"So… what’s your ideal woman?"
He looks at me like I threw a wrench at him. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"I'm just wondering what led you to marry your wife," I say. "You know? She's very beautiful. But she's not like you in any way, shape, or form. You must have really loved each other to be with each other despite all your differences. Because aside from the few shows that you guys watched and you telling me you worked together in the past, you don't really seem to have that much in common. So I guess I'm just curious."
He exhales deeply. The two of us are sitting on the floor facing each other now, his long legs stretched out, mine folded under me. He smiles a little, like remembering something far away.
"Well," he begins, "we basically met when we were kids. She was so headstrong, and I don't know, just full of life and joy. She's very creative, very loving and compassionate. And even for her age, I recognized that when I would come around and help with the garbage disposal stuff with my uncle, she would always have a snack waiting for me and him. I wanted to laugh at her and tell her that why would I want to eat after smelling garbage. But I didn't have the heart. I thought it was very sweet."
"Maybe she had a crush on you from back then," I suggest.
"I don't know. Maybe. But we'd see each other every now and then. Like, she'd be walking home from school, and I'd walk her home. And we kinda got closer after her mom died."
That catches me off guard.
"You got closer after her mom died?"
"What I mean is we'd seen each other around, but I didn't officially meet her until, I don't know, like, March of that year. And she had lost her mom a year prior. I had known her mom, I mean, in passing, but that's the first time we officially, like, talked to each other. And yeah."
"So she basicallytrauma bondedwith you," I prod.
Lincoln stares at me. "What are you talking about?"
"Did you lose someone too?"
"A very long time ago," he answers quietly. "Little brother. He was, like, five, but still. I don't remember him much. But Idoknow the effect it has on the family, that weird sadness that everybody carries, pretending as though the person that died didn't exist because they don't wanna talk about it, but it's always there… like a ghost. So I get it. It's easy to sink into that sadness. And losing your mom is hard."
"So she replaced her mom with you."
"I don't look at it like that."
"But that'sbasicallywhat happened," I say gently. "She sawyouas a male figure, a protector, and she fell in love with youbecause you probably made her feel… safe. You filled a void in her that she had, and you were just available."
"I looked out for her. I think it's a little more complicated than—"
"Dude, shealreadyhad a crush on you."
"What are you trying to say?" he snaps, getting defensive.
I lift my hands calmly.
"It's… just…interestinghow people end up together based on convenience rather than romance. Do you really think the both of you would have ended up together if you had met each other organically?"
"Wedidmeet each other organically."
"Youknowwhat I mean," I insist. "Like, out there on the street, not having known each other from childhood. It seems as though you were already kinda pasted together without having gone out in the world and seeing what either of you wanted."
"I dated people."
"Yeah. But you guys wereveryyoung."
He closes his eyes for a moment, clearly thinking, clearly bothered. And inside, I feel that quiet satisfaction.
Good. Let him think. Let him question it.
"Regardless." Lincoln shrugs, like he’s trying to close the topic. "I fell deeply in love with her."
"I'm sure you did,” my reply comes.
