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“For now.”
He chuckles. “You always say that.”
“Huh? What does that mean?” I look over but he’s hunching, and I can’t see his face.
“Nothing that matters.” He straightens and turns his head towards me.
A good three days of beard growth cover his cheeks. I like the stubble; it makes him look rugged in a good way. He is handsome. Attractive even. If he wasn’t Dugald, of course. He is though. He’s Fae and the last thing I want anything to do with is any of them.
“It didn’t sound like nothing,” I say. His blazing eyes make it clear he’s not going to elaborate, and the embers of anger try to flame to life. They try but fizzle. I don’t have the energy left to be angry. It’s too much effort. “Fine. I’m done, with the Druid and all things Fae. For now at least. I’ve got to fix my life.”
“And this is your decision?”
“Why do you word it like that? It’s a decision. A for now. Not a be-all, end-all, end of the world decision.” He watches silent. “What? I can see all the thoughts dancing across your face. You’ve done given up the strong silent archetype. Spit it out. What?”
“It’s cute.”
“Cute?” Those dying embers of anger flicker again but this time they find kindling. The first fingers of flame catch.
“Cute. You think one momentous decision is what the world turns on?”
“And exactly what do you mean by that?” I ask through clenched teeth.
“Every turning point in history, in hindsight you humans attribute it to one or two big decisions. You ignore the hundreds and even millions of little decisions that come before. In your world, with your small lifetimes and limited view, it looks like a single thing, but you are so incredibly wrong.”
“Wow, right when I thought you’d hit the cap of condescending, you find a way to go right past it and reach stellar new heights.” I huff, crossing my arms over my chest and scooting away from him on the bench.
“What caused the second World War?”
“Hitler invaded Poland.”
“You prove my point.”
I close my eyes as the flames of anger rush into life. I know arguing with him is going to get me nowhere but damn it if he doesn’t push my buttons.
“Explain yourself?”
“That was the last in a long string of events and decisions by thousands of people all around the world that led to the event. Even then, it didn’t start the war. That came even later with one country at a time engaging in conflict. You don’t even consider that Japan and China were already at war, for example.”
“Fine, you win your point, whatever it is. I don’t have time for, nor do I need, a history lesson.”
“The point is simple,” he says. “Every decision matters. When you see someone drop money on the sidewalk, what you do next matters. It affects what will come later. For you, for them, for others across the world. No decision stands alone.”
“This is way too much metaphysical bullshit for me to take in right now. I’ve got problems. Real problems that need real solutions. Me. I’m the solution and that means I’m going to focus.”
“And have I argued with you?”
“Of course you have.”
“Have I?”
I snap my mouth shut because he’s right. He hasn’t. Damn it.
“No, fine,” I say. “I’m tired. I’m stressed. And I have my life to figure out while you want to lecture about decisions and history.”
“Okay.”
I wait for the next thing, but he doesn’t say anything. We sit in silence until I realize it’s too comfortable. This is the silence of friends, not antagonists. I give him a side-eye, studying his profile and looking for a catch.
