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“Are you speaking from experience?”
“Not personally. I’ve not dated someone unsuitable for me. But my parents are an example of what not to do. Ever. They were all spark and no commonality. They got married, had me and got a divorce. They still hate each other.”
“Well, I speak from the same experience. I’ve not felt the sparks with a girl yet, but my parents were all spark. They got married after a couple months of knowing each other. My mom said she knew my father was the one she was going to marry almost instantly.”
He lifted his hands in the air, fingers wide, eyes big and a smile that said he knew he was right. “Sparks.”
“But what happens when the sparks die off and you don’t have anything to talk about? You don’t like the same books or the same movies. What do you do, then?”
“I think I’d rather be with someone who liked different movies and different books. So I could learn something from them.”
“Different everything isn’t practical.”
He waved away her objection. “I know. It’s also not really possible. There needs to be overlap somewhere. I keep the building from falling down, but I know enough about statistics to know that complete lack of overlap isn’t probable.” He smiled. “Probable is a statistics term, right?”
“You’re close.” She smiled and reached for her water glass, enjoying herself immensely. “And improbable things happen all the time.”
He cocked his head, clearly not following her.
“The world is amazing and vast.” She set her glass down so that she could talk with her hands. When she talked about math, she needed to be able to use her hands. Sometimes a scratch pad and pen. Or napkin. Or the back on an envelope.
“Not quite infinite, but close enough at the margins that it might as well be. Like the difference between zero point nine with a million nines following and one. And the sweeping possibilities of the world mean that improbable—but still possible—things are happening right now.”
His arms folded across his chest as he sat back in his chair, but he didn’t look angry about being corrected. Or even irritated. He was assessing, though Marsie wasn’t sure if he was assessing her or the mini-lecture she’d just given until he smiled and nodded slowly. “That might be the most mind-blowing thing I’ve ever heard. I’m going to have to think about that for a while before I’m sure I’ve come anywhere close to understanding it.”
“Sometimes, when I think about the size of the world, I have to sit down. It’s so awesome.”
“Okay, then we’re back to going with your gut and whether two people can meet, have sparks and get married while having nothing in common. It’s not probable, but you say improbable things happen.”
“Right.” Fun bubbled through her body. Talking statistics and math was always fun, but talking about it with Jason was better, because she felt like she was sharing a part of herself with him and that he appreciated it. He wasn’t just listening to her; he was listening to her. “So what then?”
“Then they have kids and talk about their kids.”
“Maybe having kids is one of the things they don’t have in common. That certainly happened with my parents. My dad loves me, but I’m still not sure he’s glad I’m in this world.”
The waitress came by with their snacks, putting a couple plates of fried food in front of them. The break in conversation was nearly enough for Marsie to stop talking. The story she was telling was personal and acknowledging it cut deep.
But it was Jason sitting across the table from her. Jason, who was the break from work she looked forward to. Jason, who shared his lunch with her when she forgot to stop to eat. And Jason, whose response to everything she was down to the core of her existence had always been supportive and interested.
With Jason, she always felt like a complete, round, solid person. No holes. No abrasive corners cutting at the fabric of the world.
Whole.
Too bad he wouldn’t score well in her algorithm. Even if they had movies in common, he didn’t have the kind of education background and career that she was looking for. That lifestyle similarity was the kind of connection that would last a lifetime, which was why it was weighted so heavily in her algorithm.
