Abby:I guess you could say it’s a date. I mean, she’s expressed interest in that.
Winnie:I’m assuming you’re interested in the same.
That was an easy answer, but Abby didn’t want to appear too eager, so she delayed responding.
Abby:Yeah, I’m interested in dating her. She’s so much fun. So adventurous. In other words, the opposite of boring old me.
Winnie:I wish you’d stop saying that.
Abby:I know. Sorry. It’s just the more I see all these interesting people, the more uninteresting I feel.
Winnie:Honey, you need to look behind the curtain. Everything you see on social media is run through a filter.
Abby:No, Blythe never uses filters.
Winnie:Ha ha. I didn’t mean glam filters. I mean, most times, things aren’t everything they seem.
Abby:Are you run through a filter?
Winnie:Astute. That’s why I enjoy talking to you. And the answer is yes. I only show my fun side—my good days—but some days aren’t so good. I doubt if Roberta told you, but my husband left me two years ago, and I hit bottom for a while. But you’d never know it if you followed my content.
Abby stared at the screen, surprised by the admission. She’d gone back and watched hours of Winnie’s videos and never would have guessed.
Winnie:I considered sharing it on social media as I worked through it, but it didn’t match my brand, so I kept it to myself.
There it was again—brand. Blythe mentioned it often and seemed obsessed with it. When Blythe had rattled off herelevator speech,Abby felt stupid when she couldn’t do the same. Blythe assured her it was something they could work on together. She’d even mentioned creating a secondary brand for their joint content.
Whatever that may be. Abby had thought little about it. She was just excited to meet someone so interesting. It still astonished her that Blythe seemed to find her attractive.
Abby:Oh, wow. I am so sorry to hear that. I never would have guessed.
Winnie:Thanks. You said the magic words. You never would have guessed. It means I stayed on brand. But back to your date. I know you’re thorough, so I’m assuming you’ve delved into Blythe’s previous posts.
Abby grinned at Winnie’s subtle way of asking if Abby knew about Blythe’s string of relationships.
Abby:Yes, I’m aware of her past. She’s been very open with me about it.
Winnie:Pretty much had to be since it’s plastered all over the internet.
Abby laughed. Winnie had been constrained during this exchange, so it was nice to see her responding more like herself.
Abby:True. But we’ve talked about the other women she’s dated.
Winnie:Back to her intentions with you. Seems like her pattern is to make it public when she’s dating someone. Are you okay with that?
Abby:Madeline says it’s what I need to bring me out of my shell.
Winnie:Don’t care what Madeline says. I want to know what Abby thinks.
Abby:Abby thinks she needs to stop hiding in her small world and be more adventurous.
Winnie:Are those really your words? Or are they Madeline’s or perhaps Blythe’s?
Abby’s hands froze over the keyboard. She’d been asking herself the same question for a while. Until her stupid video went viral, she would have said she was content. Happy even. Could someone living a small life, like hers, know what happiness was?
Winnie:Sometimes a quiet life, well lived, is the best possible life. You don’t have to do wild things (or post wild adventures on social media) to live an amazing life. You can be wild and adventurous where you are.
Sure. Nobody would use her name and wild and adventurous in the same sentence. If she kept up what she was doing, she’d live and die in obscurity.
