Chapter 1

My girlfriend, Grace Gilbert, was an aerospace engineer.

When my buddies found out, they all crowded around me.

"So does that mean she'll do what everyone online talks about? Buy you a star or two as a gift?"

I laughed and shook my head.

"She's a very serious person. She keeps work and life completely separate."

"An ex of hers once made a big fuss about wanting to tour the Aerospace Institute. She blocked him and broke up with him on the spot."

Five whole years, and I never once brought up anything about her work.

Holidays, birthdays, it didn't matter. Grace never did a single romantic thing.

Every month, after she got paid, she'd transfer me five hundred dollars.

Five hundred. Not more, not less, punctual as a time clock.

I got used to it.

I thought that was just who she was. Calm, restrained, not the type to express anything.

Until one day, I came across a post on my feed.

Number one on the trending topics.

A guy had posted a photo grid, with a caption that read,

"For my birthday, you bought me twenty named stars."

In one of the photos, a woman's hand showed at the edge.

The diamond watch on her wrist I recognized in an instant. It was the global limited edition I'd given Grace.

So it wasn't that she didn't know how to be romantic. It was just that I was never the one she was romantic with.

So in that whole sky of hers, there had never been a place for me.

1

I chased Grace Gilbert for a full year before she finally nodded and agreed to be with me.

She was a neat freak, and she was serious about everything.

Home or the research institute, everything was in perfect order, meticulous down to the last detail.

We never celebrated Valentine's Day, never any of the other couples' occasions.

On my birthday she never bought flowers, never gave a gift. She'd just find time to have a meal with me.

Once my buddies learned what she did for a living, they teased me with a grin.

"Think she'll do the online thing and buy you a few stars? Something super romantic like that?"

Every time I heard something like that, I'd smile and shake my head.

"She's not the type to play at romance."

"But every month when she gets paid, she transfers me five hundred dollars."

My buddies' faces went a little strange at that, but they all managed a laugh.

"Well, she's practical, at least."

The truth was, she and I had gotten into it over this once.

I'd said I wanted to celebrate Valentine's Day too, that I wanted her to buy me a star up in the sky.

I still remember the look on her face then, cold and flat.

"Buying a star and aerospace are not the same thing. Spend less time on that internet stuff."

"An ex of mine said things like that once, and even wanted to tour the Aerospace Institute. I blocked him and broke up with him, just like that."

"If you can't accept that——"

I'd hurried to change the subject back then, and never brought up anything about stars again.

But today, a post sat at number one on the trending topics.

A guy celebrating his birthday had posted a photo grid.

"For my birthday, you bought me twenty stars named after me."

The diamond watch on her wrist, I knew it too well. It was the global limited edition I'd given Grace.

Like something had taken hold of me, I scrolled through every post that boy had ever made.

The earliest ones started half a year ago.

The "she" in his posts was all softness and charm.

She'd send him vivid roses, walk with him along the shore, ride the Ferris wheel with him.

Scrolling through it all, at some point I realized my face was wet with tears.

So in Grace's whole sky, I had never once been there.

Shaking, I called Grace.

It rang a long time before she picked up. In the background I could faintly hear a man laughing and talking.

Her voice was flat, the same as always.

"What is it?"

I forced down the ache in my chest.

"Tomorrow's my birthday. Can you buy me a star?"

There was silence on her end for a moment, then Grace spoke.

"Graham Swanson, you know my rule."

"And you should know by now, that kind of thing is academically just a gimmick to fleece the gullible. To the International Astronomical Union it doesn't count for anything."

I gave a bitter little laugh.

"Fine. I get it. Just pretend I never said it."

A few seconds passed, then she said,

"Tomorrow, I'll come home early and have dinner with you."

And then she hung up.

That evening, I sat on the couch, staring at nothing.

There was a sound at the door, and Grace let herself in.

The lights came on. She saw me.

"Why are you sitting in the dark?"

I spoke calmly.

"I was looking at the stars outside."

Grace frowned.

"Where are there any stars in the city these days? Are you throwing a tantrum on purpose?"

"Didn't I already say I'd come home early tomorrow for dinner?"

"What else do you have to be unhappy about?"

I looked straight at her.

At this woman I'd loved for five years.

"Let's break up."