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I lead Eric to the first sign.
“It’s a maze with decision points that direct you to your next destination,” I say.
Eric looks from me to the chalk lines on the floor. “Twenty-one Paths,” he says.
“Reboot.”
He reads from the first card. “To take this journey, walk straight down this path to the center of the maze. To continue life as normal, walk away.”
Eric appears to ponder the choice, then says, “Well, given my normal life for over a month has been living in a nest, I’m confident any other path would be preferable to continuing that version of normal.”
We walk single file with Eric leading. It’s twenty feet to the middle of the circle. He stops at the second card and looks at me before taking it from the clip that holds it to the stand.
“There are two cards.” He reads the first. “Take the path to your right to walk alone. Take the path ahead to walk together.”
I follow Eric’s eyes as he looks down the narrow chalk-drawn path to our right that’s barely wide enough for one person to walk inside.
He spends so long gazing in that direction I realize I’ve been holding my breath when my lungs force a giant inhale. Eric looks at me, then down the triple-wide path straight ahead of us.
“When the installation is complete, will it be suspended twenty feet off the ground, so people who try to walk alone risk falling to their untimely demise?” He squints at me, like he’s trying to see inside my thoughts.
“Good idea. I’ll consider that.”
Then looks at the second card. “It’s the same.”
“Two people, two choices.” I reach out and he hands me a card.
“I see a flaw in this logic. If we both opt to walk alone, by default, we’ll end up walking together.”
I think he’s joking, but the fact that he’s considering the impact of choosing the “walk alone” path makes my heart hurt.
“I’d give you a head start,” I say. “That is, assuming that was the path I was choosing.”
“So, that’s not your path? You’re choosing the ‘walk together’ path?”
I nod.
“So how will it work if I chose to walk alone?”
I wish I’d placed chairs at these decision-points since I have barely enough energy to stand. I knew there was a possibility that Eric would choose to carry on without me, but hoped we’d make it to at least the fourth decision point before having to take different paths.
“If you choose to walk alone, you exit the maze down the right path and I carry on forward to the next decision point.”
Eric takes my hand. “It was a rhetorical question, you goof. Of course, I want to take this path with you.”
I fall into him and we hug in silence for several seconds. When he releases me, I hold on just a little longer.
We walk hand-in-hand to the third sign-post in the maze. There’s just one card.
Eric reads it to himself before giving me a questioning smirk. “We’ve never had this debate.”
“There’s no debate. There’s a right answer and a wrong answer,” I say.
He’s trying not to laugh, but his eyes betray him. “Well,” he says, “we’re taking the path to the right then.”
I drop my head and sigh very loudly. “You are so wrong. Go. I’m taking the path to the left.” I start walking away from Eric but within five steps my path starts to curve back toward the middle of the maze. I make it to my destination and watch as he walks his path, which connects to mine a few seconds later.
“Agree to disagree.” I reach out my hand and we shake.
