deleted, could be accessed in the future. “It’s all still out there,” Mr. Anderson said, “and someday your great-grandchildren will be able to pull up everything you ever did online, videos on YouTube, emails, anonymous comments on message boards. The good, the bad, and the ugly.” He rubbed his hands together and chortled with glee. “They’ll get true insights into who you are, so make sure that what you put out there is what you want future generations to know.” If he thought he was scaring us, he was wrong, at least for me. I liked the idea of our future children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren knowing about our love story, so every week I started sending Lucas emails that talked about places we went and things we did together. I signed every email “Love, Emma <3.” My name, surrounded by my love for him.
I even kept the emails going through Lucas’s cancer treatment, but the day he told me the treatment rendered him unable to father a baby, I lost interest and stopped. My love for Lucas hadn’t changed, but knowing there weren’t going to be future generations made my email project seem pointless. Still, the emails were out there, a forever record of the two of us.
After we were done eating, all three of us agreed to skip the baseball game and go straight home. Eric had no interest in sports, Lucas had no opinion either way, and for me, the thought of having to sit in the bleachers and talk to all of Lucas’s fans was depressing as hell. Better to tell Mr. and Mrs. Walker that because Lucas seemed tired, we decided to cut the evening short. I’d get credit for using good sense and they’d be more likely to let us go out the next time.
When we walked out to the car, Eric said, “Lucas, you sit in back. I want to talk to Emma.”
This new Lucas never questioned anything and he didn’t object this time either, but got in the back and put his seat belt on. I missed the old Lucas, the one who would have said, “Like hell you’re sitting upfront with my girlfriend!” I imagined the two of them tussling over me, Lucas putting Eric in a headlock. I had once had a boyfriend, the love of my life, but now all that was left of him was a shell.
“What did you want to talk about?” I asked, once we were heading down the road.
“Just a minute.” Eric fiddled with the radio until the music only came through the back speakers. The car was so old that the sound quality was terrible, but if Lucas minded at all, he didn’t say so. Eric faced forward, his words coming out of the side of his mouth. “Remember what you said to Mrs. Kokesh about Lucas being a different person?”
“Yeah, of course I remember. It was only like an hour ago.”
“I think you’re right.”
“About what?” I glanced his way, but his face didn’t tell me anything. Clearly, he didn’t want Lucas to hear what we were talking about.
“I think you’re right. He is a different person,” he said. “I didn’t see it at first. He just seemed slower, like he was waking up from the coma. Even on the drive over I thought you were overreacting.Making too much of it. You know, like girls do.” Hastily, he added, “No offense.”
“None taken.” I flipped on my turn signal and veered right onto the highway. “So what changed your mind?”
“Movie quotes.”
“Excuse me?”
Eric leaned over and spoke through gritted teeth. “You know how Lucas has been making odd comments? He says things that sort of fit what we’re talking about, but not really? I didn’t think too much of it, until we were at the witch’s house. Then he said three things that came right from
The Outlaw from San Antonio.”
“The outlaw from what?” I glanced in the rearview mirror to see Lucas staring out the side window like a little kid.
“
The Outlaw from San Antonio.
It’s an old western. My favorite, even if it is pretty cheesy. I’ve seen it like a hundred times. But Lucas never liked cowboy movies so he only saw it for
I even kept the emails going through Lucas’s cancer treatment, but the day he told me the treatment rendered him unable to father a baby, I lost interest and stopped. My love for Lucas hadn’t changed, but knowing there weren’t going to be future generations made my email project seem pointless. Still, the emails were out there, a forever record of the two of us.
After we were done eating, all three of us agreed to skip the baseball game and go straight home. Eric had no interest in sports, Lucas had no opinion either way, and for me, the thought of having to sit in the bleachers and talk to all of Lucas’s fans was depressing as hell. Better to tell Mr. and Mrs. Walker that because Lucas seemed tired, we decided to cut the evening short. I’d get credit for using good sense and they’d be more likely to let us go out the next time.
When we walked out to the car, Eric said, “Lucas, you sit in back. I want to talk to Emma.”
This new Lucas never questioned anything and he didn’t object this time either, but got in the back and put his seat belt on. I missed the old Lucas, the one who would have said, “Like hell you’re sitting upfront with my girlfriend!” I imagined the two of them tussling over me, Lucas putting Eric in a headlock. I had once had a boyfriend, the love of my life, but now all that was left of him was a shell.
“What did you want to talk about?” I asked, once we were heading down the road.
“Just a minute.” Eric fiddled with the radio until the music only came through the back speakers. The car was so old that the sound quality was terrible, but if Lucas minded at all, he didn’t say so. Eric faced forward, his words coming out of the side of his mouth. “Remember what you said to Mrs. Kokesh about Lucas being a different person?”
“Yeah, of course I remember. It was only like an hour ago.”
“I think you’re right.”
“About what?” I glanced his way, but his face didn’t tell me anything. Clearly, he didn’t want Lucas to hear what we were talking about.
“I think you’re right. He is a different person,” he said. “I didn’t see it at first. He just seemed slower, like he was waking up from the coma. Even on the drive over I thought you were overreacting.Making too much of it. You know, like girls do.” Hastily, he added, “No offense.”
“None taken.” I flipped on my turn signal and veered right onto the highway. “So what changed your mind?”
“Movie quotes.”
“Excuse me?”
Eric leaned over and spoke through gritted teeth. “You know how Lucas has been making odd comments? He says things that sort of fit what we’re talking about, but not really? I didn’t think too much of it, until we were at the witch’s house. Then he said three things that came right from
The Outlaw from San Antonio.”
“The outlaw from what?” I glanced in the rearview mirror to see Lucas staring out the side window like a little kid.
“
The Outlaw from San Antonio.
It’s an old western. My favorite, even if it is pretty cheesy. I’ve seen it like a hundred times. But Lucas never liked cowboy movies so he only saw it for
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