Chapter 5
Bug: Hi hi! This appears to be a past relationship. Would you like me to provide some analysis?
Eve: please tell me what you would’ve told me if i fed you this information while i was still dating this guy
Bug: Okay!
The wheel spins again.
Bug: A score in the seventies can feel disappointing or upsetting to some users, so please keep in mind that this is just one data point. Remember, you can increase your score!
There’s plenty that works well in this relationship.
You have a shared network of friends, which increases lifetime relationship satisfaction by 30 percent.
You both effectively use I-statements in arguments and seem comfortable setting boundaries.
It also seems, at least from what I can see, that you have a very steady relationship without a lot of ups and downs.
That can be the sign of a stable base for the life you build together.
But no relationship is without its problems. It seems that you and Fletcher are disconnected from each other.
Though you don’t ignore each other, you also don’t go beyond the minimum.
It also seems that you don’t fully value each other for who you are.
He doesn’t laugh at your jokes or read the articles you send, and you don’t seem to appreciate the time he spends planning the logistics for your life.
Neither of you are bad people for this! It may just indicate a mismatch in personality.
This persistent lack of enthusiasm may lead to resentment over time.
While I believe you could have a happy, fulfilling life in this relationship, it might require more work from both of you than you would expect from a more compatible match.
Eve sets down her phone. Uh-oh, she’s crying, how embarrassing. Nibbles the Mouse scratches the walls again, which makes her cry more. Nibbles! Please chill out!
Shannon unlocks the door just as Eve is collecting herself, but the look Shannon gives makes Eve think she has not, in fact, sufficiently collected. Shannon deposits her Trader Joe’s bags on the floor and goes to Eve.
“My dude,” Shannon says. “What ails you?”
Eve shows her the phone. “If I’d’ve had Pattern when I was with Fletcher, it would’ve told me good enough wasn’t good enough and I would’ve saved four years of my life.”
“Oh, babe.”
“And also, I’m kind of distressed by how accurate this is.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because,” Eve says. “Because I want my friends and my brother to know me better than an app. But also, none of my friends told me to break up with Fletcher. And I obviously should have.”
“In our defense,” Shannon says, “we didn’t have the advantage of reading your entire text history.”
“What if Danny and I are also bad? And no one says anything?”
“You’re not.”
“Really, though. From the bottom of your heart.”
“Honestly?” Shannon says. “I think you need to be able to have this conversation with him. I think you two are still working out some stuff. But basically—yes, of course. You adore each other. You were never this happy with Fletcher.”
“Then why didn’t you say anything? I don’t mean that as an accusation.”
Shannon lifts her hands. “I didn’t know what you looked like when you loved someone the way you love Danny.”
Eve hugs Shannon, and they just stay there like that in the rectangle of light from the hallway.
“I kind of want to move in with him,” Eve says. “And by kind of, I mean really and a lot.”
“I know.”
“But maybe it’s a bad idea.”
“Maybe,” Shannon says. “But also? I think you’ll be okay.”