from home; I find my clients like that. These two are a bit of a puzzle.

Usually, my clients here for couples counselling try to sit as far apart as possible. Initially, they try to avoid each other's gaze until I get the ball rolling and work my magic. I can see that these two are happy together; I can see and sense it. I wonder why they need my help.

I look at them over my glasses, "Before we start our first session together properly, perhaps we should do the introductions. I don't want to be formal, so please call me Noreen. After a corporate career, I've been a full-time counsellor for five years. I focus on individual and couples counselling. I specialise in grief management."

There's a pause before the young lady speaks. "I'm Rhian; I'm currently loving being a stay-at-home mum, though I do some part-time illustration work."

She prompts her partner to speak with a smile and a little nod of her head,

"I'm Scott. I've been married to Rhian for the past three years, although I've known her all my life--our little girl, Lucy is 14 months, and she's a joy. I am a civil servant. Very boring, but it pays the bills, and I work with a good team."

I'm making notes, but I'm not getting any clues. They seem happy with each other. Comfortable in their work roles. Perhaps it's something sexual. I do hope so; I love to get my teeth into a good sexual problem.

"So, what are you hoping to get from your sessions with me? I ask.

Rhian clears her throat. "Well, firstly, I'd like to say that Scott and I are very happy together."

They smile at each other, and he grips her hand tighter. "I was in love with him for a long time before we got together."

"Yes, it got mentioned that you had known each other all your lives."

"Well, all his life, really. I'm a little older than him."

"I'm her toy boy," Scott laughs.

This young couple fascinates me; they're so lovely together. I can't see how I'll make any money from these two. They won't be paying for my holiday home in Fuengirola.

"We're not the problem; it's other people and outside influences we need your help with," said Scott.

"We grew up together. Our parents were best friends. We lived on opposite sides of the country but spent all our holidays together. I'm an only child, So Rhian and her sisters and brother were like my cousins."

"Though you used to tell everyone that Jake was your brother, not your cousin," said Rhian.

Scott smiles. "Jake has always been my best bro, and now he's my brother-in-law, and you know I love him."

Now we're getting somewhere, latent homosexual tendencies, perhaps? A sexual longing for his brother-in-law, masked by a bromance. Poor Rhian. This will be difficult; maybe I will be getting that holiday home after all.

"Yes, Scott loves all my siblings. He's a very loving man; he gets that from his dad, Darren. Our problem stems from the weeks we thought Scott wasn't just our pretend brother. For six weeks, we thought he was our real brother. Well, half-brother, really."

This is getting good now. Sometimes my job is better than watching television. All those years were wasted in management when I could have listened to other people air their family secrets. I love it; better put my professional face on. Incestuous feelings of lust, now that I can work with.

"Would you like to explain what happened, Scott?"

"It's simple my mum, Caz, and Rhian's dad Angus had a long-term sexual affair."

"That's an interesting choice of words, Scott, not just affair but sexual affair."

"Well, that's what it was. It was just sex."

I look at Scott intently; he seems quite a naïve boy. I try not to be too smug when I say,

"I often hear husbands or wives in this room try to reassure their spouse that it meant nothing. It was just sex. I find it's rarely the case."

"Scott's right, " said Rhian, "No emotion was involved. They met secretly for sex every month for ten years. Scott's mum was trying to get pregnant again."

Scott takes a deep breath and says, "My mum and dad were trying to have a baby for seven years before I came along. There was no reason for them not to get pregnant. They were both fertile. They were just unlucky."

Rhian continues, "Our dads were best friends since they were eighteen. They even looked alike. He decided to help his old mate out by impregnating Scott's mum. Believing they were successful when Scott was conceived, they continued trying for another decade. My brother Jake is six months younger than Scott and my dad had a secret vasectomy after my brother was conceived. So, he had no way of getting anyone pregnant again; he was banging his best friend's wife for fun."

Scott looked intently at me. "So just sex, as I said."

I looked at them both as I digested this information.

"What about your mum? It is difficult for a woman to have regular sex with someone and not become emotionally involved."

"My mum maintains to this day that it was only to have a baby. He was never more than a means to an end. She still says that she only loved my dad and only ever made love to him."

"Your dad adored her, didn't he?" Rhian stated sadly, "That's why he took it so hard when he found out."

This was getting good now; I tried not to sound too eager when I asked.

"Did he come across them in the marital bed by any chance?"

