The Summer of Yes

by Courtney Walsh

I’m not sure why they asked me to come to this meeting, except that I’m supposedly “providing support” for Daniel as they put Chase’s book into production. Providing support? What am I, a sports bra?

In the back of my mind, I hear Georgina saying, “You tell them yes.” And all at once it hits me. Sometimes a yes has to start with a no. No, I’m not okay with this. No, I don’t want to spend my life doing this. No, I don’t agree with this. And the kicker: No, this is not the kind of story I want to tell.

And in my free time, I want to write stories that make me laugh. Romantic comedies that will make the world feel a little lighter because the world can be heavy and hard. I want to bring people joy.

“And there’s one important thing I forgot about being a young woman with dreams.” “What is it?” she asks. I draw in a breath. “We all need someone to believe in us.”

“Hope is never a bad thing.”

Old Kelsey would think of every possible outcome, and they’d all start with “What if?” Old Kelsey would try to plan for the worst-case scenario, then expect it to happen. New Kelsey, though? She hopes now. I choose hope. And I start flipping the script on my what-ifs. What if it’s amazing? What if it’s fun and exciting and inspiring? What if he’s as sweet and kind and wonderful as he seems? What if this relationship doesn’t lose its luster but only gets brighter and better over time? What if he’s the one?

“Thank you, Kelsey,” she says. “If you learn nothing else from my life, learn this. Don’t wait to love the people you love. We aren’t guaranteed a second chance—we’re only lucky enough to seize one when it comes.”

Or maybe she’s simply proof that love changes a person.

“The other thing I’ve learned, and I want you all to listen closely,” she continues, “is that life . . . is good. And wonderful. And horrible, and beautiful, and messy, and everything all at once. And that is the beauty of it. It’s overwhelming, but it’s never boring. And it should be lived to the fullest.

“And no, that doesn’t mean the biggest car or the best condo. It doesn’t mean a house in the Hamptons or a promotion

at work. It means filling your life with the people you love, doing the things that make...