The days passed in blurred monotony. Stina was always willing to get drinks, which only reaffirmed how bored she was with Matt. She never prodded me to find a man like the old Stina. I tried to push that friend out of my mind and focus on this new reality. Still, each morning before my eyes fluttered open; I had a fleeting wish that I'd wake to the discomfort of Shakespeare's London. I spent night after night watching the boring version of Romeo and Juliet that was available in this new reality, hoping it would pull me back to Shakespeare and allow me to set the world right again. Even that hope began to fade as the days slipped to weeks.

It was a Tuesday evening at Murphy's that my hope of correcting this reality began to waver. I sat at the bar waiting for Stina to arrive, but my eyes didn't dart around the bar. There was no unconscious twitch to look for any potential suitors. Even I, with all my memories of fated love, had given up on love for myself.

"I'm disappointed," his voice came with the curl of a smile from behind me.

"Harris," I met his deep brown eyes.

"Sadie," he smiled as he settled next to me. "No, darting eyes today," he noted.

"No," I sighed. "I guess my faith in love is waning."

"Oh, how sad, and when mine is just growing," he murmured to himself.

"Really?"

"Sure, here you are, sitting next to me again. It seems like fate has pulled us together again."

"That and Stina being late again."

"Remind me to thank her and, if you could do me a favor..." his eyes lingered on me.

"Yes," I prodded.

"Never buy her a watch, just in case," he smiled. "Are you feeling better?"

I thought about his question for a moment. "I'm feeling good." I could not muster a better. I couldn't commit to ever being better in this new world.

Harris let out a dejected sigh.

"What?"

"Your friend has made better time, so our time is cut short."

"Oh," I said, looking up to see Stina making her way to the bar.

"How about this; a friend and I are planning on a Yankee's game tomorrow. If you happen to be free, I may accidentally drop these two tickets on the bar. Maybe fate will lead them to you."

"I don't think that's fate."

"Fate with a little help," he nodded as he let the tickets fall to the bar. "Hopefully, I'll see you soon," he winked as he slipped away.

"Was that the guy from a few weeks ago?"

"Yeah, his name is Harris."

"Mmhmm, I'm still not convinced that he didn't spike your drink. Remember how weird you were that night?" She shook her head to herself.

"I know he didn't. I was probably still feeling a bit off from the food poisoning."

"Sure, sure," Stina murmured to herself.

"Anyway," I said louder than necessary as I was eager to change the subject. "Any chance I could entice you to a baseball game tomorrow? I got a couple of free tickets."

"Really? Yeah, I'm in." A little more excitement filled her voice.

"Do you think Matt will mind?"

"If anything, he'll be jealous. Otherwise, I'd doubt he'd even notice I wasn't home," Stina shrugged.

"Stina, if you two are that disconnected, maybe you should...."

"Oh, Sadie, not this again. We work. He's a good man with a good job. He'll be a great father."

"Yeah, but don't you want a love that makes your toes curl?"

"Toes curl? Where do you get this stuff?" Stina let a laugh slip from her lips.

"You know. Don't you want someone you can't wait to see at the end of the day? Someone that the thought of living without seems unbearable?"

"No, that sounds stressful and terrible," Stina's eyebrows furrowed at the thought. "Is that something you want?"

I sighed and added, "I thought I did."

"I want someone that doesn't care if I wear sweatpants around and doesn't worry if my hair is a mess in the morning."

"The right guy might think those things are alluring," I offered.

"Yeah, that guy doesn't exist."

"How would you know you're still with your college boyfriend."

"Rude. Sadie, Matt and I work. Since when do you not like him?"

"It's not that I don't like him. He's just fine," I shrugged. "My best friend deserves better than just fine. She deserves someone that can't take his eyes off you when you are in the room."

"You mean like your stalker," Stina offered as she threw a nod over my shoulder.

Out of instinct, I glanced in the direction she motioned to catch Harris ripping his face away from my direction. Immediately a warmth filled my face. "He's not a stalker."

"Mmhmm, that's what they all say just before they end up decapitated on the side of the road."

"Ew, Stina, that's a bit extreme, don't you think?"

"Hey, you can't be too careful; people are crazy."

"He's kind of cute," I added as I dipped my face to hide my goofy smile.

"He's a cute stalker," she acknowledged. "I wonder if he would make your toes curl," she teased.

"Stina!" I chided with a slap to her arm.

"What?" She giggled before taking another sip of her drink. "Oh, hey, I watched that Romeo and Juliet movie you were babbling about. I'm not going to lie; it wasn't great."

"I know," I lamented. "I watched it again, and it wasn't what I remembered."

"Really? I wish I could misremember a better movie; it'd be a better use of the two hours I wasted."

"Yeah, I swear it was different. Romeo and Juliet end up together and reunite their families, bringing peace to Verona."

A look of disgust filled Stina's face. "That's better? I don't buy two teens falling in love reuniting two families with generations of a deep family feud." She shook her head at the thought. "My parents wouldn't even let me break curfew for teenaged love."

"Yeah, well, I knew you as a teenager, and that was probably a good thing," I teased.

"Fair," Stina laughed.