Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 67801 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 339(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67801 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 339(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
But now…I didn’t want this to end.
I speared tomatoes from my chopped salad, humming along to his story about the expansion of space and his assertion that we barely qualified as specks in the fabric of the universe. It was a lofty subject to conquer over lunch and yet…it was kind of perfect because it was very him.
“Perspective is a powerful tool,” Thomas commented, reaching for a fry. “Did you know that we always see light in past tense? A sudden flash of light may seem instantaneous, but in reality, it happened milliseconds before we see it. The light from Sirius, the brightest star in our galaxy, takes nine years to reach us. What we’re seeing is nine years old. Fascinating, isn’t it?”
“Mind-boggling.”
“And if you think about it, the past is a matter of perspective. Our cognitive capacity to learn from it and be open to the unknown is what sets us apart.”
Okay, that made my brain hurt.
“Are you a philosopher or a scientist?” I joked.
“I do my best not to ponder philosophical mysteries I can’t solve. I’m not a mental archeologist. I prefer facts.”
“Mental archeologist. I like that.” I sipped my iced tea. “I’m not sure what it means, but I like it.”
His expression was thoughtful, as though he were putting extra effort into explaining a theory. “Humans are obsessed with the past. We glorify history, record it inaccurately to suit the whims of the time. We can’t learn if we’re unable to separate fact from fiction. Some of the best scientists get caught up in trying to prove a theory they want to be true. They’re too invested to see clearly. It’s a very human quality to not let go.”
Have you ever had a random song come on the radio at just the right moment that captures everything you could never put into words? That was this…right now.
Thomas struck a nerve buried deep inside and cracked me open like a clam shell. He was a poet, a musician, a voice of truth and light, all wrapped in one. I set my fork on my plate and dabbed my napkin at the corner of my mouth.
“I’m no scientist, but I am terrible at letting go,” I rasped.
“Sometimes it’s easier said than done.”
“True. And just when you think you’ve done it, something or someone pops up like a bad penny. Check this out…” I leaned forward to rest my elbow on the table. “My ex showed up at my practice last week to say hi and that he hopes I’m doing well. How rude is that?”
Thomas cocked his head curiously. “I sense sarcasm. Was it an acrimonious split?”
I took a moment to zip through my internal dictionary. Acrimony, angry, caustic…bad.
“No, not exactly. But it was seven years ago. I don’t want to think about those days, and I’m a little peeved that he showed up and resurrected them.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
“Hmph. Me too.” I twirled the straw in my iced tea. “Get this…he’s ‘friends’ with one of my least favorite teammates who also happens to be an actor.”
“I see. Is he famous?” he asked, sounding a touch uncomfortable.
“No, but Stefan scored a role in Spiderman a few years ago, and that’s just the sort of mini fame that my teammate would love to hitch his wagon to. I care enough about Stefan to want to warn him away from that self-absorbed prima donna, but I don’t want to engage. Stefan is a decent guy…just a bad boyfriend to have in a crisis.”
“When you got injured?” he asked.
I glanced away briefly. “Yeah. I need that to stay in the past. And him too. That chapter is closed for me.”
“Maybe it’s not for him,” Thomas suggested.
I shrugged nonchalantly. “Not my problem.”
I reached for my glass, mortified when my hand trembled. And quadruply mortified when Thomas noticed. So much for nonchalance.
Wow. Way to go, Burns. I’d singlehandedly killed lunch. Thomas would think I was a weirdo with hang-ups and while that was true, I didn’t want him to think it, for fuck’s sake.
I tried to think of a smooth conversational detour, but Thomas saved the day. He set his napkin on the table and launched into an interesting new discovery that parts of Mercury were covered in diamond dust. Something about graphite forming in magma? Maybe? I didn’t understand, but…I sort of did. He was offering a lifeline, a change of topic, a new direction.
The content was a million miles over my head, but balance was instantly restored.
The cadence and rhythm of his deep timbre revealed his brilliance, his passion for learning, and his patience. He wasn’t out to prove he was smarter than anyone. He knew who he was and didn’t seem concerned with anyone’s opinion of him. Even mine.
No doubt I was a novelty to Thomas. Someone offbeat and contrary with enough layers to be deemed temporarily compelling. I wasn’t book smart. It wouldn’t take him long to figure out that the space I’d created for myself was small to the point of being inhospitable to outsiders. If I gave him a chance to know me, he’d lose interest eventually, and I wouldn’t blame him.