Spring 1994

Spring 1994 is the flashback period in which Kathy, reeling from her breakup with Chase, begins crossing boundaries with her therapist, Evan Harris. A counseling session ends with Harris kissing her and arranging to meet her in the woods that night; Kathy’s confusion and anger at her mother help turn that invitation into a decision to go.

Setting and Emotional Background

The recollection opens in a bright but cramped counseling room, with books on the shelves and a large picture of a summer meadow facing the couch. Kathy sinks onto the couch, exhausted from crying. Two nights earlier, her mother had found her waiting for Chase at a hotel. The breakup has devastated her, and her thoughts have turned to the other girlfriends Chase said he had, leaving her angry and wanting to hurt him back.

The Counseling Relationship

Harris is twenty-eight and, the narration notes, Kathy is one of his first clients since he qualified. In their final session, he writes down a place for them to meet at seven that evening and slips her the paper. Kathy recognizes that the woods are not far from her house and agrees to go. As she leaves, Harris leans in and kisses her by surprise. The kiss feels unlike Chase’s: not soft or tender, but hungry and forceful, and it scares her. Harris then tells her to go home while he writes up their final-session notes.

The Decision to Meet

Kathy walks out confused and pauses in the waiting room, wondering whether to tell someone what happened. The receptionist tells her that her mother is waiting outside. Kathy immediately hardens against the interruption, reading her mother’s presence as an effort to control her and keep her from seeing Chase. Seeing her mother smile from behind the windshield strengthens Kathy’s resolve: she will meet Harris that night and do what she wants. The spring episode thus ends not with clarity about the kiss, but with Kathy’s hurt and defiance carrying her toward the meeting.