“I’ve got a question,” I said.
“What’s that?”
“Do you believe in love at first sight?”
Apparently, that was enough to startle her out of her sadness. It wasn’t my intention, but it was a bonus. I liked seeing her smile. Hearing her laugh.
“No,” Willow said when her laughter died down.
“What do you believe, then?”
She drove in silence for a moment before answering. “I believe that love takes work. I believe that there are two people in a relationship. You and your partner. And if you don’t love both of them, flaws and all, then it will never work. No matter how much you want it to.”
“I agree.”
Willow looked genuinely surprised.
“But that didn’t answer my question. If you don’t believe in love at first sight, what do you believe in?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Do you believe in love at first sight?”
“Yeah. I do.”
She chuckled. “Liar. You’re too logical for that.”
“There’s logic and there’s fate. And I’m humble enough not to argue with either of them.”
“So, you believe in fate and love at first sight. Let me guess. You also make wishes on shooting stars and look for four-leaf clovers?”
“Don’t you?”
Willow hesitated. “Not anymore.”
“Why not?”
She sighed. “Because no matter how much you love someone, it ends. And it hurts. And it hurts everyone around you. My parents fell in love and still divorced. My mom fell in love with Shep. But they divorced. Shep fell in love with Lisa, and he died. There’s no positive outcome to life.”
“Maybe that’s the point,” I said as I took her hand. “We know how it ends for every person who has ever and will ever walkthe earth. That’s why you have to make the most of it. Every adventure ends. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth it.”
Something I said made her flinch, and I wasn’t entirely sure why. “Hey?—”
“I’m fine,” Willow said as she quickly wiped a tear away and put both hands on the wheel.
“I’m sorry. I?—”
She just shook her head and rested one hand on the center console. “Shep said something similar when I talked to him last week.”
I laced our fingers together and held her hand all the way to Kansas City. We headed west, chasing the day’s last rays of sun until it lingered just over the horizon, then disappeared. Finally, we pulled into a motel parking lot. While Willow pulled out the things she wanted for the night, I headed into the matchbox office and got us a room.
For sixty bucks a night, the place wasn’t bad. The room was simple but clean, with two full beds and a functioning shower. Willow was on the phone with Lisa, making plans for the next day, so I rinsed off first. When I had dried off and brushed my teeth, Willow was saying her goodbyes.
“How’s Lisa?”
“Hanging in there. I told her you’re coming. Shecan’t waitto meet you.” Even though she said, “can’t wait,” in the drollest, most sarcastic tone of voice, I knew she was just trying to make light of the situation.
“I can’t wait to meet her, too,” I said as I crawled into the bed closest to the door and plugged my phone into the charger. “I’m excited to see where you grew up.”
Willow grabbed her things for the shower and a stack of clean clothes. “Small town life isn’t nearly all it’s cracked up to be. I romanticize the shit out of it in my books. You’ll get bored in a day.”
