Lucky 33 (Love in the District #2)

31. An Evidence-Based Report

The week since Amy had dinner with Drew dragged on and on. She had thought they were so close to reconciliation when he had sent the daisies and had wanted to meet up with her. They had an excellent date, and then he didn’t want to get back together. He hadn’t even officially asked her out again beyond saying he wanted to go out again.

We had such a lovely time together. It all felt so normal.

Being with Drew that night had temporarily erased her worries. It was like when they spent every moment together before she got the ridiculous idea that he was too good to be true.

It turned out that Drew really was that good. He was special, and he had been hers. Amy missed the lightness Drew brought out in her. He was the only remedy to her anxiety. But she only had herself to blame for their relationship ending and his hesitancy to get back together.

I thought he wanted to be with me. He literally meant new beginnings, didn’t he? I don’t know if we’ll be able recreate the magic if we start over.

Amy shook her head to clear her thoughts. It wasn’t helpful to dwell on things that she couldn’t change. The important outcome was that Drew forgave her and never stopped loving her .

She and Laura had been so sure that this was the end of the breakup nightmare, but Amy still hadn’t gotten her happily ever after. Mystic Natasha had said everything would be okay for both her and Drew, but Amy wished she had pushed for clarification on what okay meant.

Why hasn’t he contacted me? I thought he wanted to go out again. Am I supposed to make the first move?

She hated ambiguity. Now, she had to add the worry of not knowing if the ball was in her court to her list of things to stay up at night thinking about. Where should I put that in the rotation? Before beating myself up over messing things up or after?

Laura kept telling her to be patient. Amy had texted Jake for his opinion, and he had agreed. Those two are so annoyingly in sync.

Amy had her shoes on and was heading out the door before she realized she was going to Mystic Natasha’s shop. At this rate, I’m going to need standing appointments with her.

She called the shop on the way there to get on Natasha’s walk-in waiting list. She had two people on the list ahead of her, so Amy did a little window shopping and then hung outside the shop while she waited. Being in that alleyway brought Amy back to her 33rd birthday, back before she had gotten her first reading before she had met Drew, before her life had changed forever. If only that Amy had known what would come of the silly psychic reading that her friends had gotten her.

Amy waited until she saw Natasha come out from the back with the person ahead of her before she went inside. Amy gave Mystic Natasha a sheepish smile and wave. The psychic winked at her and gestured for her to come on back.

“You’re impatient. I told you everything would turn out okay, didn’t I?”

Amy nodded.

“And it hasn’t yet?”

“No, not yet.”

“Then you haven’t waited long enough. ”

Amy caught the psychic up on the latest with Drew. Natasha leaned back and studied her once she had finished.

“I want you to understand that you’re not in charge. The Universe is working on your behalf, and you have to let it do its thing. Your results will come in divine timing. That timing isn’t your own, and you can’t force things. Allow the magic to happen. Accept the gift when the giver is ready. Don’t try to snatch it from the Universe’s hands.”

But I want Drew now. I want my life settled now. I want my happy ending now.

“There’s no other way?”

“Not unless you want the Universe to make you wait longer to teach you a lesson.”

I guess I’ll be patient.

Amy’s laptop dinged with a new email. It was from Drew. Finally. She was glad that the Universe only made her wait another day since Natasha’s last reading. Her heart skipped a beat. Slow down. You don’t know what it says.

She clicked on the email, but it was empty. The subject line was blank as well. There was just a PowerPoint presentation titled “Collaboration Request” Attached.

Did he send me this by accident? She checked the email address he had sent it from and noticed it was his work email. He must have intended this for someone else with a name close to mine. The few times he had emailed her, it had been from a very embarrassing personal address that he used unironically: [email protected].

Amy couldn’t help herself. She wanted to know even the smallest information from his life, so she opened the presentation to check out what research he hoped to collaborate on with the intended recipient.

The title slide said, “An Evidence-Based Report on Love.”

What the hell? This doesn’t look like it has to do with politics or anything in his field .

She clicked to the next slide. The heading said, “Background.” Okay, I’m not bored yet, so let’s peek at what he’s working on.

She read the slide: “In May of this year, we met in a big box store. You were making a mess, and I was trying to be the dashing hero. You repaid my efforts with an attempt at inflicting head trauma. You then insulted me by calling me ‘Air Jordan.’ I am clearly closer to Shaq with my charming personality and impressive wingspan. You closed out this meeting by turning down my advances and leaving.”

What? She had to read the slide again. Is he describing how we met? Amy’s breathing sped up and her heart raced. She moved to the next slide, “Background II: The Backgroundening.”

“Fortunately, we met again that night where, I am saddened to remind you, you called me ‘old.’ I find this ironic in hindsight because now I know that you are equally as old as me. We danced the night away, and we shared a kiss. You invited me to your room and immediately followed that invitation by rescinding it and sending me on my way. No polite but empty offer to keep in touch. Nothing. Except for a very formal bow.”

He is. This is about us. Amy smiled at the memory of that night. She might have fallen in love with him then.

Amy clicked to progress. “Background III: Mo’ Background, Mo’ Problems.” She started smiling for real. Where is he going with this?

