Free Perfect on Paper by Destiny Moon Page A

reiterated.
    She rolled her eyes. Cocky, youthful answer.
    As though he could read her quizzical mind, David elaborated, “The way I see it, my life is an open book and I’ve only written a few pages. I took a couple of years off after high school to travel around and see something of the world and work on a couple of projects. I think I can be happy doing many things and being in many places.”
    “So no plans?”
    “Well, I’m studying right now. I’ve been looking forward to it and I’m enjoying it, so I’ll make the best of it and see what happens next.”
    Nadine was envious of the implicit freedom in David’s answers. She had always meant to backpack through Europe, had always fantasized about drifting through life, but she’d never been gutsy enough to let go of her plans. Plus, she liked living in a nice home and having nice things. That’s why she had got her degree in business administration. Like every other aspect of her life, it made sense.
    “So a Bachelor of Arts?” she asked. “What are you going to do with that?” She could practically hear the judgment in her own voice. She sounded like her parents. She sounded like every guy she’d dated in the past decade. “I mean, after university?”
    She wanted to let it go, change the topic, but somehow she was programmed to need these answers. She couldn’t stop herself. It was as though she needed to be able to see him some years in the future, to see whether they were compatible.
    “I’ll deal with that when I get there.”
    “I see,” she said, even though she didn’t see at all. All she saw in his answer was student loans.
    “I like to live in the now as much as possible,” he said. “After all, this moment is the only one that matters.”
    She smiled. I’ve got a crush on a hippie. This must be some kind of mix-up . He was definitely not her type. She hadn’t slept much all week because she’d been up late worried about her future. She’d been doing spreadsheets in her mind, calculating her business expenses—what it would take to get a commercial space to work from, whether she could ever make enough to support herself, when she could quit the bookstore. She was a planner through and through. David’s idealism was not amusing to her and there she had it—the catch. Sure, he was nice to her, made her feel desirable, brought her food, helped her out, but where could this really go, she wondered. They were so different.
    “I get it,” she said. “You don’t want to commit to anything. That makes sense. You’re young.”
    “It’s not about commitment,” he retaliated. “But nothing changes the fact that life is made up of moments, and all we ever have is the present moment. None of us can predict the future.”
    “No, but we can make plans.”
    “I guess. But think about all those planners whose lives were ruined by hurricanes and typhoons.” He looked around. “Not to mention illness and death.”
    Nadine’s heart fell. What had she expected from someone so young? She felt like a romantic fool for having any feelings for him at all. There was no way she could join him on Hippie Island. No way they could be beach bums together. For a week or two, maybe, but what was she thinking?
    Nadine was in her head completely. The two sides of her nature dueled within her. On one side there was her free spirit, the part of her that questioned the impulse to get married and start a family with a socially acceptable mate. On the other side, there was the Nadine who played it safe, who believed in self-reliance and hard work and good investments. That was the Nadine she’d been with Allan. She wanted to change that part of herself, but she didn’t know if she could ever get that safety oriented part of herself to chill out. She had never felt so confused.
    David put down his brush and walked over to her. He put his arms around her and held her. She clung to him.
    “I’m here. Right now. And this moment with you is all that