The Henry Tapes

(Mrs. B): “Good afternoon. I’m here with Henry Grass. The date is August 11th, 2XXX. How have you been since our first meeting Henry?”

(Henry): “Things have been okay.”

(Mrs. B): “That’s good. I remember you mentioning you were feeling stressed?”

(Henry): “Yes, I’ve taken on some more responsibility this year. I get overwhelmed with some of the work it’s been giving me migraines.”

(Mrs. B): “Have you spoken to your boss about it? Maybe you both could work out a way to lessen the load on you?”

(Henry): “No. I haven’t but um… it’s probably better not to.”

(Mrs. B): “What makes you say that?”

(Henry): “I don’t want to upset anyone.”

(Mrs. B): “Like who?”

(Henry): “Leon put a lot on the line making me the assistant manager. Also, my dad's reputation would be ruined if I fumbled this kind of thing so I’m okay with it… I just need help managing the stress.”

(Mrs. B): “That’s something I can assist in. A work-life balance is an important part of stress management. What do you do in your free time?”

(Henry): “I go camping quite a bit, fishing, and a lot of bowling.”

(Mrs. B): “Sounds fun. Do you go with friends, family, or a partner?”

(Henry): “I go with a partner.”

(Mrs. B): “Have you two been together long?”

(Henry): “Yes, I guess so. Since I was 18 so three years…”

(Mrs. B): “That’s a long time for younger people. How is that relationship?”

(Henry): “You think so? (Laughs nervously). It’s good I think. It’s my first relationship so I don’t have a metric to base it on really.”

(Mrs. B): “Are you older or younger than her?”

(Henry): “Oh, they’re older than me.”

(Mrs. B): “How did you meet?”

(Henry): “The company I work for. We met there…”

(Mrs. B): “Okay. Do they still work for the company? I know some places don’t allow workplace relationships.”

(Henry): “Yes. We work together.” (Left Knee begins to bounce up and down.)

(Mrs. B): “Are you uncomfortable? We can change the subject if you’d like.”

(Henry): “If you wouldn’t mind…”

(Mrs. B): “No problem! So you like fishing, camping and bowling. What else do you do, just on your own?”

(Henry): “Oh um… I don’t think I do anything else. I’m never really alone.”

(Mrs. B): “Does that bother you? Companionship is great but we all need time to ourselves.”

(Henry): “I get bothered sometimes. I feel suffocated at times, but I don’t want to be alone like I was…”

(Mrs. B): “When were you alone?”

(Henry): “Growing up, I was always by myself. My family didn’t want me around so if I wasn’t at practice I was alone for the most part.”

(Mrs. B): “I’m sorry you felt that way growing up. Do you have siblings?”

(Henry): “I have a younger sister and brother. We don’t talk so I don’t know much about them.”

(Mrs. B): “It seems you're estranged from everyone but your father, am I right?”

(Henry): “Yeah…”

(Mrs. B): “Why do you think that is?”

(Henry): “My mom and dad got divorced during my senior year… I left home after graduation and when i came back it was just him and me. I guess that made us closer.”

(Mrs. B): “Where did you go after graduation?”

(Henry): “I…well… I stayed in Atlanta for a couple of months. I didn’t like it there so I came back home.”

(Mrs. B): “What was in Atlanta?”

(Henry): “Nothing really… nothing good.”

(Mrs. B): “I see, did you have plans to continue your education? Maybe pursue football into college?”

(Henry): “No…I didn’t.”

(Mrs. B): “How about now?”

(Henry): “Uh…I thought about it, but…”

(Mrs. B): “What would you go to school for?”

(Henry): “I wanted to go into Law.”

(Mrs. B): “That’s a noble career. Why Law?”

(Henry): “My mom is a lawyer and I looked up to her… it was just a dream though.”

(Mrs. B): “Dreams are just goals you haven’t planned out yet. If it’s something you truly want for yourself I believe you can make it happen.”

(Henry): “Thank you.”

(Mrs. B): “Do you have a support system?”

(Henry): “What do you mean?”

(Mrs. B): “Is there anyone you can talk to about things going on in your life? Or someone you trust to go to in times of need?”

(Henry): “Oh…no, not really. I talk to L- I mean…no.”

(Mrs. B): “Well, when trying to manage stress it’s good to have people to lean on. While I’m happy to help you, having others can be of help too. We can talk further about building up your interpersonal relationship another time.”

(Henry): “Okay, sounds good.”

(Mrs. B): “Is there anything you want to share? Maybe something that’s been on your mind?”

(Henry): “Yeah… I got into an argument with a coworker the other day. It was something silly about tardiness. I just mentioned to him that it would be a write-up if it happened again… he called me a name and it bothered me a bit.”

(Mrs. B): “Do you mind telling me what he called you?”

(Henry): “A faggot…”

(Mrs. B): “That was very rude of him, and disrespectful as your subordinate. I’d understand why that would bother you.”

(Henry): “Yeah… I didn’t tell anyone about it. I’ve just tried to ignore it.”

(Mrs. B): “You should tell your boss if your work environment is feeling uncomfortable. It’s not good to hold those types of feelings in.”

(Henry): “…”

(Mrs. B): “Why do you think he chose that word?”

(Henry): “I’m not sure.”

(Mrs. B): “Is there a reason it bothers you?”

(Henry): “I’m not sure.”

(Mrs. B): “That’s okay. All I can say is what he said to you is not okay. If you’re truly bothered by his remarks consider taking it to higher management and find a way to resolve the issue. Your peace of mind matters.”

(Henry): “I’ll consider it.”

(Mrs. B): “We’ll have to pick back up on this next week… same time?”

(Henry): Yes. Thank you.”

‘Beep’ ‘Click’