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He looks at me, almost confused at first, but then he pauses for a second longer. It’s like the lightbulb goes on. He looks down at his cup and a faint smile lifts his lips. I wonder if he’s taking inventory of the simple moments he might have taken for granted, or if he’s realizing he has more happy memories than he thought he did.
“You’re starting to completely change my perspective on things, you know that?” He grins.
“Is that a good thing?”
“I think so,” he nods. “I’m starting to question why I have the perspective I have too.”
“It’s almost like getting away from the city is a good thing,” I theorize. “If you could bring one thing back home from Seaside, what would it be?”
He grins. “Well, that depends. Can I just bottle you up and take you with me?”
“I’m sure the TSA would take issue with that,” I reply, feeling confident in my witty response.
“Then I guess I’ll have to write down all of your wisdom instead,” he sighs. “What’s your idea of a happy life?” he asks.
“Oh, that’s a good one,” I nod, carefully contemplating my answer. “It might sound a bit boring but I wouldn’t mind the traditional happily ever after. I’d love to get married, have a few kids, and have a nice house to call home.”
“That’s not boring,” he shakes his head. “That’s honest. It’s rare to find someone who genuinely wants a traditional life with marriage and kids.”
“Really?”
“I mean, I’ve had friends in the past get married because that’s what they thought they should do, and then end up breaking up just as quickly as they tied the knot.” he explains. “I know that marriage isn’t for everyone and neither are kids. I think the pressure is there and people give into it too easily.”
“Yeah, I can see that,” I agree. “What about you, Drew? When you think of a perfectly happy life, what does it look like?”
Chapter thirteen
Drew – Agree to Disagree
I open my mouth to answer but then stop myself.
“What’s wrong?” Meg asks.
“This is going to sound so stupid, but I don’t know the answer to that right now,” I admit, and I feel almost embarrassed by my answer. “I guess I haven’t really thought much about it. You’d think I would by now, but I’m coming up blank.”
“It’s okay to not know. Now you have something to think about that you didn’t have before,” Meg says, trying to lighten his mood.
“It seems so,” I nod. “Okay, here’s another one for you. What’s an unpopular opinion you have?” I ask.
“Work isn’t everything,” she replies almost immediately. “People take their jobs too seriously.”
“Or they’re just passionate about what they do,” I defend.
“Is it passion or is it because they feel the pressure to work like they’re passionate about it?” Meg counters.
“I can see someone not ending the work day at their contracted time being problematic, but when you’re getting a bunch of stuff done and you’re jamming, you don’t realize how long you’ve worked,” I explain. “If you’re in the groove, you might as well just keep going.”
“But doesn’t that lead people to burn out?” she asks. “Employees have a hard time setting those boundaries for themselves and they end up being grumpy people.”
“Hmm…agree to disagree?” I suggest.
She nods as we tap our cups together in a truce. I take a cold sip of my now-melted slushy and start to scan the rides to see which ones have the shortest lines. We get quiet again until Meg notices me looking at her.
“What’s going on up there?” I ask, nodding towards her head.
“Pure chaos,” she replies, with a grin.
“Oh, if only I was a mind reader,” I laugh.
