Chapter Text
SEXISM: that’s what it is. NOT the disregarding if the directive. NOT the substituting of HER paltry experience against that
of a decade of like circumstances [that of Battalion Chief/Acting Fire Chief McCallister]. Not her...NOT HER
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Long minutes during which Maya stares at her hands and Diane looks out the window. Both women wait for the other to begin.
Diane breaks the silence with: "You have twenty-five minutes left, Maya."
"I hit Carina. More than once. Sometimes she fights back but usually, she doesn't."
"I must say that I didn't foresee THAT. Hmmm. If Carina reports this-"
"I KNOW," Maya interrupts irritably. "Why am I always the bad guy?! She...she...HARPS and HARPS: Bambina, are you okay-it's okay to
not be okay' " she mimics. "Fuck HER and FUCK THIS!"
Diane waits quietly during Maya's 'storm-out'; three minutes later she returns and plops back into her chair. "I'm sorry. I...I apologize
Diane. I don't know myself anymore, I...Carina is the BEST-she's done nothing but try to help me and YOU have been amazing. In my
thought; clearly, I'm not."
"Decades of deeply-ingrained conditioning is not overcome in ten sessions. My opinion has always been that long-term therapy: LONG-
TERM, INTENSIVE THERAPY-is in order for you. Now that the trauma's manifested in physical violence, my only option is to bench you
indefinitely."
"I understand."
Choosing her next words carefully, Diane says "And if you touch her again I'll not only inform the department but SFD. YOU DON'T TOUCH
HER AGAIN, Maya. Is that understood?"
"Yes. Of course. I won't; I promise."
"Good enough. I want to see you three times weekly-it's clear with the department. Be well, Maya-regards to Carina."
*****The second session, the following week*****
"My friend Ryan Tanner-do you know him?-he did some checking for me, and I might know why Lane was so focused on me."
(Diane doesn't mention that she knows Tanner WELL-she treated him for thoughts of suicide after Andy Herrera married Robert
Sullivan)..."I'm acquainted with Officer Tanner...what did he discover?"
"Lane is a failed athlete. He failed at his own business venture until he took over my Grandpa's supermarkets after he died-and they don't
let him make decisions -he's a figurehead. He doesn't care, because he can 'haunt' me night and day: in-state meets...international...
do you suppose he tried to live his life through ME?"
"You refer to him as 'Lane' now."
Maya mumbles "He stopped being 'Dad' the first time he made me walk twenty miles to get home after a meet...I missed my previous race
time by FOUR-TENTHS OF A SECOND, Diane! We lived in OREGON! Another time he made me stay outside for two hours-again during winter
in Oregon because I ate a candy bar. He's a psychotic PRICK, and I actually got angry when anyone would point that out to me. I mean...I-
I guess I KNEW IT, but he's my DAD. Could he be a narsccisist ?"
"I haven't examined him, though based on your description it's possible," Diane answers. "It isn't uncommon for parents to live vicariously
through their offspring. They sometimes become bullies, despots. The adage 'absolute power corrupts absolutely' is right on, as much as
any other saying. I suspect that he may very well be... and your reaction is a natural one-very common among abused offspring. I'd like
you to try this prescription: it isn't healthy for a person your age to sleep only four hours out of every twenty-four."