Chapter 2
There are two versions of this story. Version One: Fletcher and Eve have a great relationship.
Version Two: Fletcher and Eve should break up.
Eve has the sense that both of these stories are provisionally true; it’s just a matter of time before she finds out which one will win out.
Version One: They get married. Version Two: They end it.
Both stories have plenty of supporting evidence:
Version One: Fletcher and Eve have a great relationship
They never fight
They divide chores equitably
They like each other’s families
They have sex at least twice a week
They have similar beliefs and plans (liberal, agnostic, want two kids)
Version Two: Fletcher and Eve should break up
Fletcher is boring
Eve is annoying
Fletcher is petulant
Eve is condescending
In five years of dating, they have never really been sure of each other
Lately, Eve’s been wondering what people mean when they talk about love.
Because a lot of people say, “When you know, you know!” But a lot of people also say, “Relationships are work.” She keeps going to weddings where the couples claim they knew right from the start: That’s the love of my life.
At the same weddings, drunk aunts say the infidelity stings less if you expect it.
It seems impossible to Eve that we could all go through life with so little understanding of how happy other people’s relationships actually are.