Page 63 of Parker

A few years later, I caughtThe Batmanat a local theater, and damn, I wished that she was there next to me, since I knew she was a massive DC fan who all but despised Marvel. How did I know? Because Sawyerlovedall things Marvel and wouldn’t shut the fuck up about the fact thatThor: Love and ThunderandDr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madnesswere coming out around the same time…and Parker would roll her eyes every time he mentioned them.

I chug a little more of my beer and take the remote control from the coffee table, looking at what’s available on-demand. Movies I know she’d love, and hate, catch my attention until I’ve narrowed it down to three.

“Ready to vote?” I ask her.

She doesn’t look up, tapping on her phone as she places our dinner order. “You choose.”

“Nope. You.”

“Okay! Dinner will be here in forty-five minutes.” She finally looks up, giving me her full attention, blue eyes on alert. “What’re my choices?”

“You ready for this?”

“Yeah. I’m curious about what you picked.”

“Choice number one:Deadpool and Wolverine…” It’s a Marvel movie, and she pretends to puke, as I knew she would. “The Hunger Games…”

“First one?”

“Yep.”

She’ll say no. She’s seen the first movie about a million times…

She shrugs, pursing her lips together. “Don’t get me wrong…it’s a good movie, but I’ve seen it about a million times. What’s the third option?”

It’s the one I want to watch too. Why? Because it’s the most romantic DC movie ever made.

“…orWonder Woman.”

She stares at me. Takes a deep breath. Stares.

“Giddyap.”

“Wonder Womanit is.”

“You do know that this is probably my favorite movie of all time?”

I shrug. “I might’ve known that.”

“Which means you offered me a Marvel movie and a movie I can recite word-for-word so I’d chooseWonder Woman.”

“What can I say? I’m a sucker for the Steve-Diana romance.” I click on the remote, chooseWonder Womanfrom the menu and wait for the movie to load, wishing Parker would come and sit beside me.

“Me too,” she says, her voice a little shy.

“I would’ve thought the whole woman-empowerment angle would speak to you more than the romance.”

“I love the Amazons,” she says, “but I also love it that a super strong, super smart, superheroine can get the guy. They don’t make her choose between duty and love. She gets to have both.”

“Until he, literally, blows himself up.”

“That’shisdecision, not hers,” she says. “I like that angle, too—everyone in this movie has their own agency without infringing on someone else’s. Steve makes the choice to die for what’s right. But not before making sure Diana knows how much he loves her. It’s bittersweet. It’s tragic. But it’s also beautiful.”

The Warner Brothers logo sounds triumphant, and I pat the couch cushion beside me. “Come sit with me.”

“I take this movie very seriously, Quinn,” she warns me as she stands up.

“Meaning…?”

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