I smiled and pushed a waving strand of hair out of my eyes. “Maybe not so complicated.”

He looked over the park below while he spoke. “It kind of is, though. I never knew who was in the wrong with Winona and me. But sometimes—actually, often, I guess, I would feel her withdrawing. And I’d try so hard not to freak out, because I knew she thought I was clingy and the last thing I wanted to do was make her withdraw even more, but literally no matter what I did she would just go quieter and quieter until she’d totally ignore me for days. One time it was two weeks. Like I wasn’t there, you know? Then I’d get in this fucking spiral where I’d try to stop myself from reaching out, but I’d convince myself she was about to dump me and come up with a good reason to text or call casually, and she’d ignore that, and I’d blame myself for reaching out and getting in her space. I just never knew what to do. And everyone around me would be like, chill out, she doesn’t owe you her attention every second of the day, you don’t own her. And I’d be like, I’m not trying to own anyone, I swear, but I just … isn’t it normal to want to hear from your girlfriend literally once in a two-week periOOOODDDDD?”

Our gondola plunged again and Brougham’s hands went right back to the metal mesh so he could steady himself. I tried to hold in my laugh of delight at the thrill of the drop. On the one hand, this was a serious conversation. On the other, it wasn’t exactly my fault Brougham brought up such a serious topic halfway through an amusement park ride.

When Brougham’s breathing returned to normal, and the rocking evened out, he continued on gallantly. “Then she’d come back every time, and she’d act like it didn’t happen, and she’d say she was just busy. And on the one hand, I’d hate myself for being so demanding when she was just trying to live her life. But then I’d wonder how much she actually cared about me if she couldn’t find thirty seconds to reply to a text in two weeks while she was on vacation.”

The last bit he directed at me. He sucked his lips in and shrugged. It wasn’t a question, but it definitely seemed like an invitation for advice.

“It doesn’t sound like she was doing it to be cruel,” I started. “Like, it wasn’t following a fight or to make you give in to a demand or anything, right?”