"No, they'd stopped seeing each many years before my mum confessed to my dad. She found the box from a DNA ancestry test in the recycling, so she felt she had to tell my dad that Angus was my father before he got the results."

"So, we had six weeks thinking we were siblings until we got the results and discovered that Darren was Scott's dad after all. Scott's Mum had confessed her affair for nothing."

"How did you feel when you thought you were siblings?"

Rhian looked out the window before she said, "I felt dirty ashamed, and I felt sick. I had been in love with Scott for a long time. I was waiting for my chance. Teenage boys aren't as mature as teenage girls, are they? They're still little boys emotionally, only with body hair and an obsession with tits."

"Rhian!" said Scott looking shocked.

"Sweetheart, I did grow up with a brother, remember? I was waiting in the wings for Scott to grow up a bit. When he was 21, I thought it was time, until Scott appeared one breakfast time with the news that he was my brother. We were all shocked, of course, but I was devastated."

Scott couldn't hide his distress at the memory, "Angus tried to lie. He said it was a one-off, that I was conceived with a turkey baster. I hit him hard. I did it for my dad. Dad's a teacher; he would have lost his job if he had done it. It was only after Rhian's Mum kneed him in the balls that I heard Rhian crying, that I heard what she was saying."

"What was that?"

Rhian sighed. "That he couldn't be my brother because I loved him. I wanted to be with him, and now it would never happen. My sisters Ruth and Rachel crowded around me. As shocked as they were by the events, they knew it was worse for me."

"What did you feel at this moment, Scott?"

"I felt even more angry at Angus lying on the hallway floor. I felt cheated, too. I'd had a crush on Rhian forever. It was my secret; I had no idea she felt the same but I was hoping that one day I'd be enough for her."

"To hear that she shared the same feelings and now it wouldn't happen must have been devastating."

"It was." Scott smiled at Rhian.

I needed a moment to gather my thoughts at this point; this story was full of twists and turns. Full of lies and deceit. How delicious! I was beginning to wish that this session could be longer. I've got Mrs Latham coming at 7.00 pm for grief counselling for her dead pussy. That often feels like the most extended hour of my week. Not like this; I'm on tenterhooks. The only thing that would make it better would be popcorn, which wouldn't be professional. Would it?

"So, moving along, how did you eventually get together?"

"My Dad and I finally got the phone notifications from the ancestry company. I saw mine first; Dad was at school, so his phone was turned off. He was my biological father; I was his natural son, and he didn't even know. They let me leave work to go to his school to see him on his lunch break. It was a freezing cold day, and we just stood in the car park and cried. My Mum had been so convinced that Angus was my father; neither of us had thought this could happen. Dad wanted to tell Rhian's Mum, the news in person; he also wanted to look Angus in the eye and tell him the truth.

I told my Mum. She thought that this meant that everything was OK. She thought Dad would forgive her; I tried to convince her that it changed nothing. It didn't change a decade of unfaithfulness and deception. She was utterly delusional."

"So, how did you two get together?" I asked again.

"Well, it was Christmas, and Scott just turned up at the door, looking handsome, all suited and booted. I answered the door, and he didn't say a word. He just stood there and stared at me, wrapped me in his arms and kissed me. It was a very passionate kiss. I was speechless, but I didn't want it to stop."

Scott smiled as he remembered, "It was only interrupted by the rest of the family crowded behind her, cheering."

"He'd booked my favourite restaurant, so I got ready quickly. I must have looked a complete mess."

"You looked beautiful," Scott smiled.

"I was so happy; I had been so miserable and depressed because even though I thought he was my brother and my feelings were taboo, they never changed. He was still the one I wanted."

"What about you, Scott? You were so romantic."

"I thought we had wasted enough time. I had seen how devastated she had been. She had turned to my dad for support during those six weeks. I knew that her feelings for me were real. I knew how I felt. Now that there was no barrier to us being together, I just needed to be with her."

This was lovely, so romantic. It would make a good hallmark movie. It was even set at Christmas on the coast, a childhood crush becoming a passionate adult relationship -- I should write the screenplay myself.

Lost in my thoughts, I suddenly went too far, "So, when you first got together sexually. There were no problems as your relationship changed focus?"

They both looked shocked, and Scott looked more than a little annoyed,

"We're not here to talk about our sex life. We have never had any problems in that department, thank you, quite the contrary, so that's none of your concern."

How disappointing! I realised that I needed to pull the session back quickly,

"I'm so pleased to hear that. It can be difficult when longstanding relationships change, but I'm glad that wasn't the case in this instance," I said, trying to look suitably chagrined.

