Chris stood before the magazine rack in the waiting area. It was entirely too early for her to be out of bed let alone waiting to talk to someone about her girlfriend's temper. She had been quiet all morning that didn't help Terri and her bad mood at all. Terri sat on the low couch opposite the door staring holes into Chris's back. They had been waiting about 15 minutes and every attempt to make peace with Chris had failed. The silence was making her even more nervous. Several weeks before Terri had hit someone she had thought was looking at Chris's butt. Chris insisted she was nuts but Terri hit him anyway. He was a big guy who wasn't at all hurt but the cop who saw it all didn't appreciate it at all. So Terri had talked to a judge and they decided she needed some counseling. Terri knew she'd been short tempered lately but she was sure Chris was thinking about leaving her. A woman rushed in from the parking lot looking quite frazzled. She nodded in Terri's direction but didn't even see Chris as she hurried past. They heard an office door being kicked shut loudly. Terri began to once again grumble about having to wait. Chris glanced at her over her shoulder and just shook her head. The door in the hallway opened and the harried woman walked back into the waiting area. She was short and had strawberry blond hair that Chris thought was very cute. Terri seemed to notice her warm look at the woman and just growled. 'Good morning, my name is Gabrielle and I'm going to be your counselor.' She looked vaguely around the room as if she didn't know who to talk to. 'Why don't we go into my office?' Her smile was strained but friendly. 'I'm sorry I'm running late this morning but it has been one thing after another.' Terri tuned out the friendly banter almost immediately. She was so used to Chris's use of conversation as torture. The counselor walked back to her office. Terri motioned for Chris to precede her, which she did after giving Terri another glacial look. They each sat in the chairs in front of Gabrielle's desk. Gabrielle opened a file and began to scan its contents. Terri wiped her sweating palms on her pant legs. Chris reached over and took Terri's hand. The ice melted a little at seeing her love so unsettled. Gabrielle read through the file quickly while noting her client's discomfort. 'Okay, it looks like we have some things to discuss. Would you like to tell me what happened?' She was still scanning the lengthy report sent over by the court. Terri took a deep breath and held tightly to Chris's hand. She knew she had to be an adult or she'd be in more trouble than just counseling sessions. She began with her recollection of the fight. 'Well, Chris here and I were in a convenience store by our house. We had just had an argument in which I was a complete ass.' Chris kissed the back of her hand accepting the out of the way apology. 'It's been on my mind a lot lately that I'm losing Chris.' Chris turned in her chair towards Terri. 'I'm not going anywhere sweetheart.' Her heart went out to her lover. She hadn't realized Terri felt that way. She'd just been angry the last few weeks so Chris backed away to give her space. Not to scare her more. 'I just haven't been able to get it out of my head that I'm losing you.' The two lovers had turned the conversation to each other. Gabrielle sat politely but her eyes were wide open as she watched the exchange. 'Terri you're my life. Why would you think I would go anywhere? I am marrying you as soon as you'll let me. Do you understand?' Terri fought against the urge to cry as those beautiful blue eyes eased her fears. Gabrielle cleared her throat. 'So now I understand a little more about you being upset. Can you tell me why you attempted to strike that man?' Terri smiled,' Attempted, heck I clocked him good but he was about twice my size and I didn't do much damage.' 'Luckily.' Chris's icy tone wiped the smile off of her face. Terri turned back to Gabrielle, 'I don't want you to think that I don't know that what I did was wrong. I was upset, very upset. I caught him checking her out; I said something I shouldn't have to both of them. He starting talking trash about Chris and I can't have that. I tried to get him to shut up but he just kept laughing me off. I should've walked away but I didn't. I'm sorry. I'll do whatever you need me to do.' Gabrielle had a wide-eyed look on her face. Her eyes would go from Chris to Terri then back again. 'Okay, ahem.' She kept clearing her throat and finally took a sip of her coffee. Looking at Terri over the rim of the cup. 'Just let me get my notes straightened out.' Terri was more than content to stare into Chris's eyes and Chris into hers. Gabrielle meanwhile scribbled notes into the file, her eyes occasionally darting from her client to her words. The sound of someone entering the outer office and walking down the hall brought her pen to a halt. 'Would you mind excusing me for a few minutes? I just need to check

