Without Judgment
I remember the cat jumping up on the table next to me. I felt a combination of delight and desperation when I started petting the curious tabby. With Dermot on my lap, having just carried him in from the van where I was greeted by a man resembling Uncle Jesse from Dukes of Hazzard who was busy under the hood of a piece of shit Dodge minivan from 1984. "Are you Mr. Wood?" I asked, trying not to sound terrified that he was going to abduct Dermot and I and we would never be found again. "Nah." the uncle Jesse look alike replied. "He's in the house. Go on up". Gulp. I was not expecting this at all. This man had a website, all the information on his profession checked out, plus I even had two friends refer me to him. But as I turned off on to the dirt road and traveled for a mile or two while passing farms and vacated houses, my fear crept in. I unbuckled Dermot from his car seat and lifted him on my left hip. Being only two years old he was still l...