Chapter 92 Unafraid
Byron must have been born under a lucky star because all his efforts to sabotage his own movie studio seemed to have failed. Chipfairies 2 was getting rave advance reviews. Nearly all the critics agreed that it was an entertaining film for children and adults.
Meanwhile, The Vampire from Outer Space, which was going to be Byron’s terrible tour de force intended to embarrass Nova Summers, was stalled in development hell. Apparently, the director requested a rewrite, then the writer wasn’t happy with the new contract, and many of the actors decided to bail. Emily suspected Nova Summers had something to do with it; perhaps, unlike Chipfairies, The Vampire had no hope of being salvaged.
The premiere was only a couple of weeks away, and Emily was slowly emerging from behind the curtain of fear that the incident with Josh had cast over her. No matter how shaky she felt, she resolved to be ready to travel to L.A. for the screening of the film.
Dr. Williams looked somewhat like she had expected. He had long grey hair and wore a slightly ragged sweater over corduroy pants. His manner indicated that he was a cool, laid-back hippie sage with a hidden depth of knowledge.
“I heard you had quite a traumatic incident,” he said, greeting Emily with a serene smile.
“You could call it that...” She sat down in a soft fake leather armchair opposite him. A low coffee table laden with chocolates and nuts separated them.
Emily couldn’t resist taking a dark chocolate wrapped in shiny foil.
“Please,” said Dr. Williams, “take as many as you like.”
Emily got a package of cupcakes out of her bag and offered some to him. These were from the batch Byron purchased to cheer her up, and there were too many to eat right away, so they donated some to the homeless shelter and gave some to friends and colleagues.
“Thanks,” Dr. Williams said, taking a bite of a chocolate cupcake. “They’re delicious! I always advise my clients to eat healthy, but sometimes whatever brings you joy is the healthiest thing to eat.”
“I totally agree,” Emily said, taking another chocolate.
She had heard good things about him, but she liked Dr. Williams even more meeting him in person. She told him about her history with Josh and the recent incident with the gun.
“I’m glad you’re safe,” the doctor said when she concluded.
“But now I’m afraid to go outside. I get nervous all the time... I spent three days hiding under the covers in my bed.”
Dr. Williams made some quick notes. “It sounds to me like you’re actually afraid of being afraid,” he said.
“Huh?”
“You’re not threatened at the moment,” he stated, “but your mind rushes ahead to some future time when you might be in danger.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s true,” Emily conceded.
“So, it’s clear that what you need to do is spend as much time as possible not being afraid. You could even try to put yourself in mildly challenging situations. As an example, do something daring this week. Prove to yourself that you can handle it.”
“Like what?” she asked.
“Anything you enjoy... as long as it’s not illegal.” He winked roguishly.
Emily suddenly had an idea, though perhaps the doctor might say it’s too much. “I’m thinking... motorcycles,” she said.
“Yes, excellent!” He seemed genuinely pleased.
“You know, Dr. Williams, you are a very unique kind of therapist...”
When Emily got home, she found the motorcycle catalog that Byron had been pondering for days, trying to choose the right model to buy. He already had a racing bike, but he wanted to get one that could go on road and off road for gravel roads and trails.
“I found the perfect early birthday present for you,” Emily announced. “The Ventana Nemesis.”
Byron was in the middle of working something out on his computer, so he didn’t look up right away. When he did, the motorcycle of his dreams was staring him in the face from the glossy catalog.
“It’s 400 CC engine will take you anywhere across the most rugged terrain,” Emily continued, “And maybe I’ll get one for myself too... a smaller one, like this Ventana Minion.”
“Are you kidding?” Byron asked.
“No. I’m serious.”
“But you were always nervous about motorcycles, and you didn’t even like the idea of me riding my bike around the race track.”
“This is different,” Emily stated. “We need to learn not to be afraid of being afraid.”
“Okay...” a slow smile illuminated his face. “I think Dr. Williams has been spouting his Zen wisdom. But I don’t know why you say ‘we’. I was never afraid of motorcycles.”
“Doesn’t matter who was afraid in the past,” Emily declared, “We need to do it.”
“Okay. I can teach you if you like,” he offered.
“Really? That would be amazing!”
Emily’s company had been doing so well lately that she could easily afford to get the two motorcycles. After all the wonderful things Byron had done for her, she was happy to get him an extravagant gift like a brand new motorcycle.
She started practicing on gravel roads away from traffic flow, where she could first learn to operate the powerful machine. It was tricky at first, trying to shift gears to take off and not fall off the bike. She fell a few times going at slow speeds, but it was nothing really traumatic. Soon, she had better control of the gears, and she felt a growing sense of accomplishment.
Emily knew what Dr. Williams meant now. Her confidence grew every time she got on the bike, consciously trying to rein in her fear. Instead of feeling afraid, she felt thrilled soaring down the road with the powerful engine roaring beneath her.
