I haven’t broken a heart since Teddy Richards in the second grade when I told him I’d already promised my hand to Briana Jackson. All cure.
Chuckling unexpectedly, Grace sat up. Leaning against the upholstered headboard, she was more awake than she’d been in months.
GoGatorsESQ
Are you here because things didn’t go as planned with Briana?
Scissorsaurus
You know how it is for young love. Odds stacked against us. Though, having maintained a relationship for thirty years would have been pretty badass. I bet that would beat some world records.
How old were kids in second grade? Would that make Alix thirty-seven? Thirty-eight? Grace found herself wishing the app had regular profile pictures. Not that seeing a face meant she wasn’t talking to a chatbot at midnight like someone about to have their entire identity stolen.
Scissorsaurus
Why? Did Briana get you too?
Grace typed and deleted her response three times. She couldn’t bring herself to say Julie’s name. Even to an anonymous stranger. Thumbs hovering over her screen, Grace told herself that she was talking to an algorithm or however the hell AI bots worked. She could say it. She’d say this and delete the app. No one would ever know. One purge, a little poison out of her system.
GoGatorsESQ
Nope. Mine was a Julie. But we met at work, not the playground.
Scissorsaurus
Workplace gone wrong. I see that one a lot. Unfortunately very common.
GoGatorsESQ
You sound more like an ER physician than a psychopomp.
Scissorsaurus
Do you just randomly know what kind of mythical creature ferries souls across the River Styx? Like just off the top of your head in the dead of night?
Flushing hot, Grace cringed. She’d gotten carried away and forgotten to hide her nerdy interests. Before she could lie and say she’d googled the reference, Alix messaged again.
Scissorsaurus
Don’t worry about paying me a coin. I’ll carry you across for free.
Body buzzing, Grace dropped onto her side. The idea of being carried anywhere, of not having to swim against every possible current, sounded miraculous.
GoGatorsESQ
Maybe I can offer safe passage in kind.
Scissorsaurus
Maybe. But first, tell me how this Julie clown fumbled you.
The high of unleashing the truth that had been festering in Grace’s chest was overwhelming. Being completely herself with a stranger, whom she’d started to doubt was a computer program, felt so good she almost didn’t want to ruin it by talking about her ex.
GoGatorsESQ
Maybe I should assess your credentials first. What exactly makes you a breakup expert?
Scissorsaurus
