“I haven’t let myself feel so much in a long time. Like, what if it all falls apart and he breaks my heart and then I lose my friend as well as my lover and then I’m all alone again?” Tears fill my eyes, tears of wonder and fear and overwhelm. She loops her arm through my elbow. “Listen, I mean this in the best possible way, Phoebe.” I look at her. “So what? So what if it ends? What if he dies? What if the world ends? What if? Would you really trade having this . . . joy . . . right now for some awful thing that might not even happen?” “I know what you’re saying, but it’s not really that easy,
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