This Time Next Year

by Sophie Cousens

Quinn shrugged. “Better to be hated for what you are than loved for what you’re not.”

“Don’t cry about something you wouldn’t cry about in five years’ time,” she once told Minnie. “And swim—swim when you can.”

“No, I think he’s having the best of both worlds. He gets to have these lovely soul-searching chats with you—no commitment or expectation; then he gets to shag Little Miss Tinder when he likes—no commitment or expectation. Win-win situation for him, lose-lose for you.”

Sigh.

“Be a good companion to yourself and you will never be lonely”—that had to be the aspiration. She wanted to fuel her own fire. If you got your fuel from men, they could leave, and you’d be left alone in the cold.

“Life is change—if nothing’s changing, you aren’t living.” Minnie looked sideways at Bev. “That sounded profound.”