3D – Juliette’s Regret

Juliette never regretted not getting married and having just one child. She took advantage of an opportunity she saw and got what she wanted. But, there were times when she wondered about the what-ifs. What if she had married Arjun? She liked him, but she wasn’t even close to being in love with him. Would she have grown to love him? Would she still have just one son? What if she had gone out with him the first time he asked her? Would Mark have been born? Would he have been older than he is now? Could he have had a  relationship with his father? What if she wasn’t so sensitive back in high school? Would she have seen that he picked on her because he liked her? Would they be living their happily-ever-after right now? Were things always destined to end this way?

Juliette had a niece long before the unfortunate happenings with the legacy. She loved Juliana, of course, but for whatever reason she never had much of a relationship with her. Maybe it was because Janessa always kept her close. Maybe they just didn’t click like she does with Jonathan’s children. Whatever the reason, she had a more meaningful relationship with Maya and Aubrey—especially Aubrey. After Aubrey was born, Juliette came by more often and found herself enamored with her. She didn’t quite understand it. She had her own son, so why be excited about someone else’s kids? Well, besides the fact that her son was constantly plotting to take over the world and discussing government control conspiracy theories, she was beginning to see that she was living vicariously through Jonathan. He was living her dream, and despite the fact that she had no regrets, she did feel empty at times.

Maya and Aubrey came to enjoy visits from Aunt Juliette even thought they thought she was just a crazy old lady. Her sarcasm made them laugh. But Juliette came just to listen to them talk sometimes. She loved how different they were from her and how their minds worked. At times she felt like she missed out by having a son and not a daughter. Perhaps it was just that she missed out on having a normal child period.

In her mind, she thought that by spending time with them she could share tidbits of wisdom along the way, but what she found was that they were teaching her things instead. Sometimes it angered her. She wasn’t going to get a second chance to be a better person or make different decisions. She made her bed long time ago, and she would lie in it until her last day. However, it made no sense to get upset. Her days were numbered and she resolved to spend as many of them as she could in the presence of her dear nieces: the lights in her dark world.