“I’m not your liaison anymore.”
I blink. “You left the program?”
Jack nods firmly. “Before you say anything, I don’t regret it. My reason for joining it was to get ahead at work. But it ended up being the best thing I’ve ever done for other reasons. Personal reasons.”
Heat rushes to my face. “Won’t that affect your promotion, though?”
“I’ll find another opportunity. Brian sent me a couple of groups that he’s been a part of and enjoyed. One day a promotion will happen. But every day we’re not together feels like a waste,” Jack says. His expression is loose, as though the weight of the world has been lifted off his shoulders.
“You’ve been busy these past two weeks,” I say, still trying to process everything I’ve just heard. “You didn’t have to but thank you for doing that. For us.”
“I’m just sorry I didn’t do it sooner,” he says. “I had it in my head that I wanted you to choose me in the way that I viewed being chosen. The way I thought I wanted to be chosen.”
“You were fair to feel that. I know it can be hard to be away from those you love. I don’t want my childhood, either. Traveling for my art will be a thing, and I hope that we can do it together, but it won’t be constant. You’ll never be left behind. I want to be selective with what I take on.”
“We’ll go wherever we need to, together, for the world to see your creations,” he says. “I’m tired of being scared.”
I nod, quietly listening as he continues.
“In your own way, you were choosing me,” Jack says. “We were chosen for each other, maybe. And I don’t want to let you down. What we felt for each other, what I think we still feel, doesn’t requirechoice or fate. What we have is bigger than those things combined. I want to follow our lantern and see where it takes us.”
His words tug at my heartstrings, pulling them tighter and tighter until I’m breathless.
“Jack, I want that journey, too,” I say.
Jack’s eyes glisten. “We make new discoveries all the time,” he says. “And we’re capable of change. Right, Lobster Girl?”
I smile. “Whether we were brought together by the pull of a red string, the whisper of a love spell, the concoction of a love potion, or a series of decisions, I don’t care. It doesn’t matter anymore. What matters is that we found each other, and that we choose each other,” I say, my words rushing out in excitement.
“You’re everything I didn’t know I wanted,” Jack tells me. “You weren’t part of any plan I ever thought up for myself. The moment I met you, all the plans I made failed on impact. In science, we search for the truth. Hope for it. But in this search, I was one discovery away from something that changed every truth I’ve ever known. One discovery, one person, one change of heart away from my soulmate.”
“Something I once learned over table dumplings is that it’s what you do after that makes all the difference,” I say. “Fate could bring you to me a million times, but if I don’t choose you, if you don’t choose me, then what’s the point?”
“An excellent hypothesis,” he says. Jack’s serious expression dissolves into something lighter, happier. “It’s my new life’s mission to show you how much you mean to me.” He clears his throat, pausing for a moment. “How much I love you.”
“You love me,” I repeat. “And not just in theory?”
Jack pulls me in closer. “All evidence points to yes. I love how clever and creative you are. You inspire me endlessly. You show up for yourself and your work, even when you’re unsure of both. Youkeep pushing through. I love your irrational fear of butterflies. That you wear heavy knit sweaters in the summertime.”
“I can’t help myself,” I say.
He glides his thumb over my cheek, gazing into my eyes. “I love how every time you smile, this constellation on your beautiful face reminds me that there are worlds beyond what we can measure or see. One that requires believing.”
“Jack, I love you, too,” I say, wrapping my arms around his waist. “In fact, my love for you is a universe that’s expanding faster than I could’ve anticipated.” Jack smiles at this as I add, “I admire that you take what you care about seriously. I also love that you’ll follow me around a city to chase a lantern.”
“I’d follow you anywhere,” he says in a low, soft voice.
I pull Jack tighter against me. “You’re curious about the cosmos, even when you’re just as mysterious. I want to get to know every part of you. I’ll create my own Deep Jack Network and send out missions to uncover those unknowns.” This last bit makes him laugh out loud, a noise that will never get old. “I even love that you’re bad at figures of speech but are weirdly good at puns.”
“Anything for my solar-mate,” he says, playing up the sincerity. Jack gives my arms a light squeeze. “So I can still be your stringmate?”
“There could never be another,” I say as I hold my hands against his face and stare into his eyes. Whatever it is between us is now untangled, free of knots, and as clear as the moon on a cloudless night.
“It’s like your Fate Note says, ‘This is how it works.’” Jack speaks quietly. “There’s no science to it. But it’s so obvious to me now. There was something bigger at play. I may not know what, exactly, but I can’t ignore it any longer. Rooney, you make my world turn. Nowyou’ve seen the signs. There’s one last test to complete Red String Theory 2.0.” He turns the final sign around.
“‘Fate Test 1,’” I whisper, reading the sign out loud. “‘Say yes to something you normally wouldn’t.’”
“Will you give me a second chance? Will you still say yes?” he asks.
