Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Marishka (CIO) in CNS Office
On the counselor’s desk was a bottle of cherry merlot and the following letter.

My dearest Riley

Thank you for being my friend and confidant. You and David showed me that I can actually have a man as a friend. I love and cherish you for that. Until we meet again.

• Marishka

Riley turned the bottle over in his hand for a moment, admiring the vintage, before opening the letter. He found himself staring at the neat script. Should he be surprised? He didn’t know. The nature of Marishka’s job was itinerant and Julien’s departure could not have been welcome, but still he felt as if a the wind had been knocked out of him.

Only after a long pause did he set the note down and retrieve a corkscrew from his desk. He popped open the bottle of wine, poured a healthy portion of it into a stemless glass and sank into the couch he usually reserved for patients. In a quiet toast he lifted his glass and took a swallow.

He often worked with patients to help them cope with unwanted change and yet he found himself clinging to the thought that the change wasn’t as permanent as he knew it to be. Just as he was sure he’d see Julien again, he knew the same of Marishka.

Dekker, CNS