Bette and Tina sat face to face and tried to clear everything from their minds. They smiled a bit self-consciously as they gazed into each others eyes; chocolate brown orbs met hazel green ones as they sat in silence and concentrated. The minute went by too quickly. They almost regretted hearing Paul’s voice telling them that time was up.

“OK ladies that was great. You don’t seem to have any issues with maintaining eye contact. Did either of you experience any discomfort or did you want to look away at any time?”

“No … I think our eyes always spoke to each other even when we couldn’t find words.”

“Yeah I agree. I sometimes lose myself when she looks at me a certain way.”

“OK let’s try it again but this time move in a little and hold hands. I want you to maintain the eye contact but also be aware of the physical touch. We’ll do that for 60 seconds as well.”

Bette and Tina moved closer and held hands while they gazed into each others eyes. They’re fingers entwined and fit perfectly together like puzzle pieces. Bette’s thumb automatically moved in to caress and Tina tightened her grip. Bette still wore her commitment band but Tina had removed hers when she’d found out about the affair. She hadn’t replaced it when they got back together. It might have been because her finger had swollen due to the pregnancy. After the baby it could have been that it just didn’t seem worthwhile to bother or more likely it had lost its significance to her since they were no longer in a committed relationship. Bette’s continuing to wear hers was likely as a constant reminder of what she’d risked and lost by having the affair. Paul noticed that Tina was twisting Bette’s ring almost subconsciously. When he called time they broke their gaze but kept holding hands which was another good sign.

“We’re going to do one more eye contact exercise. This time I want you to stand up and face each other. Once again the eye contact is maintained but I want you to embrace each other loosely. Stand as close together as you can while still being able to look each other in the eye then move further and further apart. You are free to move back and forth at your own pace but keep both physical and eye contact. When you are furthest away from each other I want your arms outstretched and your fingertips to be touching. Focus on how you feel at different proximities. Is there any discomfort when you are in close proximity, do you miss the contact when you are apart. You’ll do this for two minutes.”