Back to work, Monday Monday. Didn’t sleep so well. Waking up was difficult. Had to think for a moment about where I worked. No more Wanker Banker. That seems to be fading into the distance. Now at McMann and Tate, where no one knows my name. Well they do know my name. I started up the office and checked my office email, heartened to see the homework that I had done over the weekend was there on my computer. An Excel spreadsheet. Very happy to see it.

I shuffled along, turned on machines, made coffee. It was a quiet day. A lot of people out of the office, traveling around the world, making deals and whatnot. I sat at my desk, doing whatever is asked of me. Not quite drudgery, not quite paradise either. It’s a job. Bill is not covered by my insurance, which is a drag. The creative world doesn’t cover partners. Spouses, ok but not partners. In the financial world, sure, they’ll cover partners and spouses. I find it odd.

Luckily Bill had a procedure last week with a cool doctor who performed the removal of an infected cyst before the benefits ran out yesterday. The doctor also rang up a visit Bill had today. Another drawback to the insurance or lack thereof, was no more sessions with Phillip Beansprout. Bill phoned ahead with the news that tonight would be our last session.

When we met, Phillip wasn’t too happy about it, and asked if we explored the Cobra plan option. I told him we did and the Cobra plan would cost close to $1200.00 a month. We couldn’t afford to keep going to sessions. Most of tonight’s session concerned insurance talk. Phillip seems to really like us and we definitely like him. He offered to bend the rules and see us privately sans insurance.

His usual fee for couples counseling is $200 an hour. He said he’d charge us $75.00. So the plan is now to see Phillip Beansprout on Friday evenings, around 6:30. I will have to go to work tomorrow and tell them that on Friday’s I will definitely need to be out of the office by 5:30. I hope they understand. It’s next Friday, not this coming Friday. And no insurance involved.

During the interviews I had I was told my hours would be 8:30 to 5:30 with an hour for lunch. My first day, when I started to leave at 5:30 I got a weird vibe from the powers that be. So I’ve been leaving between 6 and 6:30, which seems to placate them. I am now giving them more than enough notice that I need to be out by 5:30 one friggin day a week. I suggested 6:00 but Bill reminded me that I do have to travel and why should I hustle? Good point.

I am so glad that Bill and I like Phillip and we’re both glad that Phillip likes us, enough to bend the rules.

So officially our case is closed in the eyes of the Greenwich Village Mental Health and Chess Club. Unofficially, we continue.