“Not impossible,” Luke says, holding up a forkful of orange chicken. “We just need to figure out how to address the breakup without naming it.”
I side-eye him. “Which is kind of impossible.”
The couch has somehow shrunk throughout the day. We started out sitting on opposite sides, but as time wore on, the gap between us has become smaller and smaller. We’re now sitting side by side, sharing my laptop because it was easier than showing our screens back and forth.
But we don’t need to be eating shoulder to shoulder, like we are right now. And yet, I can’t bring myself to move. It feels like I’ve run a marathon, even though I’ve barely left this couch since Luke got here.
Luke sets his plate down in his lap, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “What if we stop trying to say something about them and say something about the show instead?”
“We tried that. It was too vague, remember?” I say before taking a bite of beef and broccoli.
“No, I mean really lean into it.” He taps his plate lightly with his fork. “The fans don’t care about Bailey and River right now. They care about Elora and Kaelric.”
I think about that. “So then we need to give them Elora and Kaelric.”
He nods. “Exactly. Make it about the characters, not the people.”
I set my plate back on the table and reach for my laptop. “Season four is the season fans have been waiting for.” I start typing and reading aloud. “And so have we.”
“Yes,” Luke says. “That’s good. Make it personal. But how can we address the relationship without actually addressing it?”
I bite my thumbnail while I think. “Maybe something like—‘Whatever else has happened between us.’”
“Yes,” he says, “but get rid of ‘between us.’”
I quickly change that. “Okay, ‘Whatever else has happened,’” I type and say at the same time.
Luke leans back, looking at the ceiling. “Something about how their characters deserve to have their stories told.”
“Oh, I like that,” I say. “Something like ‘Elora and Kaelric’s story has always deserved to be told.’”
“But add something like ‘with everything we have’ because that will satisfythe studio.”
“Right,” I say, adding that. “I think we need one more quick ending that gives it the final punch. Something like ‘That’s what we intend to do.’”
“That’s good,” Luke says, his lips pulling into a smile. “It’ll work for both Bailey and River, and the studio gets their unity message without anyone having to pretend they’re friends.”
I read it back to him. It’s not perfect, but it just might be the best version we’re going to get tonight.
“Send it,” he says, picking up his plate and filling it with more food.
“Done,” I say. “Now we wait.”
Thirty minutes later, with full bellies and no responses, Luke and I clean up the food, and then we end up back on the couch, side by side, our feet propped up on the coffee table.
“Why do they take so long to respond?” I refresh my email again when nothing comes up.
“To torture us?” Luke says, giving me a cheeky grin.
“I’m sure Victoria is doing this on purpose.”
I set my laptop aside, annoyed.
“Whatever happened to restaurant guy?” Luke asks after a few beats of silence.
“Which one?” I ask, and then immediately wish I hadn’t because now he knows I’ve been on more than one restaurant date recently.
I haven’t thought about the curse or even looked at any dating apps in days. I haven’t had time.
