Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 132464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
“I didn’t recognize her physically so much as I recognized her...” I trail off, searching for the right word. “Her soul? Is that a totally Jonas Faraday thing to say?”
Jonas chuckles. “I hate to break it to you, but you’re actually referencing Plato’s theory of forms without realizing it. Plato said when we see something in the physical realm with our eyes, we’re seeing the imperfect form of it—because nothing’s perfect in the physical world—but your soul is nonetheless able to recognize it, despite its imperfections, because it innately knows the thing’s divine original form from the ideal realm.” He pauses briefly. “I think for both of us, Mariela was our divine original form of nurturing—an ideal form of safety and affection and love—and our souls recognized her instantly, even if our eyes didn’t.”
I smile at Jonas. There’s just no one like my brother. “Makes perfect sense to me,” I say.
Jonas smiles.
“Hey, did you catch her scent?” I say, taking in a deep breath through my nose. “I didn’t even know I remembered that scent, but the minute Mariela hugged me, I instantly remembered how she used to rock us to sleep in that big rocking chair—remember that?—and I’d nuzzle my nose into her neck and breathe in that flowery scent.”
Jonas shakes his head in apparent awe. “It’s amazing what the brain retains that we don’t even realize on a conscious level.” He drinks his beer. “When Mariela hugged me and called me Jonasito today, I felt like I’d traveled back in a time machine to when I was seven years old.”
I sip my beer and consider that concept for a minute. “Dude,” I say. “I’m thinking deep thoughts about the illusion of time and the infinite nature of love. Make it stop, Jonas. Please. My head hurts.”
“Jesus, Josh. You can’t be thinking deep thoughts like that—you’ll fuck up the entire world order.”
I smirk. “Okay. Phew. I’m thinking about motorboating pretty titties now. I’m good.”
Jonas laughs. “That was a close call. God help us if you created some sort of butterfly effect and fucked us all.”
“Seriously. That was truly scary.”
“Don’t do anything like that again,” Jonas warns. “You’ve still got five days in Argentina with your pregnant girlfriend after this—for fuck’s sake, don’t injure yourself, man, especially if your unicorn’s on a hot streak.”
“Hey, that reminds me,” I say. I peek toward the bedroom. This is the first time I’ve been alone with Jonas since the wedding—and his use of the word “girlfriend” just reminded me I haven’t told him about my plan to ask Kat to marry me. I glance toward the bedroom again to make sure Kat’s not coming out. “Hey, at your wedding, I had this epiphany that slammed me like a ton of bricks, man,” I begin.
The girls let out a collective sigh followed by a cheer in the other room and I glance at the door again.
“When we get home,” I say, “I’m gonna ask Kat to—”
Sarah and Kat burst out of the bedroom, both of them sobbing, and I abruptly shut my mouth.
“Oh my gawd,” Sarah bawls, wiping her eyes. “Best movie ever.”
“Ever, ever, ever!” Kat agrees, tears streaming down her beautiful face. She hands my iPad to me. “Thank you, babe. Oh my gawd. I loved it.”
“One of my all-time faves,” Sarah says.
“Me, too. Top ten for sure. Maybe even top five.”
“Fo shizzle pops.” Sarah plops herself onto Jonas’ lap. “Hello, hunky monkey husband.”
“Hello, wife.”
Kat follows suit and plops herself down onto my lap, too. “Hey, PB,” she says
“Hey, PG,” I reply, my heart panging. Shit. If ever there was a time when our Playboy-Party-Girl nicknames felt woefully insufficient, it’s right now. Ever since Jonas and Sarah’s wedding, I’ve been chomping at the bit to call Kat my wife, and with each passing day, my desire becomes more and more urgent. “What movie were you two watching in there?” I ask. “It sounded like you were watching Schindler’s List.”
“Oh, no, it was a romantic comedy.”
Jonas and I share a chuckle.
“About Time,” Sarah says reverently. “Oh my gawd. Have you seen it?”
“Never heard of it,” I say.
“You gotta see it,” Kat says. “The girl from The Notebook is in it. Have you seen The Notebook?”
I shake my head.
“Oh. Well, did you see Love Actually? You know the rock-star-British guy in that one?”
“Dude, unless Seth Rogan or Will Ferrell or Adam Sandler is in a movie, it’s a good bet I haven’t seen it.”
Kat rolls her eyes. “Do you know the red-haired guy from the Harry Potter movies?” Kat asks.
“Well, of course,” I say. “Now you’re speaking my language.”
“But not the one who played Ron Weasley,” Sarah interjects. “The redheaded guy who played his older brother.”
Kat swats my arm. “The guy in Ex Machina.”
“Oh,” I say. “Yeah?”
“He’s the main guy in this one and he’s so cute—”