“No, I’mtoo scared.”
Nancy turned and signalled for Christopher to join them. “I’ll get Christopher to read it to us.”
He appeared by her side seconds later. “What is it, dear?” He glanced down at the newspaper in her hands. “Is that what I think it is?”
They both nodded in agreement.
“I am so proud of you, Ashley. That’s incredible.” He glanced again at the paper. “And withThe New York Times? I am so thrilled for you. I knew you could do it.”
There had only been one newspaper in mind when she wrote the article. The amount of research she did into previous articles, current writers and their styles, what the editors were looking for and the gaps within the newspaper. There had been a long list of requirements she had to meet, from the word count to the unique readability. The whole article had been written withThe New York Times’readers at the forefront. It was the holy grail of newspapers; it was a case ofgo bigor go home.
“Thank you. You’ll make me cry.” The words she longed to hear made her instantly emotional. He reached out to stop Nancy from opening the paper.
“This calls for a celebration.”
“Sweetheart, it’s10:00 a.m.”
“It’s never too early forchampagne.”
Christopher darted towards the bar, reasonably agile for his age—seventy-six looked good on him. He returned moments later with three champagne flutes and a bottle of Louis Roederer Cristal.
“Will you read it for us?” Nancy handed the paper to Christopher, who took a seat opposite. Luckily, the bar was nearly empty. A couple finished their breakfast and a young man sipped his coffee silently whilst he typed away. Christopher flicked through the paper, stopping immediately at page number ten. In bold writing, the heading read,‘Do you believe in soul mates?’followed by a small sub-heading that read,‘True love is a myth, right?’.
“Here it is.”
Ashley knew what to expect, but that didn’t calm the butterflies. She had shown snippets to Nancy and Christopher, but the pressure of the big reveal made her stomach knot.
“We are all sceptical, it’s human nature to question and doubt. That is how great debates begin. If you’re reading this article, I can guarantee you are sceptical about one of the following: God, UFOs, the afterlife, or whether Kim Kardashian’s butt is real. I got you, didn’t I? It was the last one? Anyway, the reason I started this way is because I am sceptical, or I was. How many times have you heard,‘there is someone out there that’s perfect for you, you just need to find them’? The idea of meeting your soulmate is the glorious stuff of rom-coms, a picture created to give us hope that one day we will meet someone and it will simplyclick.The sudden overwhelming clarity will identify that you have always been meant for each other, despite every instinct to the contrary. The concept excites us, builds our expectations up so they can never truly be met, but sometimes, once every so often, a couple prevails.” Christopher paused, took a sip of champagne, and continued.
“This was never an article I thought I would write, but inspiration comes when you least expect it. A good friend of mine once told me about a young couple. Nancy and Christopher met in 1958. It was a year of breakthroughs, America sent their first satellite into space, NASA was formed and the Microchip was created—thank you, Jack Kilby; without you, I would not be able to type this article. The year was as impressive as any, but these are not the things you will remember once I share the story. Why? Because love is the most powerful emotion we experience as humans and everything else falls to the wayside. Let me start at the beginning. When Nancy met Christopher…”
The middle of the article was purely their story, just as Megan had told it. That part had been the easiest to write, because she wasn’t trying to fool anyone. There was no ulterior motive, she simply wanted to share the story in its simplest form, knowing positively there would be no bells and whistles needed to engagethe reader.
“Yes, Christopher did create a plaque. I apologise to the men reading this article for including that part because the bar has been set. As far as romantic gestures go, that is right up there with Richard Gere climbing the fire escape to capture the heart of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman—swoon.” Christopher smirked at the nod towards his romantic side. “You can see it for yourself to the left of the lake. I haven’t created an unrealistic picture here; I have merely shown you a blissful vision of a couple destined to be together. I didn’t dramatise the story in any way, nor did I add emotion that wasn’t present. I bet, if you were a complete sceptic at the start of this article, it made you believe just a little, didn’t it? I know it did because it did me. Going back to my original point: do you believe in soulmates? We all have a different version of what a soul mate should be, so here’s mine.” Nancy grabbed Ashley’s hand and squeezed it tight for the second time; she took that asa good sign.
“My belief is that we will all cross paths with people that have a significant, earth-shattering effect on our lives, even if we don’t realise it at the time, but a soul mate? I think that is up for debate. In the movies, the discernibly incompatible couple find out they are really soulmates when they realise their favourite band is the same. All of a sudden, their problems melt away and they are blissfully in love for eternity. No wonder everyone wants one, right? Love, regardless of beliefs, takes hard work and sacrifice. I don’t believe a soulmate is totally devoid of all realism, certainly not after learning about Nancy and Christopher, but I am still curious. What do I need to do to find mine? If you know the answer, please inform me via email or even better, if you are my soulmate, that would really move things along nicely.” Nancy laughed out loud at the final line. Christopher placed the paper down on the table and walked around tohug Ashley.
“It was amazing.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely.”
“I was so worried, especially talking about the two of you. It took me a while to find the perfect words because, despite my feelings about soulmates, I didn’t want to downplay the realness of yourlove story.”
Nancy reached for the paper so she could see itfor herself.
“It was perfectly balanced. It was relatable and witty in all the right places. You did a fantastic job.”
“Thankyou, Nancy.”
“I need to go across the street toget a copy.”
“Already got you one.” Ashley pulled two more newspapers from her bag.
“This is going on the wall.” Christopher beamed. “I must see to the customers, but amazing work, kiddo, I really mean it.” He wandered off with the newspaper in hand.
“You must be so proud of yourself.”
