The Course of True Love

When she arrived, I was doing the dishes.

“Honey, I was going to do that! You didn’t have to...,” she said with a big smile in her face. I admired how she was still able to produce such a genuine smile, even with everything that was going on. That’s one of the things I love most about my wife: nothing can drag her spirit down.

“It’s Ok, babe. I’m almost finished”.

She walked to me and gave me a hug.

“Hey, do you wanna watch a movie?” she asked.

“Yeah, go pick one and I’ll be with you in a minute”.

She nodded, gave me a kiss and left the room. I finished the dishes and went to the living room, but Amelia wasn’t there. I decided to wait for her, so I just laid on the sofa and closed my eyes. It had been a very intense day. For both of us.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

I opened my eyes slowly. Ms. Lucia was staring at me and – obviously - she was not happy. She was a very grumpy old lady, Ms Lucia. Great… that’s all I needed.

“I just...” I began but she swiftly interrupted me.

“I don’t care. There’s plenty to be done in the house. Move your lazy ass, for God’s sake”

I took a deep breath and counted to ten. There was no point arguing with Ms. Lucia.

“Fine, I’ll hang out the clothes”, I murmured and left the room. I wondered what had happened. I sighed. It was not easy to live with three women in the house. Especially when they were so different from one another…

My thoughts were interrupted when I stumbled on something left in the middle of the corridor and fell. Millie… always leaving her toys around the house. I felt pain and rubbed my feet. It had sprained. Damn…

I limped to the bedroom, looking for the first aid kit. I never found things in this house. Amelia was always changing the place of things and later never remembered where she had put them. Yeah, she moved the first aid too. Or maybe it was... I thought about calling one of the girls to ask them where the damn thing was, but I didn’t know who to call. I just went to the bathroom. It was the most logical place for something like this to be. Amelia was there, washing her hands. Seeing me limping, her eyes were instantly filled with care.

“What happened?”, she asked me, sounding a little concerned. I married a very lovely woman.

“What. This? Nothing. It’s just a sprain”

“You’re so clumsy, honey!” she said, with a very affectionate tone, “Come here. Let me take care of it”. She gave me her hand and helped me to sit on the toilet. She then found the first aid kit and began to work on my foot.

“There.”, she said, smiling tenderly at me.

“Thank you, babe”. I kissed her. “Do you want to watch that movie now?”

We went to the living room. I took her in my arms and stretched my legs, trying to relax. Some minutes later, she fell sleep. Her breath was heavy, but her face didn’t show any signs of distress. She looked very peaceful. I caressed her hair. I love this woman. I love her so much. I began to wonder what happened in her mind when she was gone. Where does she go while sleeping? I wondered who was here now, this dreaming head on my chest. Is this my Amelia? Or is this Ms. Lucia or even little Millie, stealing her dreams as occasionally they steal her life? I wondered where Amelia went when the others took over her body. The doctors said she was unable to remember the actions of her other selves. They also said that stress is what triggers the episodes, so they have been happening a lot. There’s nothing I can do about it, with her brother’s situation and everything.

I always try to do my best to cope with this situation. I try to surround her with all the love I can give. They said I had to be patient, show empathy. It is hard, so hard, but I guess Shakespeare was right…

“The course of true love never did run smooth”