One Day at a Time by Danielle Steel Page A

watching these two silly people bumbling around and falling in love. Do they wind up together in the end?” he asked hopefully and Coco laughed at him.
    “I'm not telling. Wait and see,” she said, turning off the light, as they watched it on the enormous screen. It was like being in a theater, on a bed in pajamas. It was the perfect way to see a movie, as they shared the bowl of popcorn.
    The movie turned out just as they wanted it to, as Coco knew it would. She loved seeing it again and again. It never bored her. The happy ending was always reassuring. She preferred those kinds of movies.
    “Why can't life turn out that way?” he sighed, as he lay back on the pillows, thinking about the movie. “It makes so much sense, it's so reasonable and so simple. A few kinks to work out, a few minor dilemmas that can be resolved when everyone figures out what they have to do. They don't act like assholes, they're not mean to each other, no one is hopelessly screwed up by an abusive childhood, they're not out to get each other, they like each other, they fall in love, and they live happily ever after. Why is it so goddamn hard to have that happen?” He sounded wistful as he said it.
    “Because people are complicated sometimes,” she said gently. “But maybe it can happen. It almost did to me. It happens to others. I think you just have to be smart going in, keep your eyes open, don't kid yourself about who you're getting involved with, be honest with them and yourself, and play fair.”
    “It's never that simple,” he said sadly. “Not in my world anyway. And most people don't play fair. They're obsessed with winning, and if one of you wins, you both lose.” She nodded agreement.
    “Some people do play fair. Ian and I did. We were very good to each other.”
    “You were babies, and nice people I guess. And then look what happened. If we don't screw it up for ourselves, destiny does.”
    “Not always. I know a number of couples in Bolinas who are happy. They don't lead complicated lives. I think that's part of the secret. In the world you live in and I grew up in, people complicate things, and most of the time they're not honest, particularly with themselves.”
    “That's what I love about you, Coco. You are, and so straightforward. Everything about you is clean and good. It's written all over you.” He smiled at her as he said it.
    “You strike me as honest too,” she said warmly.
    “I am, but I fool myself about who I'm getting involved with. I think I did with this woman I'm running away from now. Maybe I knew she was wrong from the beginning and I didn't want to see it. It was easier to close my eyes, and much harder later to keep them closed. And now look at the mess I'm in, hiding in another city, while she sets fire to my clothes.” The image of it made them both smile, and he didn't look unhappy in his San Francisco bunker. In fact, he looked relaxed and totally at peace. He was a different man than the exhausted, stressed, anxious one who had arrived the day before. Their time in Bolinas had done him a world of good, and Coco as well. It had felt wonderful to be at home, on her own turf, for a few hours, particularly with him. He had appreciated everything it was about.
    “Next time you'll be wiser and more careful,” Coco said quietly. “Don't beat yourself up. You learned something from it. We always do.”
    “What did you learn from your Australian friend?” he asked gently.
    “That it's out there, it happens. You just have to be lucky enough to find it, or have it find you. And it does.”
    “I wish I had your faith in that,” he said, looking at her intently.
    “You need to watch more chick flicks,” she recommended seriously, and he laughed. “They're the best medicine there is.”
    “No,” he said softly, never taking his eyes off hers. “I've found an even better one.”
    “And what's that?” she asked innocently, with no suspicion of what was coming, as she looked right into his