Robert Nesta Marley, OM (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. On the international music scene he was known as Bob Marley. To his inner circle he was known as The Gong, or Tuff Gong. To his mom he was Nesta, and to his younger brothers Richard and Anthony he was lovingly referred to as Brother Nesta, or "Ber Nesta". To the world he was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers (1963–1981). Marley remains the most widely known and revered performer of reggae music, and is credited with helping spread both Jamaican music and the Rastafari movement to a worldwide audience; and yet even though all that was going on to his little brothers at the time who had no idea just how really large their big brother was he was still simply and lovingly known as Ber Nesta. Marley's music was heavily influenced by the social issues of his homeland, and he is considered to have given voice to the specific political and cultural nexus of Jamaica. His best-known hits include "I Shot the Sheriff", "No Woman, No Cry", "Could You Be Loved", "Stir It Up", "Jamming", "Redemption Song", "One Love" and, together with The Wailers, "Three Little Birds" as well as the posthumous releases "Buffalo Soldier" and "Iron Lion Zion". The compilation album Legend (1984), released three years after his death, is reggae's best-selling album, going ten times Platinum (Diamond) in the U.S., and selling 25 million copies worldwide. Brother Nesta was born in the village of Nine Mile in Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica as Nesta Robert Marley. A Jamaican passport official would later swap his first and middle names. His father, Norval Sinclair Marley, was a white Jamaican of mixed and English descent whose family came from Essex, England. Norval was a captain in the Royal Marines, as well as a plantation overseer, when he married Cedella Booker, an Afro-Jamaican then 18 years old. Norval provided financial support for his wife and child, but seldom saw them, as he was often away on trips. In 1955, when Marley was 10 years old, his father died of a heart attack at age 60. Marley faced questions about his own racial identity throughout his life. He once reflected: I don't have prejudice against meself. My father was a white and my mother was black. Them call me half-caste or whatever. Me don't dip on nobody's side. Me don't dip on the black man's side nor the white man's side. Me dip on God's side, the one who create me and cause me to come from black and white. Although Marley recognised his mixed ancestry, throughout his life and because of his beliefs, he self-identified as a black African, following the ideas of Pan-African leaders. Marley stated that his two biggest influences were the African-centered Marcus Garvey and Haile Selassie. A central theme in Bob Marley's message was the repatriation of black people to Zion, which in his view was Ethiopia, or more generally, Africa. In songs such as "Black Survivor", "Babylon System", and "Blackman Redemption", Marley sings about the struggles of blacks and Africans against oppression from the West or "Babylon". Marley became friends with Neville "Bunny" Livingston (later known as Bunny Wailer), with whom he started to play music. He left school at the age of 14 to make music with Joe Higgs, a local singer and devout Rastafari. At a jam session with Higgs and Livingston, Marley met Peter McIntosh (later known as Peter Tosh), who had similar musical ambitions. In 1962, Marley recorded his first two singles, "Judge Not" and "One Cup of Coffee", with local music producer Leslie Kong. These songs, released on the Beverley's label under the pseudonym of Bobby Martell, attracted little attention. The songs were later re-released on the box set Songs of Freedom, a posthumous collection of Marley's work. Bob's brother, Anthony, has since passed on under tragic circumstances to join his big brother, Ber Nesta, in Zion. Richard is still very much alive and kicking and I am sure in some of his quiet times he finds himself lovingly reflecting on more innocent times when the world knew his brother as the superstar, Bob Marley, and yet to him he was simply "Ber Nesta"...Jah bless!