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“This is nice,” Zack said, his gaze taking in the space. “I always wondered what these looked like inside. They’re much bigger than I imagined.”
“They’re pretty small but the ceilings are high, so they look larger than they are.”
It was a strange conversation to be having, and it had become rather awkward in a flash. Desperate to get their relaxed vibe back, she invited him to sit down on the overstuffed sofa located in front of the fireplace.
“How about a glass of wine?” she offered, hovering near the kitchen. “Or something to eat? Are you hungry?”
They’d had a large meal at the reception along with a piece of cake but that had been a few hours ago.
“I’m kind of hungry,” she confessed. “I could make us some popcorn.”
Zack visibly perked up at her suggestion. He might be as hungry as she was.
“Popcorn? I could eat. Do you want some help?”
“It’s microwave popcorn. I’ve got this,” she laughed. “Do you want something to drink to go with it? Popcorn always makes me thirsty. Why don’t you find us something to watch on television?”
She handed him the remote and then rattled off the beverages on offer, both deciding on ginger ale instead of wine. She quickly made the popcorn and dumped it into a large bowl, the aroma of butter and salt drifting in the air. It smelled amazing and her stomach growled softly, reminding her that this was an excellent idea. She settled on the sofa next to him, placing the bowl between them.
To her surprise, he’d chosen the movie Peggy Sue Got Married with Kathleen Turner. It was an older film from the eighties, but Lucy had watched it with her mom many years ago. It was one of her mother’s favorites, and now it was one of Lucy’s, too.
“I really like this film,” Zack said, tossing a handful of popcorn into his mouth. “Is this okay? I saw it and thought it might be fun to watch.”
And kind of a chick flick. She’d had him down as the Fast and Furious type. If anything, her respect for him went up a couple of notches. He wasn’t afraid to admit that he wanted to watch the movie.
“I love this movie,” Lucy said. “My mom introduced me to it.”
“Mine, too.”
It made sense that Zack would want to feel close to his mother after the wedding earlier.
They didn’t say much as the story unfolded, simply eating their snack and sipping at their ginger ale. When the main character Peggy Sue decided to change her future by changing the past, Lucy could feel Zack tensing up next to her.
“You know the ending,” she said softly. “She ends up not wanting things to change. She remembers the things she’s proud of.”
“She tried to change her future, but she couldn’t escape it. Even when she made different decisions.”
“In the end, she didn’t want to change things.”
They were talking about more than the film.
“Would you? Want to change things, I mean?”
It was an honest question. One that Lucy had contemplated a few times in her life even though she wasn’t all that old.
“I used to wonder what would have happened if I’d stayed here and not gone to the West Coast. Sometimes I still think about the might-have-beens. But if changing my future means that I lose some of the things and people that I love, then I’ll pass. I’ve made mistakes but I like to think that they’ve made me wiser. Maybe a better person. That may not be true, of course.”
“If you’d stayed, what do you think your life would be like?”
“I’d probably be married with kids,” she replied immediately. “I don’t think that I’d own the bookstore. I’m not sure what I’d be doing, to be honest. I feel like leaving the town and forcing myself to be independent a long way away forced me to focus on what I truly wanted. What I needed. I don’t think my life would be bad or anything, but it would be different. What about you?”
“I think about what would have happened if I’d never taken the job on Wall Street, or at least didn’t stay there so long.”
“If you’d come back to take over the family firm?”
It was a bold question, but they were both in a soul-baring mood tonight. She could feel the tension radiating off of him, his gaze off somewhere far away.
“Yes, what would my life look like? And those around me?”
