Page 94 of Suits and Spark Plugs

“From the first moment he laid eyes on me at that grocery store. Now, if you’ll excuse us, he’s coming toward me with that artistic look on his face. I think we have some rocks to photograph.” She gave her hips a little wiggle as she walked to meet him. He bent to whisper something to her and her whole face lit up.

Connor came to stand next to me. “Those two are...”

“Peculiar?”

“I was going to say nice together, but I think your word is the better choice.”

“Smart man. Shall we go find a tree that wants to be painted?” I held up my camera and looked through the viewfinder. “I see some interesting things over there.” I pointed and we started walking.

“How are things going at home?” he asked, falling into step beside me.

“Odd, but good.”

“Odd how?”

“Odd, like, how do you really feel about your parents having secret conversations?”

“Well, that sounds like an improvement over the last time we talked.”

“Yeah. It probably is.” I stopped walking, having spied a small, purple-pink wildflower blooming. Connor was quiet while I took a few pictures from different angles. It was going to look really amazing all blown up on canvas. When I stood and started walking again, I picked up the conversation. “You know, they’ve been married for twenty-six years, or something close to that. That’s a long time. Longer than I’ve even been alive. It’s hard to imagine sometimes.”

“It can’t be easy to take all that apart.”

“I know. Even more interesting is that there are people who manage to stay together.” I paused again, intrigued by a view of the tree line with oranges of afternoon light streaming through the branches. “The science behind that would be fascinating,” I said as I lined up the shot.

“The science?” The tone of his voice caught my attention, and I looked over my shoulder to see his eyes traveling over my face. “Hold still,” he said, and lifted his own camera to snap a shot of me.

“I wasn’t ready, or smiling, or anything.”

“You were perfect.” He let the camera hang from the lanyard around his neck. “Now, you were saying something about science?”

“Right.” I turned and walked closer to the tree line, interested in photographing the branch and trunk detail up close. “All those laws of attraction and chemistry—they must fade over time, so what keeps people together?”

“There are things science can’t explain, you know.”

I gave him a look. “Of course I know that.” I lifted a branch out of my way and held it for Connor to pass by as well. “People stay together for a lot of different reasons.”

“Now I’m curious what you think those reasons are.”

“Things like common interests, commitment to promises made, mutual affection, comfort, tax breaks, and companionship.” I listed them off, all the while scanning through the camera to find exactly what I was looking for.

“What an encouraging list. No wonder you think chemistry fades.” He leaned back against a tree and folded his arms across his chest. “At the risk of starting a fight with you, I think you’re full of it.”

I let the camera fall from my hands, the tug on the lanyard telling me it was secure, and put my hands on my hips. “Well, I hate to break it to you, but those are fighting words.”

“Have you ever simply looked at someone, without knowing anything about their personality or character, and found them attractive?” he asked.

I flashed back to sitting with Kelly, her showing me her new braces, and both of us seeing Connor for the first time. He’d entered the cafeteria with a girl, holding her hand and laughing at something she’d said. I could still remember how it had felt to have the heat of a first crush crawl up my skin and cover my face. Then I thought of the day Blaine walked in to the diner and gave me a smile. Both times, I’d felt instantly attracted.

“Honestly? Yes.”

“What happened to end that feeling?”

I pulled the camera up to my eye and snapped a picture of the tree I was standing next to as I thought about it. “I guess it was when I got to know them.”

“Right. So, you realized that you aren’t going to get along with this person and the chemistry fades, never turning into love.”

“I guess so.”

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