Diary of the Beloved

"Judging from these marks, if I didn't know better, I'd swear your head was suspended over the side of the bed for a prolonged period of time with someone's hands around your neck. These bruises on your back look as if you've been banged up against something all night. They certainly weren't there when I last examined you. I'm sorry but you're going to have to stay in the hospital for at least a few more days." Looking completely horrified, Simone yells, "Uncle!" Laughing under his breath, Anthony gives in. "Okay, I'm only teasing you, you're free to go. But I'm warning you...take your medicine for the pain and swelling and absolutely no strenuous activity for the next few days." Thanking the nurse for her efforts, Samantha takes control of Simone's wheelchair. Securing Simone in her SUV, she then hands the wheelchair back over to the nurse. Climbing into the driver's seat, Samantha looks at Simone and says, "Emily and Christine and the Towers sisters had to get back to Hepburn County but send you their love. The others will meet up with us later. For now, I thought you could use some "me" time." Over cheeseburgers, fries and chocolate shakes, Simone bares her soul to Samantha. With teary eyes, she asks Samantha the question that's been troubling her since her attack, "Am I a whore for loving two men and sleeping with them both?" With twinkling eyes, Samantha responds, "No darling, you're not a whore, you're a lucky woman. Besides, you're not classified a whore until you reach number seven. You're only at two; that makes you lucky. When you get to three, you're a multi-tasker. When you get to four, you're a sophisticated woman of the world. When you get to five, you're wise and learned. When you get to six, you're a stupid slut because by that time you should have been charging and made enough money to retire. Of course, you know what you are when you get to seven, a bonafide lifetime whore. Need I go on?" Nearly bursting out of her badges with laughter from Samantha's antics, Simone is about to take a sip of water to stifle her hiccups when something out the window catches her attention. What she sees causes her to knock over her water. While Samantha sops up the water, Simone sneaks a peek out the window to confirm she's not hallucinating but there it is - Colin West standing next to his SUV with his arms around Paula Rainey, his paralegal. They're kissing in broad daylight like long lost lovers. With the water sopped up, Samantha says it's time to go that she has one more place she wants to take Simone before they go home. To ward off an inevitable fight if they leave now, Simone feigns a headache and orders a Chocolate Mocha to help get rid of it. Over coffee, she says to Samantha, "You've not said anything about Colin. Is everything okay between you two?" Putting her coffee down and sitting back in her chair, Samantha looks up at Simone with teary eyes and says, "No, it's not. I know he's having an affair. I just haven't figured out with whom." Then, she bursts into tears. Satisfied that she's cried enough tears and with her nose blown blue, Samantha tells Simone about what she calls Colin's "affairs of the heart." "You know he's just like Jacque in many ways. If I didn't know any better half the time I'd swear they're blood brothers not just best friends. The other half of the time, I'd swear they're in competition with one another to see which one can pull the most women while pulling our heart strings out. At least you're the lucky one; you have Wolf while all I have is Colin." Doing her best to comfort Samantha, Simone can't help but ask, "How do you know when he's having one of his affairs of the heart when you two are always together?" Reaching out and patting Simone's cheeks, Samantha smiles at her saying, "Darling, you're such an innocent. Men find a way. A woman's first clue that her man is cheating on her is the sex, it's different." With her mind now working overtime, Simone asks, "Different like how?" Laughing out loud, Samantha looks at Simone and says, "My darling girl, men have not the ability to hold more than one love in their hearts as we women do. A woman can love many men at once and never will one find out about the other unless the woman herself decides to spill the beans whereas with a man, a woman immediately knows. Sure, a man can enjoy the physical act of love - sex - with many women but emotionally he cannot. When he cares for more than one woman his heart constricts and reveals the constriction in the manifestation of his physical act. When Colin loves only me, I get everything he's got to give - the gentleness, the nurturing, even the roughness - the all night lovemaking. When he's loving me and trying to love someone else, an "affair of the heart," I get half of what he's got. There's no more bubble baths; no showers together; no candlelight dinners; and no more let's spend every moment of the day and night together, everything becomes a rush. Case in point, I've been back from my trial in Hepburn County for two days now and in those two days I've seen Colin a total of two hours." Opening her mouth to continue speaking, Samantha instead bursts into tears. Simone is doing her best to comfort Samantha when they're both startled by a voice that asks, "What's this...a beautiful woman crying?" Looking up and around to see where the voice came from, it is the sight of Wolf's handsome face that catches Simone's eye while Samantha's sight is drawn to that of the handsome stranger.