I Picked Up My Best Friend After Her Breakup… Then She Asked, “Why Didn’t I Choose You?”
Chapter 10
Fifteen years after that first night, Sarah and Ethan returned to the same restaurant.
Their daughter was now a teenager.
Sarah had become a successful executive.
Ethan’s company had grown.
Their marriage had survived career changes, arguments, financial problems, family illness, and the ordinary chaos of life.
But they still had one tradition.
Every anniversary, they went on a date alone.
No phones.
No children.
No work.
Just them.
That night, Sarah wore the same black dress style she’d worn the night Ethan picked her up.
He noticed.
“You’re trying to make me remember.”
She smiled.
“Do you need help?”
“Never.”
They sat at the same table.
Sarah looked around.
“Funny.”
“What?”
“If you hadn’t picked me up that night…”
“We wouldn’t be here.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“I would’ve still been your friend.”
“Probably.”
She smiled.
“But I would’ve missed this.”
Ethan reached across the table.
“Me too.”
They talked for hours.
Eventually Sarah asked:
“Do you think people know when they’re standing next to the person they’re supposed to love?”
Ethan shook his head.
“Not always.”
“Why?”
“Because sometimes love feels too familiar.”
Sarah smiled.
“That’s true.”
“Sometimes the person you trust most becomes invisible because you’re used to them.”
She looked at him.
“That’s exactly what happened.”
He squeezed her hand.
“But sometimes they get lucky.”
“How?”
“They get a second chance.”
Sarah smiled.
“Did we?”
“No.”
He looked at her.
“We got a first chance. We just didn’t recognize it.”
She laughed.
“That’s better.”
Outside, the rain began.
Just like the night he had picked her up.
They walked toward the car.
Sarah stopped.
“Ethan.”
“Yeah?”
She looked at him.
“I’d choose you again.”
He smiled.
“Good.”
She laughed.
“That’s all?”
“I’ve been waiting fifteen years. I’m allowed to enjoy it.”
She kissed him.
Then they walked into the rain.
