Simone
SIMONE
S imone and Remy had only known each other for two months; each was still the newest person in the other’s life.
Count the number of full hours spent in each other’s company and it may not even amount to a full day.
Yet Simone drove Remy to an address already saved in her GPS; and Simone knew not to disturb the silence in the car.
She understood that Remy needed time to formulate her thoughts into a more cohesive structure before articulating them verbally.
Just as the GPS declared five remaining minutes of their journey, Remy said, “I panicked when I saw the blood, so on my way to the doctor’s, I looked up what could be wrong…
I thought it was implantation bleeding. Do you know what that is?
It happens when the developing embryo plants itself into the wall of your womb.
” Remy paused. “All I could think was, It’s making itself a home .
” She stared out to the sheets of rain sliding down the windshield, and her eyes followed the wipers as if begging to be hypnotized.
“I told the doctor before you arrived; she said I didn’t have to worry because implantation bleeding usually happens around four weeks or earlier.
” Remy looked at Simone. “I’m past that now.
The home is made.” She returned to the windshield.
“I’ve been getting on with my days, ignoring it all.
Now I know… I have to make a decision.”
Part of Simone wanted to tell Remy that this much was obvious, but mostly, she felt sympathy instead.
What must it be like, Simone thought, to be of two minds about a decision that will affect the rest of your life?
To live with regret in either scenario would be a heavy burden to bear, especially for someone as empathetic as Remy.
Simone was slowly coming to terms with the fact that she had befriended (yes, she conceded that they were in fact friends now) a deeply feeling person.
But Simone also thought that emotional intelligence might actually be Remy’s superpower.
Simone saw people and their circumstances in black and white; Remy’s world was multicolored.
She was the kind of person whose brain clocked Simone mentioning her birthday during a palm reading and who went the extra mile to show up at her door, cake in hand.
Simone was not a fan of buttercream icing, and Remy would have noticed that without her having to say so; Remy would next present her a cake with perhaps cream-cheese icing instead.
Rather than just ask Simone what she preferred, Remy would actively engage in trial and error, as if it would make the taste of eventual success sweeter for her.
Simone loved that about Remy and would likely loathe those very same qualities in anyone else.
That was a revelation that made Simone grip the steering wheel a little tighter as her heart warmed.
Simone knew what Remy should do, and what Remy had to admit to herself in order to do it, but Simone was in no position to tell her. It was a realization Remy would have to come to on her own. Only then would she have minimal regrets about her eventual decision.
Alas, Simone often forgot how trying it was waiting for people to see the obvious.
“Yes, you do need to make a decision,” Simone said, gathering herself. “And unfortunately, there could be some regret awaiting you at the end of either choice. But one still has to be made, so my advice is to pick the option with the lowest level of residual regret attached.”
You’ve arrived at your destination.
“I’m…” Simone cleared her throat. “I’m always here. For you. To talk. Etcetera.” She garbled the last few words.
Remy smiled and it softened her face and took the fear from her eyes. “I know you are.”