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Simple
By Julie | February 12, 2008
A Short Story for Valentine’s Day
It must have started because, as a little girl, I think she felt starved for attention. I’m not sure if she really was, but she felt like it. She went to school. Then came home to a big house, where she was by herself for many hours. Her Mom and Dad got home late. Before they had a chance to talk much, she was told to go to bed.
At school, she was a quiet child, and a mediocre student. She didn’t stand out. But she wanted to. Then, one day a new girl named Desmond moved to town. Desmond joined her classroom. When Desmond handed her paperwork from the principal to the teacher, the teacher miss read her name. She said, “Ah, yes, Diamond. Let’s go ahead and find you a seat.”
Desmond laughed, flipped her long hair off her shoulder and said, “No, Ma’am, my name is Desmond. In an instant the entire room was smitten by the newcomer. The boys were in love. The girls wanted to be her best friend. Even the teacher laughed and said, “Ma’am? Well, I do believe you’re the only student to call me that!” So, Desmond’s nickname stuck. The multitude of new friends she was about to acquire called her Diamond from then on. As first the name was met with giggles, but in time, it was hardly noticed as being anything odd.
The little girl who was starved for attention was jealous of the nickname, because she had a very simple, very ordinary name. Her name fit her, because she knew she was simple and ordinary. Oh, but she wanted to be special! To stand out! To flip her hair back and instantly have a room full of people take notice. She wanted to be known as something she was not, some object (like Diamond), some idea, something exciting. Something more than simple.
Slowly at first, and then rapidly, the years passed. Before long, the girl was a grownup, with a husband at home, and kids running around her feet. One night her husband called her, “Honey.” Normally, she loved him calling her that. She liked the way it sounded on his tongue. He amazed her with his desire to be with her, to simply love her, with an unconditional understanding. It reminded her that she loved their simple life.
But that night, when he said it, a blast of memories clouded her head, and she remembered how jealous she’d been of Desmond’s nickname. She didn’t know why, she hadn’t thought of it in years. She found herself laughing out loud at her jealousy, her immaturity, and even how much life had changed.
“What’s so funny?” Her husband asked. So she told him how she’d longed to stand out, to be extravagant, the center of attention. How she longed to be special. As she explained, she realized she’d become the very thing she thought she hated. But at some point she came to love her simplicity. She even loved loving her husband and her kids. She loved that they were the strongest part of her life. She loved that their life was average, and ordinary, not special.
Then he laughed himself, and told her she was very complex to him. That she was, and would always be the center of his attention. That she was the most special person he had ever known, and would ever know. He told her she was a special gem – a gemstone. His gemstone. Even her simple, ordinary name was proof of it.
So, he started calling her Gem, at parties, in the grocery store, at home, at dinner, and everywhere. She almost began to wonder if he remembered her real name. Sometimes others would mistake it for the man’s name “Jim”. They’d ask, “Why do you call her a guy’s name?”
When her husband started to answer, she stopped him. She didn’t want the attention. Besides, she understood, she didn’t need to share it with the world. And it was nice to have one more thing that only the two of them understood. It was a simple name and she wanted to keep it simple.
Of course, after awhile it wasn’t just theirs to share. Their kids and their friends started calling her “Jim”. They even introduced her as “Jim.” In time, more people knew her by the man’s name than they did her own name. But she knew that he was the only one who really understood; in fact, he was the only one who understood everything about her. So, she became “Jim” to the world. But from her husband’s voice, and in her simple, very ordinary heart, she remained a Gem.
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