Tavah flings herself back against her seat, hand over her mouth as she laughs, eyes wide, because she knows exactly which time I’m talking about. When she stops laughing, she wipes her eyes and spreads her hand across her stomach. “My aching abs are proof this has been an incredible day.” She takes down some fries, then wipes her mouth and crosses her arms on the table and leans toward me. “Can you believe our five-month anniversary is in two weeks? I’m counting from the day we started hanging out.”

I gulp some soda. “How do you feel about wasting this much time with one guy?”

“I feel like five months is not nearly enough wasted time with that one guy.”

“Approximately how much time do you want with him?”

“All of it,” she blurts, nodding. “All the minutes of time.”

“You win, then. It’s the only thing the Marcus Lottery has to offer. Absolutely no money, but a whole lotta time. You should be more careful what you wish for.”

Tavah’s green eyes spark as she smiles and studies me, but before I can ask what’s on her mind, she tells me. “It’s kind of weird, right? That you were married? I mean, I get you thought you had to, but it’s a pretty drastic decision for an eighteen-year-old, right? It’s so weird to think about. Like you had this whole different life before this one.”

I watch my fries, like they’re gonna do something extraordinary any minute. “Uh, yeah. Kinda weird, kinda young. Both.”

“Would you take it back?

Whoa. She just went for the jugular. There’s no excuse or distraction to get me out of this —I have to answer her question. It’s not like I haven’t thought about it a million times, it’s just that I’ve shoved all million thoughts behind a door and bolted it shut. Besides, depending on the day, the answer changes. No, I wouldn’t take it back. Yes? Sometimes. Every time? Never.