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going back to a place that he obviously frequented.
    Jane kept her eyes on her pudding cup as she seriously considered the idea. “Do you think that's kinda stalker-ish?”
    Sadie waved her hand dismissively. “You're not kidnapping him for your love dungeon, are you?”
    â€œNo. I'm redecorating the love dungeon, so I can't bring him there. Too much dust.”
    â€œLook, if you find someone you like, why not pursue him a little bit? Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?”
    It was as simple as that. For Sadie, anyways. Jane thought back on the many occasions she'd been out with her, and she could not recall Sadie pursuing a guy. Ever. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at her pink-lycra bedecked friend.
    â€œHave you ever had to go after a guy?”
    Sadie cocked her head as if to think through the many encounters of her love life. The time stretched and Sadie took another long draw of water.
    â€œNo. But, I probably should since the ones that find me are usually the ones I should avoid.” Sadie suddenly clapped her hands in childish delight. “Jane, it's soooo romantic. Think about the story you'll be able to tell your kids one day. Mom and Dad met at a museum, and nothing - not time or distance - could keep them apart.” She crossed her hands over her chest as if clasping her heart in a mock swoon.
    Jane groaned as she handed Sadie a pudding cup.
    â€œThat sounds more like a bad romance novel than a true love story.”
    Sadie got a spoon from the utensil drawer and looked at Jane skeptically. “You know, there are a lot of different kinds of love stories, and not all of them end badly. ‘Boy meets girl’ doesn't have to end with ‘boy leaves girl with two kids and a load of debt.’”
    Jane met Sadie's level gaze with one of her own. “Don't you need a shower, Southern Barbie?”
    Sadie huffed as she left to clean up. “Well, sometimes the corniest love stories are the best.”
    Jane had shared her family history with Sadie early in their friendship, so it was inevitable that it would become a topic of casual conversation and the occasional joke. Jane regretted telling her, but a few shots of tequila can do wonders to solidify a friendship and expose your most vulnerable personal details. Sadie had lived a charmed life with a traditional family and never seemed to miss an opportunity tobattle Jane's romantic pragmatism with an odd mix of graphic sexual detail and girlish fairytale fantasy. Spending time with Sadie had softened Jane's hardness toward the possibility of the proverbial true and everlasting love, but she still retained the memories of a broken home and a struggling mother.
    Jane often felt that she was robbed of part of her childhood innocence by her knowledge of the lies people told all around her all the time. She was cynical too soon. Having a sick mother and a cash flow problem didn't help matters. It should take decades for her to feel this jaded; she was only twenty years old! With her sister back home dealing with their Mom's advancing Alzheimer's, Jane was slowly allowing her guilt to convince her to quit school. She should leave school in Georgia and go help her sister in Wisconsin, but that would mean giving up a valuable scholarship and a chance at a different life.
    Something about that brief encounter with a stranger in the museum, and the chance to feel young and impulsive, appealed to Jane. It wasn't even much of a risk to chase after him a little bit. After all, the worst that could happen would be that she never saw him again. But, she really wanted to see him again.
    Now, it was several weeks and several no shows later. Jane was resolved. Today would be the last time she waited for him. She had no real expectations of enduring romance if she did see him again. She just wanted to feel like she had tried. While waiting for him last week, she had redrawn her quick profile sketch as a larger and more detailed study.