As a general rule, when clients are late for session, I only give them the remaining time left from the 45 minutes they scheduled. More than likely there is someone scheduled after the tardy client and it's not fair to keep that person waiting. In fact, if the first appointment of the day is late and I go over time, the daily schedules are thrown off for another 8 or 9 people. Exceptions always exist however, especially for heroes. A client came in late last week for one of the better reasons I've heard in a long time. Either that or she's a pretty creative liar.
"Dr. Dobrenski, I'm so sorry I'm late," she panted. "I was waiting for the bus, and this business man, probably about 50, approached this 20-something woman right next to me. He was coming on to her pretty strong and she clearly wanted nothing to do with him but he wouldn't let up. After asking for her phone number and being told politely about 50 times that she wasn't interested, she finally said 'fuck off, jerk!' A lot of people heard it and started laughing. "
"The guy looked mortified, and he poured his soda all over this woman's head! And then just started to walk away. So she runs after him and shoves him in the back. He turns, grabs her arm, and swings her into the back of a cab. She hit the bumper pretty hard and landed on the ground sobbing. It was horrible. When the guy realized that she might be hurt, he started to walk away, fast enough to get the hell out of there, but still slow enough to try to not draw attention. But there were people everywhere. Some just stared, a couple of people helped pick up the woman and started comforting her, but I screamed 'I'm gonna fucking kill you asshole!' and started running after him."
"When the guy sees me running toward him, he breaks out in an all-out sprint down the street, me tailing behind. Other people started up behind me and we basically formed this lynch mob chasing the guy up 3rd Avenue. He was in a suit with his laptop and briefcase, so the extra weight eventually slowed him down. I caught up to him after about 10 blocks, grabbed him his collar, and dragged him down to the ground. The mob formed a circle around him so he couldn't get away again. When he got up, I kicked him in the balls as hard as I could. I'm sorry, can I say 'balls' in here?"
"Of course you may, this is your private sanctuary." I wasn't sure if I was going to get to speak much this session, so I needed my few words to be profound.
"Anyway, so the guy collapsed to the ground, holding his crotch, now just a pathetic ball of Armani and sweat. Everyone started to cheer and two men hoisted me up on their shoulders, like I had just won the Super Bowl. They started to carry me to a bar to celebrate when I realized that I needed to be here. So I thanked everyone for their support, gave my card to someone to give to the woman who was hurt in case she wanted to press charges, and here I am. I'm sorry, it won't happen again."
As she told her story, I started to think about 9/11. After the terrorist attacks, I noticed that people were a lot kinder and gentler to each other but, unfortunately, that was temporary. After a few months people went back to being themselves, which sadly was often selfish and mean. But not my client. This woman was a true hero in my eyes, sticking up for that person and putting herself at risk by chasing after the guy. We made up the therapy time by going over for about 20 minutes and I felt great and honored to be helping her.
"Some people are so great, life is great!" I thought as we talked. After the session, I went out into the waiting room to greet the next appointment, a new client. I apologized for being 20 minutes late, beginning to explain that there were special circumstances involved. The guy stood up, tore up the check that I presume was my fee, told me to go fuck myself, and walked out.
Such a strange twist of events, a true buzz kill. It certainly doesn't support the notion that no good deed goes unrewarded. I suppose it could be worse. Imagine how the guy in the Armani suit feels.
Posted by Rob Dobrenski at 3:34 PM