I better start earning my money. "So, why do you need my help? You obviously had this shocking event happen, but there is no evidence of PTSD. You seem to have moved on and are happy and content with each other. That is lovely for me to see. You mentioned earlier that outside influences were your problem. Now that I have the full picture, can you explain what you meant?"

"Well, the real problem is Caz, Scott's mum. I think she's a selfish bitch. I have no problem with Scott having a relationship with her. I fully support her seeing Lucy too. I know that she loves them both. That's fine as long as I never have to see her again. I don't want her in my home. That's why we're here."

Oh, this is it. I'm getting the nitty gritty now. That's their problem. This is what's poisoning their well. Scott's relationship with his mother, whom Rhian blames for losing her family unit as she knew it. I'm surprised this isn't the cause of any sexual problems between them. I think Scott may have protested a little too much.

"So, is Rhian's firm stance about your mother causing problems in your marriage Scott?" I asked, trying not to sound too eager.

"No, Rhian and I agree with the boundaries we have in place for my mum. It's other people's reactions to it that we need help processing."

"Well, that's what I'm here for. Can you give me some more details?"

"Well, we're happy. My dad and Rhian's mum are happy with their new partners. We're close to her siblings despite them being on the opposite coast."

"My dad made it easy for us because he exiled himself to Spain," said Rhian. "We're non-contact. Ruth went to see him and he has hit rock bottom alcohol-wise. He was a talented artist. Now he sits on the promenade with his easel doing quick paintings for the tourists. He sits under a parasol drinking warm wine out of a one-euro carton. Ruth was disgusted by him, and his self-serving 'poor me' attitude. He can wallow in the misery of his own making, as far as I am concerned."

"That's quite harsh."

"He has never apologised to any of us, for any of it. He's as selfish as Caz. As for her, we have obvious boundaries but are under pressure to allow her in more. She is constantly rallying new troops to support her and share their thoughts on what we should and shouldn't do. Everyone who comes into contact with her seems to have an opinion on how we should feel and what we should do."

"What are your thoughts on this, Scott."

"I love my mum. I mean, she's my mum; I just don't like her very much. She didn't just cheat on my dad; she cheated on me, too, all because she was desperate for another child. When I was little, and she could dress me like a doll, she was happy. When I became more independent, all she wanted was another baby. I wasn't enough."

"So, you felt side-lined by her quest to expand the family."

"It wasn't a quest. It was an obsession. Why wasn't I enough for her? That's why I was so close to my dad. He was always interested in me, always interested in all of us, wasn't he, Rhian? People find it hard to understand how a good son could ever turn his back on his mother, despite what she has done."

"Is that what you've done? Turned your back on her."

"No, I'm in her life, but she didn't want more of me as a kid, and now she doesn't get more of me as an adult."

"So, you're punishing her."

"Of course I am, but more than that, I'm protecting myself; everything is always all about her and what she wants. She's very bitter that Dad has married again. She's extremely jealous of my step mum Abby who she thinks has stolen her husband, retirement and her granddaughter. It's always all about her. She can't see that she is responsible for what she has lost."

Well, now we're getting somewhere; this I can do. They need help to stand up to the critics; they are worried that lines may become blurred if they are not careful. That reminds me of a client called Mandy. She started to blur the boundaries she agreed with her husband until she took it too far and was unfaithful. The problem with Mandy was that she never listened. Mind you; I'm not complaining. Last week her sessions paid for four new tyres on my Jaguar.

These two just need a bit of reassurance; I can't see how I am going to be able to spin out any more sessions with them. How disappointing; they're far too squeaky clean. I suppose I better throw them a bone and let them off the hook. They deserve to enjoy their happiness, I suppose. There's a world of dysfunction out there for me to tackle.

"You know, I don't see many couples like you in love, very much together. You are both allowed your feelings. You're allowed to make strict boundaries to protect yourself from those who have hurt you. If you're looking for me to support you in these boundaries, I do. Tell these outside influences that they are allowed their opinion on your decisions, but they're not allowed to share them with you. Be strict on that. Whatever you are doing is working brilliantly for you.

I doubt you need to see me again, but I will give you my card. You could give it to your mum Scott. I don't tout for business in this way, but I do think, in this instance, that she might need me to help her move on."

As they left, I hoped they encourage Caz to see me. She sounds fascinating; it could take years to get through her layers; I could upgrade to a holiday villa with her. I wonder if she has any sexual problems?