this is a story of boy meets girl.
the boy, tom hansen of margate, new jersey, grew up believing that he'd never truly be happy until the day he met his.  "soulmate."
this belief stemmed from early exposure to sad british pop music and a total misreading of the movie, "the graduate."
the girl, summer finn of shinnecock, michigan, did not share this belief.
since the disintegration of her parents' marriage, she'd only loved two things. the first was her long blonde hair.
the second was how easily she could cut it off.  and feel nothing.
tom meets summer on january 8th in a san francisco office building. in an instant, he will know she's the one he's been looking for.
this is a story of boy meets girl.
you should know up front, this is not a love story.
when one strongly believes in something, it takes overwhelming contradictory evidence to change their minds.
tom had always been a devout believer in the idea of "true love."
exhibit a: lisa rayner.
exhibit b: wendy wilson.
exhibit c: rebecca myles.
and, finally.  exhibit d: amanda heller.
most days of the year are entirely unremarkable. they begin and they end without creating a single lasting memory. most days have no real impact on the course of a life.
may 8th was a saturday.
if tom had learned anything.  it was that you can't ascribe great cosmic significance to a simple earthly event. coincidence. that's all anything ever is. nothing more than coincidence.
it took a long time but tom had finally learned. there are no miracles. there's no such thing as fate. nothing is meant to be. he knew. he was sure of it now.
pretty sure.