Nice

We meet on a deserted road in the middle of the day. Marie doesn’t even bother to pull off the road while she waits. She’s always there before me: relaxed, enjoying the day. Her husband’s a busy guy, her kids are in school all day, and there’s no-one keeping tabs on her.

She smiles when she sees me and it’s the warmest, most genuine smile I get all week.

“Is there any way I can get a little more this time?” I ask.

She tips her head and scrunches up her nose a little. It’s cute.

“More?”

“I want to try a higher dosage,” I explain.

“Why not cut back on one of the other days?”

I’m already shaking my head as she forms the question.

“I don’t want to go with less on the other days.”

She considers. I watch her teeth bite down on a full, pink lower lip and listen to the breeze rustling through the trees. It’s a hot day, as usual, but there’s always a cool breeze out here to make it bearable. I should get out more.

“I’m not sure it’s such a good idea, Diego,” she says.

My chest feels a little tight at her decision but I keep my voice casual as I say, “I understand I need to be careful, but I’ve been at the same level for a while now and I have it under control. But if you really think I can’t handle it…”

Her dark eyes flicker over to her car and then come back to rest on me. She reaches out a soft hand and rests it on my forearm.

“If you’re really sure,” she says, and she sounds genuinely concerned. It’d be nice if I got that kind of caring from others as well, instead of endless suspicion and complaints.

“I’m sure.”

“Okay. Wait a second, I’ll go grab an extra five milligrams. But that’s going to be fifty more.”

“Thanks Marie.”

As I pull out the extra cash from my wallet I watch her bend over to reach into her car from the corner of my eye and sigh. She’s so nice.

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Written for the #365daysofwriting challenge by @mydivathings from the Day 236 photo prompt.

Photo by abbs johnson.