There was no doubt about it, Paris would have much preferred that sort of ending. “Yes, it would have. My life could have been longer. Maybe even happier. Maybe the gods could have decided I was better off as a shepherd and left me well enough alone. But in the end it was my decision. It was fate.” He had a feeling she wouldn’t be dropping this subject so easily. He couldn’t blame her.
His thoughts lingered momentarily on an old man, grey and wrinkled with age. Lying alone in his bed. Would he have had a wife? Would he have had a family? Would he actually have been happier, or was it that despite everything that came with the Trojan War Paris was indeed happiest in that life? The world would never know, but Paris was welcome to dream of such things. Even so, his thoughts always included Helen.
Paris ate slowly, hardly feeling hungry at all now. He would end up taking most of his meal home in a doggy bag. He glanced at her plate seeing that she was nearly finished, then back at his almost untouched plate. The prospect of doing something, anything, afterwards made him feel much better. More lively. The next few bites he took would be taken a little more quickly, simply to pretend he wasn’t bothered by the previous topic. He thought a moment. “The city is full of surprises. Plenty of things we could go do. Central Park is nice this time of night.” He thought he saw something in her eyes, but he couldn’t be so sure. Truthfully, he would have liked to do something in particular but that was rushing things. “Any thoughts?”