Eris' Reckoning

“They needed to be taught a lesson.  They lost their way.  Judgement will reign down upon them one day and they are not ready.”

“Eris, it was not your place to start a pandemic on earth.”

“Father I didn’t start the pandemic. It was their own hubris that started the pandemic.  You know as well as I, they will be the cause of their own destruction.  It serves them right.  They no longer worship us.  They worship themselves. Remember when war, pestilence, and disease served to idolize all of us. Temples, Churches, and Great Works of Art were created in our honor to pay homage to the blessings for enlightening them out of the darkness.”

“Eris, one day they will return to us, but for now you will be punished.  Your stunt went out of hand.  You shall be banished to earth and made mortal until deemed otherwise.” 

“But Father they are more in the dark than ever before and slipping further."

 “Enough,” as the voice bellowed with such force that it overwhelmed her senses.

A moment passed and Eris was awakened by the damp earth beneath her.  Rays of sunlight shined down upon her as a gentile morning rain had ended.  Towering over her were sunflowers swaying against the bright blue sky.  She stood up to greet the sunflowers and watched how peculiar her shadow looked. She amused herself with playful gestures to watch her limbs eclipse the morning sun.  She walked, danced, and twirled until a road intersected the edge of the sunflower field. As she stood pondering which way to proceed a car was speeding toward her.  

She stared at the car ignoring the puddle of water in front of her. Once the car passed, she found herself wet.  She then reminded herself there were consequences to being human. Eris always had a contingency plan to conceal omnipotence on earth to procure when mortal.  This was not her first time being punished in this manner.  The wind chased after the car and that was the direction Eris walked.

In the car Brie looked at Dane and said, “You could have slowed down and perhaps even managed to avoid the puddle. That poor soul standing on the side of the road is probably drenched.”

“How could I have even seen that puddle.  It was on your side of the car.  I am trying to get us there by before lunch. Besides what idiot would be standing on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere in the first place."

“I am just saying you could have been more considerate,” Brie said.

“Considerate, not this again.  Really.  I have been driving four hours, and you are more worried about the clown on the side of the road?”

Brie put on her sunglasses. She stared out of the window then responded, “I just thought this was a good idea.  Margot and Bradley went to a couples retreat before the pandemic.  When everyone else was breaking up they got engaged. After spending a year together quarantined, I think we need to learn new strategies to cope with each other.”

“I’m not convinced that sharing my feelings with strangers is going to make me contempt with my life,” responded Dane.

“You mean content,” countered Brie.

“That’s what I said, content with my life.”

“That’s not what you said.” 

“What difference does it make?"

“You promised that you would try.  Besides you are going to love where we are staying.  Did I tell you it’s a working farm bread and breakfast?  Its literally farm to table.” She said.

“Is this it?” Dane slowed down to make sure he was reading the sign properly. “Haydees Bed and Breakfast.  Haydees.  Are you kidding me?”

“Stop it’s just a name.”

“And there is a gate. We are literally driving through a gate.”

“You promised to keep an open mind about this.” Brie reminded him.  Dane parked the car and carried their luggage to the front door.  They walked into the Victorian Farmhouse, and a man was waiting for them at the front desk. 

“Welcome to Haydees Bed and Breakfast.  As you can see this is a working farm.  All the food we serve is directly sourced from right out back.  Let me help you with your luggage.”

“My name is Brie,” she said while inspecting the furnishings, “and this is Dane.  We are here for the couples retreat.”

“Yes of course you are the first couple to arrive.  Let me show you to your room. Your therapist John will meet you in a hour.”

Eris walked down the road until she came across the sign for the Bed and Breakfast.  A smirk appeared on her face.  When Eris passed through the gate, she vanished.

Later that afternoon Dane and Brie went downstairs for the first meeting of the couple’s retreat. They entered the room where they were greeted by the therapist.  “Hello, my name is John Milton.  You two must be Dane and Brie.  Welcome to this little paradise. I hope you did not get lost on the way.  One wrong turn and you could be driving quite for a while before you picked up a GPS signal again.  This is Evelyn and Addison.  Please have a seat.”