“We met again, this time back home in DC, where you once again attacked me with merchandise in a big box store. This was the first time we learned that you had made assumptions about me. We didn't know then that you would make a habit of it. We went on a memorable first date that turned into an entire summer together, so naturally, I didn’t notice that I hadn’t once called my family in all those months. They thought I was dead, Amy. We met each other’s important people and we got to know each other so well that I couldn’t remember a time before we were two bodies sharing one soul. One day, a switch flipped, and you convinced yo urself that everything was too good and needed to ruin it. You made me cry and miss a class or two. You got isolated and weird. A good time was had by none.”

I’m such a jerk. I can’t believe I hurt him so badly. She wiped a stray tear from her cheek. He was right— they were a single soul. Their connection was beyond ordinary love.

Amy read the next slide, “Background IV: Background Legacy.”

“Like the decent person you are, you apologized to me. You were dressed weirdly when you did it, but that’s neither here nor there. You finally learned my story and were appropriately heartbroken by it. You didn’t ask, but yes, it did feel good to get it off my chest. After that, we met to reconnect, and I was dramatic, but to be fair, Amy, it was my turn to be. I hid from you for a while. I don’t know what you did during that time, so maybe you can fill me in. I did a lot of thinking. I took a page out of the Book of Amy and wondered whether I could trust you. That was the impetus for this research.”

What does that mean?

The slide after that only had large text reading, “Hypothesis: Amy and Drew should be together ever.” Amy forced herself to slow down rather than click through to the final slide. She didn’t want to get her hopes up and have them dashed yet again, but that hypothesis was looking like a good sign.

She got up and paced around her living room, taking furtive glances at her laptop. Her body couldn’t take much more of these rollercoaster emotions. Her breathing constricted and her pulse pounded in her temples, and she rubbed them while sitting down at her computer again.

Shakily, she clicked to the next slide and frowned. It was titled “The Evidence,” and there were cheesy animations of scientists, beakers, lab equipment, and equations. She clicked forward again.

“After a thorough review, I have gathered the following evidence of why I love you:

You’re driven.

You’re smart.

You’re kind.

You’re smokin’ hot.

You’re a little weird.

You care so much about your clients and Belinda.

You thought I wouldn’t recognize you in a disguise.

You stole my heart the moment I met you.

You have a psychic.

You can’t cook a damn thing.

You let me show you Star Wars for the first time without an argument.

You’re a dirty liar when it comes to homemade pies.

Everyone likes you.

You think that frat guys decorate for their parties.

You openly mocked a bust of one of our nation’s most celebrated presidents, John F. Kennedy.

You value family and friends.

You think I’m important enough to be a guest on CNN.

You have a disturbing interest in true crime.

Your laugh is contagious.

You’ve never once said no to fried food.

You tell your stuffed unicorn about your day (yes, I heard you).

You have unironically both curtsied and bowed to me on separate occasions.

You insisted on bringing potato salad to a fully catered 4th of July party because no one should go to someone’s home empty-handed.

You’re always the brightest spot in my day, even when you’re being a pain.

You cared enough to stand around and gossip with my department secretary.

You moo at cows when you pass them in the car.

You always overestimate what you can carry in your arms at Costco.

You’re nosey.

You have a nicer place than mine, and I like to mooch off of you.

You listened to the story of my arrest without judgment.

You believe in magic.

You’re my best friend.

You’re you.”

She read his list over and over until it was practically tattooed on her brain. Amy was smiling and crying at the same time as she clicked on the final slide, “Tentative Conclusions and Recommendations.”

“After analyzing the evidence, I feel confident accepting my original hypothesis that you and I belong together. This, of course, will take further research from multiple angles. I recommend that we retest and reinforce this evidence as a research team. If you’re interested in a future collaboration on a romantic project, please contact me.” She heard her neighbor playing the theme to Star Wars again out on his balcony, but this time it didn’t hurt. It felt like the ideal background music.

Amy closed the presentation and immediately picked up her phone.

“Hello, Ms. Mansfield,” Drew said.

“Good afternoon, Dr. Porter. I’m calling about a collaboration. I enthusiastically accept.”

Amy rolled down her window and stuck her head out. The cold November air numbed her cheeks instantly. “Moo,” she called to the cows as they passed. The cows looked at her, unimpressed with her attempt to speak their language .

“Would you get back in here? You’re embarrassing me,” Drew said, briefly looking away from the two-lane country road to grin at her.

“You love me,” Amy taunted, settling back in her seat and rolling the window up.

“You know it.”

“Now, I have a question for you.”

“Yeah?” he said, looking intrigued.

“What kind of pies should we get?”

“How about peach? They were out at the grocery store.

“Peach it is. I had assumed you just forgot the pie like the turkey. Who the heck forgets the turkey while Thanksgiving shopping?”

“Oh, excuse me, Miss Perfect. Didn’t you forget to invite your sister and only realized when my mom called to ask how many servings of cornbread dressing she should bring when they come up?”

“I don’t want to discuss my flaws,” Amy said, pretending to be offended.

“Why, because I’m flawless?”

“Almost too much so. It makes a girl think you’re hiding something.”

Amy and Drew have had their happily ever after…but now it’s time to leave the Mansfield women and meet Addison. You can read her story in Quietly Yours.