Page 24 of A Man After Midnight

“No!” Caroline laughed. “I’m allergic to cats.”

“Thank God for the little things. You should totally find a good man and fall in love, but do it properly this time.”

Caroline’s eyebrows shot straight up. “Properly? What does that mean?”

“Find a career-minded working man, date him an appropriate amount of time, and eventually graduate to sex, marriage and two point five kids … instead of marrying a dreamer and supporting him for years.”

Caroline sighed. “I now realize that Greg was a schoolgirl love, and once I came to terms with that then it was easier to understand: no matter what I would’ve done, my marriage never could have survived.”

“So you’re over Greg. Does that mean you’re in love with my boss?”

“No, of course not,” Caroline replied. “I’ve known him only two days.”

“Sometimes falling in love only takes an instant.”

“Insta-love doesn’t exist.”

“Of course it does,” Aldy stated emphatically.

“Oh yeah? When have you ever experienced insta-love?”

A sad darkness passed over Aldy’s face. “When I was twenty years old, I met a man. His name was Eric. As soon as he said hi to me, I was hopelessly in love.”

Shock poured through Caroline. She’d known Aldy for years and had never heard of a man named Eric. “What happened?”

“He died. Car accident.” Aldy shook her head. “You never know how long you have on this earth, Caro. If you can find a way to be happy then you have to grab onto it and not let go.”

The words shook Caroline to her core. They brought back all the things she’d thought about last night.

“For a long time after I found out about Greg’s affair, I hated the entire male population,” Caroline said.

“Honey, any girl would hate a penis after being cheated on.”

“Crude, but effectively succinct.”

Aldy pointed to herself with her thumb. “That’s me, the epitome of succinctness.”

“But then my anger faded and I felt … nothing. And for a while now, I’ve decided the only way to live would be to play it safe. To not fall in love ever again.”

“That’s unrealistic,” Aldy said. “It’s who we are as humans, to find and be with others. Love is natural and wonderful and when it’s right it’s everything those sappy songs say it is. Believe me, Caro.”

Caroline looked out the Ferris wheel car at the shopping levels as they rolled by. “Wren asked me who I was last night. I didn’t know how to answer him.”

“What if he asked you to move to Paris to be with him? Would you go?”

“No,” Caroline answered immediately.

“Why not?”

“Because he won’t ask.”

“How do you know he won’t?”

“Because this is a weekend fling, destined to end tomorrow at four in the evening.”

“It doesn’t have to end, Caroline. Granted, if you end up marrying him it’ll be like seeing my parents do the nasty all over again, but I’m willing to live with it if he makes you happy.”

“Aldy, I don’t love Wren. I can’t love Wren. He’s the rebound.”

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