I realize she probably must already know this. Marsha likely mentioned it while making the proposal.
Brinley lifts her chin in satisfaction. “And? What did you think?”
I laugh a little. Sheknowswhat I thought. We’re here, aren’t we? “It was all right.”
The comment earns a playful swat to my arm.
“Kidding,” I say. “I can see what all the fuss is about. It’s interesting to see people who were once in love—maybe one or both of them isstillin love,” I add pointedly, “come together and give things a second chance. Talk out what went wrong, try to make it right.”
She’s fighting back a smile now, and it causes that dimple to sink into the left side of her cheek.Dang, I like that dimple.
“I’m glad you think so,” she says. “I loved both seasons.”
“What was your favorite part from each?” I ask.
Brinley leans in with that wistful look in her eye. “With Ian and Daisy, it was definitely the part where they did the skit where they had to act like each other. I was laughing so hard at that one.”
I recall the way Ian played the role of his ex, Daisy, in a future nine-months-pregnant state. “Oh, yeah, and how they delivered the baby right in the car?”
“Yes, and when the contractions started coming, Ian whipped some granny fan from his shirt and started fanning his crotch?”
“Oh, yeah, that was hilarious.”
The mutual laughter that fills the space is transforming. I soak it up, wishing it could last forever.
Time passes quickly from there. We talk about the diaper scene from Nikki and Kai’s season, where Kai vomited on the floor when he discovered baby poop on his shirt. We share a handful of memorable Colt Findlay lines next and find many of our favorites are the same.
It’s only by the dwindling snack supply, empty wrappers, and the movement of the sun that I know minutes have turned into hours, and I’m loving every second.
“So let’s talk about how the couples finally ended up back together,” Brinley says. “Like, what had to happen for them to accomplish that.”
It’s a big question. A thought-provoking one. It’s a question that makes me think Brinley might actually be viewing this the way I am—as a second chance to make this work.
“I think there still had to be a mutual attraction,” I say. “Check, on my end, anyway.”
Brinley’s cheeks turn pink. “Look at you, fishing for compliments.” She gives me half an eye roll, making me laugh low in my chest. “I’d say that in order to move forward, they each had to compromise.”
I nod. This is good. We’re getting somewhere. “And before they could dothat,”I add,“they had to fully understand one another’s perspective.”
Once those words leave my mouth, I feel like my insides are housing a lit fuse. We’re getting close to the conflict in our own relationship, and while I can admit I had a lot of growing to do—something I’ve been working on since we split—I think she did too. Brinley wouldn’t give me the benefit of the doubt, and she had a warped view of my career and the things that go along with it.
If her perception hasn’t changed, and if she can't learn to see me for who I am, it won’t matter how much I’ve grown.
I decide to elaborate. “I liked the way Nikki had to get past her pride and accept thatsheplayed a part in their breakup.” The moment the words leave my mouth, I regret them. Or maybe it has more to do with the timing of those words. It’s too soon. I may as well have deployed a stink bomb.
Brinley’s full, pouty lips twitch. Her eyes become a lockbox I’ve got no combination for. That mind of hers is going a million MPH and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.
Uncomfortable heat builds low in my chest as I wait for her reply. I won’t like it, that much I know.
At last, her eyes narrow, her lips part, and an electronic-sounding buzz blasts from the tv screen mounted on the wall across from us.
Whew.
A smiley face pops up on the screen, if you can call it that. It’s basically two squiggly eye dots and one of those half-circle grins.
“Hello…”comes the computer-generated voice. It sounds nothing like Albert, my AI guy at home. It sounds more like an old-fashioned robot, complete with vibrations and all.
“Hi,” we both say back with a wave.