John continued, “Now that we have everyone here, I would like to explain the concept.  It’s based on the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse. Don’t worry it’s just a metaphor.  The Four Horsemen are Criticism, Contempt, Defensiveness and Stonewalling.  If your communication embodies one of these horsemen, then your partner could be responding as one of the other horsemen.  When a couple persist in this endless cycle then there is a high probability that the relationship will end.  Treatment entails identifying as individuals which horsemen you are.  It’s not enough to be told.  Remember the eye cannot see itself.  Once you become self-aware then I can teach healthy and productive patterns of communication. This will allow you to empathize with your partner. As with anything whatever we feed grows. This is a safe space where there is no judgement.  Sharing how you communicate with your partner will give the other couple insight into themselves. Now let’s get to know each other better.”

After the first session Dane and Brie returned to their room.  Addison and Evelyn went outside for a walk. “I can’t believe you were checking that guy out. At a couples retreat don’t you have any shame?” Addison said.

“I smiled and greeted the both of them,” Evelyn replied.

“You kept smiling at him long past greeting them, and it clearly was not my imagination,” Addison added.

“God, forbid I appear sociable around strangers while exposing our relationship issues.  If I knew you were going to be accusing me of flirting with a man at a couple’s retreat, I would have never agreed to any of this.”

“I saw your eye wondering toward him. I know she isn’t your type. You would never find anyone attractive that ties a sweater around their neck.  Who does that on a farm, an actual farm?  Probably gets full on cucumber sandwiches. I hope that you are taking this therapy seriously.  I want us to be happy.”

Evelyn gently caressed Addison’s hands.  She looked Addison in the eyes, but with a heavy heart said, “You know that I love you.”

“I’m sorry I don’t know what came over me.”

The second hour of the therapy began.  Sitting on the floor, John Milton ended 10 minutes of meditation with “and may we have the strength to liberate ourselves from our unconscious attachment to our likes, our dislikes, our wants and our fears. Namaste,” John invited everyone to rise from their pillow and have a seat.  In the first seminar we identified the communication pattern that correlates to your personal horsemen.”

John looked at Brie and said, “Brie the group concluded that you exhibit signs of stonewalling when Dane conveys contempt.  Emotionally withdrawing and shutting down is not good for you or your relationship.  The next time you have an argument. It would be better to say I am feeling too emotional to talk about this now.  Can we please take a break and continue this later?  Dane you probably do not even recognize you are being so aggressive.  You and Brie should agree on a signal to indicate that she needs a break. Then you can reformulate what you are trying to convey as opposed to blaming Brie for how you feel.”

John then looked toward Addison and Evelyn.  “Evelyn is clearly exhibiting the horsemen of defensiveness which is a result of your criticism Addison. The antidote to defensiveness Evelyn, is to accept responsibility for your role in the situation. Even it’s only part of the conflict.  Addison the problem with being too critical is that you may not realize how frequently it happens. It is important that you recognize the difference between expressing a complaint and criticizing.”  

“Now let’s engage in a bit of role playing where we switch partners.  Evelyn, please sit next to Dane and Brie please sit with Addison,” John stood up to pace around the room. “In our previous session, Brie recalled an incident where you felt that Dane was using sarcasm too harshly.  You felt as if he was almost disgusted by you. Now when you disengage in order to not feel, this triggers Dane to push harder.  The point of this exercise is to be able to recognize what Brie’s efforts might look like.  Now Evelyn please engage Dane with what you think Brie might say,” said John.

Evelyn turned to face Dane.  She said “Dane, when we argue I shut down emotionally,” She turned her body toward him, held his hands, and mimicked his posture. “When I turn away, I do so only because I feel overwhelmed.  I just need a break and would appreciate if we could discuss it later”.  At this point Evelyn was staring deeply into his eyes. 

“Thank you, Evelyn. Did you find that helpful Dane?” asked John. 

“No not really, it just seemed ridiculous to me,” said Dane.

“Before we continue let’s take a few more minutes to breath and meditate,” John ended the 5 minutes of silence with “When we are prisoners of our own judgment, we blind ourselves from the whole story, Namaste. Let’s meet again in 30 minutes.  Then we will continue with Brie and Addison.”  

