The Marriage Counselor

Tim ended up briefly in prison. He was hanging out with some guys from his work at a bar. He didn't know them that well, but they were making an effort to include him. One thing about Tim that they all knew, however, was that he was extremely awkward around women. He was confrontational, and it kept him single.

While they were casually discussing the idea that Tim should relax a bit and find ways to talk to women, one guy casually mentioned, "maybe you should try therapy." Tim attacked him, and it ended up as an assault charge. Part of the problem was that Tim refused to explain why the mention of therapy made him so violent. The judge, who was a stern one in any case, found Tim's lack of explanation to indicate a propensity for violence and decided to make a clear impression on Tim. The judge opted for prison instead of the usual community service.

He didn't spend that long in prison. It was a minimum security place, and Tim had to spend a little under two months there. There was almost nothing to do, at all, and Tim was alone with his thoughts most of the time.

He received one letter, one week in. It had a picture of Charlotte, in a bikini, on her knees, in a pose like one would find in an issue of Sports Illustrated. Her ample breasts glistening with droplets of water, and she looked seductively into the camera, while stroking back her wet hair with both hands. On the back, she had written "Hope you're still thinking of me."

Tim masturbated violently a lot looking at that picture, the whole time wishing he wasn't thinking of her.