Science & Faith

"Thank you," I grabbed my frozen yogurt from the man and we headed down the street. It had been an oddly warm day and Sidney had taken me out on our first date. He had been a gentleman and pulled my chair out for me and paid for dinner and now dessert. I would have preferred regular old ice cream, but he led the way to get the best non-fat frozen yogurt in Pitt.

We made our way to a near by park, eating our dessert as we walked. "So," he started, "tell me about your life growing up. I want to know what made you who you are today."

"My parents were both doctors. Mom worked at the hospital and Dad was a physical therapist. I am an only child, so when Greta and I met we instantly became sisters. We lived a few houses away from each other and the rest was history."

We were silent for awhile and continued walking. "I don't actually know what you do for a living." He looked at me and ate another spoonful of frozen yogurt.

I smiled, "I'm a psychiatrist. I basically listen to people who need to talk about stuff. I try to understand why they act the way they do and how to help them."

"That seems like such an easy job." We threw our empty cups in a garbage can and found a picnic table. We both sat on the table and rested our feet on the bench.

"That’s what a lot of people think. I had to go through a lot of schooling to get here. It's almost a science. I have to use the scientific method and make hypothesizes. It something I love to do."

"What made you decide on that? I don't think many little kids say they want to be a psychiatrist."

"Well, I love science. I just hate being in a lab. And psychology has always interested me. You learn the way things work and way they do what they do. It just... fascinates me."

Sid looked at me with worry in his eye, "So you don't believe in fate or hope or faith?"

"I mean," I rubbed the back of neck, "I believe there's a scientific explanation for everything. Fate is there for people to blame when something goes wrong. There's this quote from a show that goes, 'fate is what you call it when you don't know the name of the person screwing you over.' It's true."

We sat there for a little while longer. "Come on," Sid held his out for me to help me off the table. "We should get going."

I stood up but held his hand to stop him. "Sid, I didn't mean to offend you. It's just what I believe. I know so many people believe and rely on faith and fate, but it's just not part of me."

He nodded his head, "You don't have to explain; I understand." We walked back to his car silently. I was so used to holding his hand in mine whenever we walked, but Sid kept hands in the pocket of his coat. I sighed and he looked at me. The stars were out, so I tried to find the few constellations I knew. Before I knew it, his hand slipped into mine and we were walking at the same pace.