Addison stood up while Evelyn remained seated with Dane.  She stared at Evelyn anxiously.  They both walked outside to the orchard behind the house. Addison could no longer keep quiet “What was that? He said to roleplay not to undress him with your eyes.”

 “It was your idea to come here. I was only doing what was asked of me,” said Evelyn.

“I just thought you were serious about our commitment.”

“I am. That is why we are here in order to figure this out?”

“Figure what out? How to commit or if you want to commit,” Addison said with trepidation. Evelyn hesitated before she opened her mouth to respond, Addison rubbed her temple hiding her face and walked back into the house.

Brie and Dane walked outside to the front of the house.  “Do you think this is helping?  Do you see how you act? I have learned that my response encourages your negative behavior even further.”

Dane’s eyes squinted and then responded, “Well I guess I have some insight now as to how I act, but that’s more of a reaction from you to begin with.”

“Don’t you see this is where we would be in 30 years if there was no pandemic.”

“I am just trying to get through today. Now you expect me to answer a hypothetical statement based on a reality that has not even happened?” before Dane could finish Brie stormed off back to their room.

Addison returned back to Evelyn in the orchard, “I’m sorry for being difficult. I know at times I am overly critical.  I can appreciate that we are figuring out our relationship.  I am too tired to fight with you. Can you forgive me?”  Addison held her hand.

“Well, I suppose that I can forgive you,” said Evelyn.

Addison pulled Evelyn toward her and gently caressed her back. Evelyn closed her eyes and Addison kissed her.

At that moment Brie was looking out her window and saw Dane kissing Evelyn.

Evelyn opened her eyes and saw that she was kissing Dane.  She closed her eyes again and saw Addison when she opened them. Evelyn didn’t know what to think.  Perhaps it was just her imagination. The lingering thought of kissing Dane awoken something in her.  

Addison said, “Should we go back into the house? I will meet you in the room for the next session. I just need to freshen up.”

Evelyn entered the therapy room where Dane was waiting with John.  She sat down and stared at Dane.  Brie and Addison walked in and saw Evelyn staring at Dane. Brie shouted at Dane “What the hell is going on?” Dane looked confused. Evelyn was startled. Brie continued “I saw you kissing her behind the house.” 

Dane quietly pointed at himself.

“Yes you,” added Brie.

“You kissed him? I knew it.  I knew that you had a thing for him,” Addison said.

“I wasn’t kissing him. I was kissing you.  You came and kissed me but…”

“But what, clearly something happened,” said Addison.

“Why don’t we all sit down and discuss this like adults. Brie I am pleased to see that you are no longer playing the horsemen of stonewalling I suggest,” Said John.

Brie interrupted John before he could finish “I have had enough of your horse shit John.  The only horse Dane as ever been is a horse’s ass.  I’m leaving!” Brie went up to their room. Dane followed her.

Brie immediately pulled her clothes from the drawers and the closet to pack her suitcase. Dane stood by the door silently observing her.  Finally, he said “First you dragged me here for a couples retreat, then you get angry with me when I am not making enough progress, and now you are accusing me of kissing someone else.”

“It’s not just that.  This relationship is broken.  I don’t even think you want to fix it. I just think you want to blame me for being miserable.”

“Well, perhaps you make me miserable.”

“Well, then perhaps I am leaving you here to rot.” Brie took the keys to the car and left.

John walked toward the door after Dane and Evelyn left.  He said quietly to Evelyn and Addison that he would be available if they wanted to talk later.  Evelyn sat there with a bewildered look on her face.  She stood up and moved a bit disoriented and awkward. She walked past Addison and out of the house without saying a word.

Addison stood there motionless and short of breath as she watched Evelyn walk away. When she had the courage to confront Evelyn, she followed.  Evelyn was staring off in the distance so intently that she did not acknowledge Addison’s presence.  Finally, Evelyn looked at Addison and said, “We both know that it’s over.”

John Milton walked out of house and admired the sunflowers dancing back and forth on the side of the road.