The Upside of Falling

“I mean, there’s a reason all books end right after the couple gets together. No one wants to keep reading long enough to see the happily ever after turn into an unhappily ever after. Right?”

Although Becca uses romance novels as a buffer between herself and the real world, deep down, she understands these books are highly biased toward happy endings. Becca wants to experience the thrill of love without the risk and is willing to settle for a simplified, diluted version of falling in love. When Becca reads about other people falling in love, she not only protects herself from sadness and heartache, but she also has more control over the situation because she can start and stop reading whenever she likes and insert herself into any point in the story.

“I love your mom, but I think we both have regrets about high school and what we missed out on.”

Brett’s father gives him this strange pep talk right before leaving for a “business trip.” Something about his father’s words confuses Brett, and this comment foreshadows the news of Mr. Wells’ infidelity. Mr. Wells was forced to settle down when he was in the “prime” of his life as a high school senior, and when he became a teenage father, he had to put his dreams on hold to help raise his son. Mr. Wells is restless and seeking some sort of freedom that he had to give up when he was still a kid, and he feels like he “missed out” on something by becoming a father and marrying his high school girlfriend.