Anne thought for a moment. “I want to, when I look at you two, I want to see things through her eyes. I want to see just a man a woman who love each other. I want to see you touch her and not see… him.”
Cassie swallowed hard. “Your dad?” Anne nodded silently. “I’m sorry Anne. I’m sorry that happened, and some day you’re going to have to tell me the whole story. Maybe after a bottle of wine.” Anne chuckled weakly and nudged Cassie with her shoulder. “But I’m not you, and he’s not your dad.”
Anne sighed and looked at me wistfully. “I know. I know. So, I guess let’s give this a try. As long as you promise that you won’t go through with this without my blessing.”
Cassie and I shared a look. She winked. “Deal, alright, give me your hands.” I held up her hands at shoulder height “Good. Now I want you to keep your hands on mine as I help you relax. Ten. Breathe deeply and slowly as you sink into the bed. Nine. Your arms are getting tired as we lower our hands a bit. Eight. You feel the tension leaving your neck as you get more relaxed. Seven. Your arms are losing their strength as we lower them halfway. Six. Your eyelids are getting heavy, it’s harder to keep them open. Five. Your jaw relaxes and your mouth hangs open. Four. You can’t keep your arms up anymore and I’ve lowered them almost all the way to your sides. Three. You can’t keep your eyes open. Two. I’ve let go of your hands and your body is almost completely limp. One. Your mind is empty, all tension has left you, all you hear is your breathing and my voice. Zero. How do you feel?”
Anne was slumped over, barely sitting up. Cassie and I held our breath as we waited for her response. “…Relaxed…” Cassie grinned from ear to ear and I tried to keep my smile out of my voice.
“Good. Now when you wake up, your fear and anxiety will be gone. Your pain will be far away, irrelevant. When you see us together you’ll see first and foremost how much we love each other. You’ll be as sure as you possibly can be that we would never intentionally hurt each other and that we have nothing but love for each other and for you. Understand?”
“…Yes…”
“Good. Now I’m going to count you back down from three, snap my fingers, and you’ll awake refreshed and feeling better than you have in years. Three, two, one, awake.”
I snapped my fingers and Anne’s eyes flew open. She looked around the room, disoriented for a moment. “That’s… a *very* strange feeling.”
Cassie smiled and leaned in to nudge her aunt. “Strange how?”
Anne smiled as she stared off in the distance. “Like those feelings, those thoughts, they’re not gone. They’re just far away. I-” She got up and walked across the room. “I look at you two and I’m not afraid. Not for Cassie. I don’t even feel that old fear either. Not really. All I see when I look at you is… a beautiful woman and a very handsome man. And I love you both so much that I just want you to be happy.” Anne shrugged, at a loss for words.
Cassie grabbed my hand but didn’t look away from Anne. “So when I do this-” she pulled me back onto the bed, turned me over to lay me on my back and straddled my hips before leaning down to kiss me again, mimicking the situation Anne had found us in when she walked in the room. Cassie broke the kiss and turned back to her aunt, grinning. “How do you feel?”
Anne couldn’t help but bite her lip. “Honestly, kinda horny.”
Cassie giggled and wiggled her hips. “Well maybe you can get a turn when I’m done with him, but for right now. I’ve waited long enough.”
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