Did you see the eclipse on Monday? My four kids and my husband and I drove to Columbus, Ohio, and it was an adventure. It also gave me feels for a modern P&P moment. Enjoy!

Regret #10. Majoring in astronomy has got to be the first mistake I made. I would still have driven to the path of totality for the eclipse, even if I wasn’t an adjunct astronomy professor, but I wouldn’t be sitting in the FirstEnergy stadium with two other professors when Darcy suddenly pops up with our dean. He has a prestigious and lucrative job at CSU… what the heck is he doing in Cleveland, OH? Why is he…. less than surprised to see me?

Regret #9. When Darcy asked me out, during my post-doc, I shut him down hard. Like, viciously. He was kind of an arrogant jackass about it, but in retrospect… well, I wish I had that opportunity back, you know? Darcy might be a fixer-upper, but I feel like he’s exactly the kind of fixer-upper I’d be good at.

Regret #8. Not ordering eclipse glasses weeks ago. Somehow it got away from me, and so here I am stuck with some worn out ones from the astronomy lab. The paper over the nose is so thin, it rips as I take them out of my purse. Now here I am holding the two pieces up to my eyes like the poorest, nerdiest eclipse fanatic in the world. When the wind gusts through the half-full stadium and pulls one of the pieces out of my hand, I lunge for it because I have no desire to stare one-eyed at the sun for the next hour. Unfortunately, that almost sends me toppling onto Darcy, who is sitting on the stadium chair below and to my right. He braces my shoulder with a small smile, but I am not currently in a good head space for dealing with his smile.

Regret #7. I wish I’d seen Darcy smile sooner. It would have significantly improved my post-doc years.

Regret #6. This one is more complicated, and it mainly has to do with making a huge fool of myself over a good-for-nothing grad student named Wickham. He told stories of Darcy’s manipulation of the dean, his arbitrary grading measures, and worst of all, his penchant for stealing student work and publishing it as his own.

Nonsense. But I didn’t know that then.

Regret #4. Having sisters! No, not really, I jest. I love my sisters, but if Lydia hadn’t hit that pothole going seventy miles an hour, my car would be with me, not having its alignment fixed at Shorty Andersen’s shop. Hence I rode here with a friend.

Hence, when she takes a break from the eclipse to text her friend and decides to stay in Cleveland tonight, Darcy turns to me. “Do you need a ride back to Morgantown? I’m heading that way.”

Was he voluntarily speaking to me? Offering to spend more time with me?

Regret #3. Uncertainty is my own personal peanut butter. It fills my mouth and I really need some milk or chocolate to deal with it. “Nah, no, nah.” (I am not a person who says, “Nah.”) “I’m fi– I mean, er, it’s okay.”

He frowns. “Are you sure?”

I look toward the other two professors from WVU, but they grimace politely. “Sorry, we made plans to stay with a friend–traffic is going to be terrible getting out of here.”

I look back to Darcy. “Then I guess–if you don’t mind, sure.”

2. Okay, no regrets about driving to totality. It really is awe inspiring, and not because we’re all astronomy nerds. This is just as cool for the 9-year-old kid next to us and his gray-haired grandparents who brought him to see it.

The moment of totality is eerie and wonderful. Gloom spreads across the stadium and whispers and mutters of awe rise like breezes. A few people cheer, but the loud sound doesn’t fit and is quickly drowned out by reverent silence. I put the ripped pieces of my eclipse glasses in my pocket and look at the corona with my bare eyes. 

“Incredible.”

I instinctively look around to share my joy. My friend Charlotte is still staring upward with her glasses on. One of the professors is looking at the stopwatch on his phone. “One minute and counting.”

Darcy is… looking at me.

“Have you seen a total eclipse before?” I ask.

“Never.”

I shiver in the sudden cold breeze. “We’re lucky.”

His gaze stayed with me. “Maybe we are.”

We both turn back to watch as one, and I can’t help touching his shoulder in excitement as the corona seems to undulate slightly as the darkness shifts. His hand covers mine.

Regret# 1. Traffic. It really is terrible trying to leave Cleveland. We make it out of the city on 77, but soon we are creeping along with thousands of other people. The awkwardness in Darcy’s rental car has become a palpable force. It is practically a third passenger; I keep thinking I see it out of the corner of my eye.

If Darcy had a plan or goal for this ride, it has abandoned him. He keeps reverting to silence, but also glancing at me more than is comfortable.

We get hungry, but we share our snacks. He brought mixed nuts and dried fruit; I have candy and veggie straws.

I start to touch the radio. “I bet this car has bluetooth, and I’ve been listening to a really excellent podcast on the history of FTX. Or if that’s not your thing, I’ve also downloaded the history of, er, SpaceX and DisneyPlus.”

He raises his eyebrows. “That actually does sound interesting, but maybe we could talk?”

“Well, we’ve been trying to do that with limited success. It never really works for us, does it?”

He sighs. “But I feel like it could.”

“I know.”

The cars have come to a complete stop for several minutes now, and flashing lights ahead mean something must’ve happened. Darcy shifts into park to save gas. “Could we start over? I don’t know if you read my letter-“

“Yes, and I am so sorry I accused you of… all that.”

“It’s not your fault. I just didn’t want you to think… the worst.”

“I don’t. And I’d be happy to start over.” We were still at a standstill. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

“I’m attending that AI conference… but also, I may have wanted to clear this up in person. I may have wanted… to see the eclipse. With you.”

A warm bubble is filling my chest–or maybe it’s the veggie straws. “I’m glad I got to see it with you, too. I know we live on either side of the country now, but if you ever need someone to hang out with when you’re out east–“

“Yes. A thousand times, yes. How about tonight?”

I laugh. “I don’t know that we’re going to make it out of this traffic jam by tonight.”

“That’s true.” His hand flexes before he reaches for mine. “There’s no one I’d rather be stuck in traffic with. What about tomorrow morning? An actual date to make up for all the ones we missed?”

“Don’t you have to attend the AI event?” His hand is warm; it sends tingles all the way to my heart.

He smiled. “I won’t tell if you won’t.”

“This feels very out of character for you.”

“Good. I don’t want to be the person I was.”

“You’re making a strong start.”

He leans toward me. “I also never kiss while I’m driving.”

“The car is technically in park…”

Okay, I take back my regrets, even the one about Lydia. Everything that conspired to get me here today was worthwhile, even the mistakes. Especially the mistakes.

The end

Corrie