Jamie's POV

"Hi, you must be Noah. I'm Lorainne, we spoke on the phone." Says the woman standing in the doorway.

"Yes, please come in." Noah responds.

As Lorainne comes into view I give her a quick once over.

She is in her late thirties, early forties. She has redish brown hair that is cut into a bob. She has green eyes that remind me of the forest. She is slim and stands about 5,8" with her heels adding a few inches. She is quite pretty and has a wide, inviting smile. I instantly like her.

"Hi Lorainne! I'm Jamie, Noah's girlfriend." I say to her, shaking her hand. Loving the way it sounds to be Noah's girlfriend. I haven't said it out loud much, and it still surprises me.

"Oh yes. So nice to meet you." She tells me, taking my hand and giving it a firm shake.

"You as well." I say, stepping out of the way, giving her a clear sight to John.

She smiles when she sees him.

"Hello John. As you know, I'm Lorainne. I'm here to help you with whatever you need. It is very nice to finally meet you."

John smiles as he answers, "yes. I am very excited to get the proper help. It has been far overdue."

Lorainne looks towards the ground, "well I am glad you came to that conclusion that you do need help. Lots of people deny the help and it only gets worse. You are very brave Mr. Adams."

John shakes his head, "I'm not too sure about that."

"You are. It might take a while for you to realize this, but you went and got help and realized you had to stop living like that. Normally people don't accept that they need help until weeks, even months into the session. You realized beforehand. It's definitely progress."

They share a long look.

Noah coughs. "Does anyone want anything to drink? I can make some tea or coffee?"

"You can get some coffee started son. Thank you. Lorainne is that okay with you?" John asks.

"Yes. Coffee would be really nice thank you."

"No problem." Noah responds.

I follow him into the kitchen as John and Lorainne go sit at the dining room table.

"That was..." I start

"Awkward." Noah cuts in.

"Yeah."

"I haven't seen him look at someone like that in a long time."

"She had the same look."

"I know." Noah says. He sighs.

"Do you think... Maybe...they would..."

"What?"

"I don't know, go out." I state.

Noah freezes up for a second.

"I don't know," he says, " I mean, my dad loved my mom so so much. It would be hard for him, for us all to move on like that. But maybe... Maybe it would be good for him."

"I agree." I say.

"He just... He needs to move on. You know? I know that we all love my mom and none of us will ever forget her. My dad will never love anyone like he loved her. But he can't hold himself back and not move on. He deserves to be happy again."

I smile. "He does"

I take four mugs out of the cupboard as Noah grabs the coffee and we head into the dining room.

We sit down at the small table. All of us, pouring our preferred amounts of milk and sugar into the bittersweet drink.

"So. When did you begin to drink?" Asks Lorainne, getting right to the point.

Noah's dad takes a long deep breath, then exhales slowly.

"It started when my wife died. I felt lost, alone. I didn't know how to handle it. I knew I had drinking problems when I was younger. I thought I could have a drink and control it. But I lost it. One drink turned into four. Four turned into eight. Eight turned into so many I couldn't count. Every day, up until now, that's how it has been. Then one day I snapped at Noah. I then realized that I couldn't drink myself away anymore. I have to be a father. I have to be there for him. I realized how awful I had become."

"You made a mistake. You aren't awful." Lorainne interjects.

"I was. I couldn't control myself. I had no control over my brain, my words, my body. I couldn't hold a steady job, I couldn't form a simple sentence."

There are tears pooling in the corner of his eye as he speaks.

"I needed help."

"That's why I'm here. And I will help you in any way possible." Lorainne says. Compassion in her green eyes.

"We need to start by clearing out all the alcohal in the house. This way, you won't be tempted."

"I have."

"Perfect. You will have weekly sessions with me, and you're not to go to any bars."

"I won't."

"Good. Make sure of that. It's one of the most important points."

John nods.

"I need to ask a few questions regarding your alcohalism." Lorainne moves on, "when did you notice that you had alcohal problems?"

John hesitates, "I was seventeen when I had my first drink. I felt good, I couldn't control myself. I kept drinking and woke up the next morning with a pouding headache and not any memory of the night before."

"And why did you drink at seventeen?"

"I was at a party with friends. Everyone was drinking. I thought it would be fine. I was a stupid kid." He says, shaking his head.

"When you mentioned that drinking made you feel better, what did you mean by that?"

"I felt like I had no worries, no pain. Nothing bothered me. It felt... Relieving."

Lorainne nods and looks him directly in the eye, "that is what alcohal does. It lets you go. You feel good for minutes, maybe even an hour. But then you realize what happened. Relieved stress for five minutes can add up to result in having lifelong stress. You know that now? "

"Yes. I now realize that."

"Good. This seems to be a good start. I think you are showing some real progress and hopefully we can get you the proper lifestyle in less time than I thought."

John smiles, pleased at what she is saying.

"I've got to go now. I think this is a good point to leave off on. I'll be in touch sometime in the next few days to book the next appointment."

"Perfect thank you. Let me show you to the door?" John asks.

They both stand up from the wooden chairs, "that would be lovely. Thank you."

I stay in my seat, waving bye to Lorainne.

I squeeze Noah's hand as soon as they are out of earshot.

"That went perfectly." I squeal.

"I know." Noah says, obvious relief is on his face, "I don't think it could have gone any better. I'm so happy."

"Me too." I say and kiss him.

He kisses me back. Slowly.

I can feel the weight lifting off his shoulders as his mouth moves in sync with mine.

"Thank you for being with me here today."

"Where else would I be?" I ask.

"I love you." He sighs.

I giggle, "I love you too."

*************************
The end.
Nah just kidding.

Sorry for the late update. I know I said it would be soon, but I got busy. Sorry:/

But omg thank you for over 5500 reads! That is so incredible and I love each one of you!

All the votes and sweet comments I get have really motivated me to keep writing. Thank you to anyone who has followed me, voted on my story, or left a nice comment. It doesn't go unnoticed.

Please go follow Haileeforte and Monkeypin1 they are both really awesome people and great writters! So please go check them out and support them as they are both writing their first books:)

Once again, thank you all:)

Next update will be soon.

Please send in some covers/banners for this book and u will get a shoutout:)

Please vote, comment, and follow:)

-Maxine:)