Welcome to this new story. I'm glad to have you back for something new.
I will be posting a chapter or two a week. Happy reading and don't hesitate to give me your opinions in reviews!
The decision-making process is both complex and complicated for non-scientists to grasp. Nevertheless, it can be summarized in four stages that occur more or less self-consciously. First, the brain collects the data. Then, this information is processed. Then, the brain gives meaning to this information. Finally, the brain is able to make a decision. However, when the information is processed, it can be biased by various things such as our fears, our intuitions, or our beliefs.
Have you ever wondered how much one decision can change the course of your life? How different your life would have been if you had changed just one tiny decision? If you had changed just one decision in your life, you could have had a serious car accident and would have had a child, or you could have gone to Africa and would have built a great career as a surgeon before coming home three years later.
Chapter 1 - Seattle
It had been three years, a total of 1,095 days or 26,280 hours since Callie had cut off all contact with Arizona. Since they last met, many things had changed in Callie's life.
First, shortly after Arizona left, having difficulty dealing with the breakup, Callie spent the night with her best friend Mark. A few weeks later, she found out she was pregnant. At first, it was a devastating surprise. When she was a little girl, she fantasized about getting married first and then having a child with the person she was madly in love with. Getting pregnant with her best friend's baby was definitely not part of her plan, but Callie had always dreamed of becoming a mother. She could no longer imagine her life without this baby who now lived in her belly as well as in her dreams.
On his side, Mark had immediately accepted to raise this child with his friend. Indeed, he had always dreamed of having a real family.
Nine months later, after a peaceful pregnancy and delivery, the two friends welcomed a beautiful baby girl named Sofia Sloane-Torres. For the two surgeons, nothing else mattered but this little baby with a beautiful playful smile.
Callie's romantic situation had also changed. When Sofia was about six months old, a patient named Kate Williams came to the hospital after a car accident that severely damaged her knee. She was an extremely pretty young woman, a tall brunette with tattoos that made her terribly sexy to Callie.
Once her recovery was complete and Callie had removed her cast, Kate came to talk to her as she was filling out her chart.
"If I was allowed to remove this cast," the patient started, "it means that I am completely healed, doesn't it?"
"That's right, you are healed. You'll only have to put on a splint when you exercise and you'll have to do some muscle training to strengthen your knee, but other than those two small adjustments, you can be considered indeed healed."
"I guess since I am cured, you are no longer my doctor. Am I right?"
"You are right. I am not your doctor anymore."
"So, I guess there is nothing stopping me from inviting you to have a drink with me tonight, am I right once more?"
"Miss, I am sorry, but I will have to decline your proposal."
"I promise you it will be a pleasant evening for both of us."
"Even though you are really pretty, and your invitation is extremely flattering, I am no longer the kind of girl who likes to have one-night stands."
"I never said I wanted a one-night stand with you, Dr. Torres! I really like you."
"Listen up," Callie said, making sure to look into her eyes so that she would understand in her look what she meant, "you don't know anything about me. I have a little girl who is only a baby, I have a job that is very demanding and therefore I don't have time to waste on dead-end relationships."
"Dr. Torres, I simply suggest that we go for a drink, get to know each other a bit and then see if it could work between you and me. Nothing more! It won't take much time and in the worst case scenario, if the date turns out to be a complete disaster, it will make for a funny story to tell your colleagues during the lunch break."
Callie looked into the eyes of the woman in front of her, and thought she was nothing short of sexy and attractive. She was definitely convinced and was eager to discover what was behind this woman's perfect appearance.
"Since you insist that much," she ended up saying, "I agree to have a drink with you. Tomorrow night at eight o'clock at Joe's, the bar across from the hospital?"
"Tomorrow night is perfect!" She agreed before leaving the hospital. "I am looking forward to spending a night with you."
The next evening, Mark had agreed to pick Sofia up from daycare and take care of her while her mother was on her date. In the meantime, Callie had dressed up in the sexiest way possible with a pretty red dress and then left to meet Kate at Joe's.
As soon as she entered the bar, Callie noticed Kate at the back of the room. She was wearing black pants that perfectly sculpted her beautiful legs, a tank top that showed off her breast and a leather jacket that highlighted the beautiful tattoos that were adorning her arms. Callie approached her, the two young women greeted each other and then Callie sat down in front of Kate. Two glasses of wine were already placed in front of them.
"You look really pretty, Dr. Torres!" She started.
"Tonight, since we are no longer in a professional environment, you don't have to call me Dr. Torres. Callie will do just fine."
"All right, then I will correct that mistake. You look really pretty, Callie."
"Thank you! You look very pretty too, Kate."
"Tell me," Kate asked as she took a sip of wine, "who is Dr. Torres once she takes off her surgical uniform? Who is the woman behind the doctor?"
"I would say that Callie is an orthopedic surgeon, that she deeply loves her job, that she has a daughter named Sofia and that she tries every day to make sure that her daughter becomes a good person."
"How old is your daughter?"
"She will be 7 months old in a week."
"When did you break up with your daughter's father?"
"To be honest, Mark and I have never really been together. He has always been my best friend. A year and a half ago, I was desperate after a messy breakup. We slept together and nine months later our daughter was born."
"Can I see a picture of your daughter?"
"Of course." She answered by taking out her phone so that she could see the photo of Sofia which was her wallpaper.
"She is so cute. She is just absolutely beautiful. She really looks like you! She is as beautiful as you are."
"What about you, what do I need to know about Kate Williams? To be honest, besides the condition of your knee, I don't know much about you!"
"My name is Kate Williams. I was born in New York but grew up in Paris. My father was a translator of English novels to French and my mother was an English teacher in a French high school. I am an only child. What else do you want to know?"
"What do you do for a living?"
"I am a street-artist."
"Street-artist? How do you manage to earn a living?"
"I'm really far from being a billionaire but many companies are willing to pay me a fair amount of money to paint their offices and I also sell some paintings through art galleries that I collaborate with."
"Are you Banksy?"
"No, even though I would kill to have half of his talent."
"Why have you left France? I thought the artistic field was very developed there."
"I left France to attend Seattle University and I don't regret my choice at all. I have to admit the underground culture of Seattle is something very exciting. This city is the birthplace of grunge music, it is where Nirvana started. This place has been home to a lot of inspiring people: Jimi Hendrix, Quincy Jones... This city just feels so inspiring!"
"I have to admit that I don't really know this side of Seattle. I came here for my residency and did not really take the time to get into anything other than surgery. Medicine is so time consuming."
"If you want, I could show you my favorite places in this city."
"I would love to! By the way, would it be possible for you to show them to me now?"
"Now?"
"There is no time like the present."
"Perfect, my scooter is parked right in front of the bar."
They left the bar, then both climbed aboard Kate's scooter and spent the night riding around the city. Callie really felt like she did not know Seattle at all.
Early in the morning, they were both exhausted from walking all night, but they were simply happy. Just before they each went home, they sat down in a park near Callie's apartment. At that point, they lay down next to each other and looked up at the Seattle sky. After a few moments, Kate leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead. The two women looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds before kissing.
Six months after that first night, Kate decided to move in with Callie. Kate loved Sofia and Sofia loved Kate. The future looked perfect for this family.