Page 14 of The Swiping Game
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James: Favorite color?
Tara: Really? That’s all we have left to talk about?
James: I don’t know. It just felt like a good question to ask, considering we alreadytouched on the important ones like pizza toppings and Netflix preferences.
Tara: You’re still the only person I’ve met who agrees with me that green peppersbelong on pizza.
James: What can I say? I have impeccable taste. Now color, go!
Tara: Fine. It’s red.
James: Funny, that recently became mine too.
Tara: Wait! I didn’t know you could pick new favorite colors as an adult. If that’sthe case, then I’d like to change mine to blue.
James: Nope. You’re stuck with yours.
Tara: How’s that fair?
James: I don’t make the color rules.
Tara: Why can you change yours and I can’t?
James: Life isn’t fair sometimes. Sorry.
Tara: Don’t I know that...
James: Know what?
Tara: Life not being fair. Sorry, that got kind of depressing. Back to the color
game.
James: No, it’s okay. If you want to talk about it, you can.
Tara: Oh, dear sweet James. If I tell you about the clusterfuck of my life this early into our getting-to-know-each-other period, I will without a doubt scare you off. And I kind of like pretending everything is sunshine and rainbows right now.
James: Try me.
I haveno clue what Tara is referring to. In the office, she always seems happy—when she’s not throwing some sort of dig at me. All I know is that I have a feeling she isn’t smiling right now. And I have an overwhelming need to put a smile on her face, even if I can’t see it.
James: Hey, you don’t have to if you don’t want to. I’m just saying that I’m a pretty good listener. And if I must say, I’m pretty good at fixing problems. And, I find it very helpful to talk to people on the internet I’ve only known for less than a day. They are way less judgmental than real-life people.
Tara: They really are. Okay, I’ll give you one of the many. I’m divorced.
I have to blink a few times after reading that. Did I know Tara was ever married? I’m trying to think back to the first time I met her when she was moved up to be Neil’s assistant. At first, we really didn’t interact. I made appointments—sometimes. She buzzed me in, and that was about it. Honestly, that’s how it was for the first few years she was there. Then one day, I tried to swipe one of the donuts from the box she had on her desk. She smacked my hand and asked me if my mama raised me with any manners.
That was the day the Tara-Dean wars began.
And I know for a fact that she didn’t have a ring on that day. Don’t ask me how I know. I just do.
James: I’m sorry to hear that.
Tara: It’s fine. It has been over three years now. Just...once you’re married, you don’t think you’ll ever wind up spending a random Saturday talking to a stranger on a dating app, you know? No offense.
James: None taken. Though I’ve never been married.
