Page 65 of All Her Broken Pieces

“Kind of? Sometimes, he asks if I’m feeling a certain way, but he’s always spot-on. It just feels intrusive, like I’m being called out.”

“Honey, that sounds like he is perfectly in tune with your needs. I’m adding that to the pros.”

I pause again, thinking. “He’s alwayshere,” I complain. “In the beginning, every time I’d turn around, he’d be there. And even now, when he’s not at work, he’s here all the time. Sometimes I need my space.”

“I can see how you’d think that’s a con, but does he give you your space when you ask for it?”

“Yeah…”

“You’re an introvert and you need your time alone to recharge, but that doesn’t mean you should always be alone, and as long as he respects your need for space when you ask, it’s a pro.”

I think again, an even longer pause this time. “I got it. People judge us. If I went out with a man my age, I wouldn’t get the same kind of looks from people that I do when I’m out with Ethan. That’s a con.”

“That sounds like a you problem, not a con. It’s not his fault, or yours, if people stare or judge you.”

“Well, it fucking sucks. I get enough judgment in my career; I don’t want to deal with more in my personal life too. Put it under cons.”

“Honey, all the things you think are cons can be pros. You tend to focus on the negative and what could go wrong, even if things are great.”

“That’s the definition of a pessimist,” I concur, my tone biting, not liking where this is headed.

“You need someone to balance out that little rain cloud. He does that for you.”

“Read them back to me.”

She looks down at the pad of paper, picking it up as she reads, “Pros: that dick, cooks, sweet, thoughtful?—”

“I said sweetandthoughtful. Those don’t count separately.”

“They mean different things. We aren’t arguing semantics,” she asserts before continuing, “DINK?—”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“Dual income, no kids. It’s what you guys would be. Think of the life you would live. Going out to eat, vacations, hobbies. You guys have more in common than just sex, right?”

I nod.

“Like?”

“We both enjoy cooking, reading, and we like the same hockey team. But you’re forgetting the part about not wanting to be seen out with him.”

“I wish we had another income. Having a kid really changes your budgeting. I love Hallie, don’t get me wrong, but I miss the financial freedom we had pre-child,” she laments. “So, in your case, DINK is a pro. Continuing on… the dimple, in tune with you, supportive.”

“I feel like you twisted some of my words there. Read out the cons,” I say, frustrated.

“Cons: younger.”

“That’s it? I swear there were more.”

“The only other con was ‘people judging,’ but that goes with the age thing and shouldn’t count against him.”

“There have to be more cons than that.”

“I won’t say he’s the perfect guy because no one is perfect, but maybe he’s perfect foryou. You have enough in common, but you’re different, and those differences balance you out.” Becka fixes me with an imploring stare. “I’m not saying it’ll be easy. You’ll annoy each other, you’ll disagree, but you could also complement each other in a way that no one else can. You have to decide if you can look past his age.”

CHAPTER21

Ethan

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