Online Read Discussion: Wishful Thinking by Mindy Klasky

This sounds like an interesting read, Mindy.  Interested in the premise!  Glad this is a daily, so I don't have to wait long for more.

Until tomorrow....

Hugs,
April

Hmmm, was that a cardboard box of kleenex?  guess not as up above in the blurb it sounds like it's a genie lamp...   so far this story sounds interesting, will see where it goes... don't usually like first person chick flick type books, but this chapter is drawing me in... 

It sounds like Rob has gotten a really big break and is trying to break up with Kelly as though she never existed in his life.  Also, maybe he has found another woman to replace her.  So far, I don't really like him, but hey, this is only the first chapter.

This sounds like a really interesting read with a genie lamp and all.

Count me in as another who doesn't usually like reads written in the character's outlook of things.

Mindy, you are brilliant.  You left us with a cliffie in the very first chapter.

seems really pretty interesting! :)

Hmmm,  smells like a break up is coming...  sounds like they've been in this relationship a looooonnnggg time!   Will have to read on...  so far it's holding my interest.

No, no, no!  I'm not supposed to be this upset at the beginning of a story!  I feel a break-up coming on, and in today's chapter Rob seems more upset and awkward about how to handle it than cool and dismissive.  He sounds like he cares a lot, but...  (I just hate those "but..."s!)  I already feel like crying for Kelly, and I feel upset for Rob, who seems to be in emotional upheaval as well.  And I have no firm idea of what's happening to make either one of them upset (though, as someone else said, I'm guessing he got a part that is going to separate them somehow).  Egad! 

Mindy, you've done a great job of reeling me in.  Normally, I have to know more about characters to really start empathizing and caring about what's happening between them.  Even though we've basically only heard a tiny bit of their history and seen them barely interact, I'm feeling totally upset for them both, and I don't even know for sure if I like them yet!

JV and Cathy P -

I'm rubbing my hands with glee!  I enjoyed coming up with the cliff-hangers for this story, so it's a special treat to see you caring out my oh-so-new characters!  

For now, picture me disappearing, stage right, swirling my cape around me ::grin::

Mindy

Rob has a career in New York set up, minus Kelly.  Their careers are one thing, but why didn't he communicate with her.  Grrrrr...  Oh, well, that probably would have ruined the whole story, and we still have 3 weeks and 2 days to read.

Mindy, you are evil.  LOL!

Well, I kind of understand why Rob was reluctant to talk to Kelly.  How do you tell someone you care so much about that you made the grade, but she didn't?  On the other hand, not to tell someone you love that you've accepted a role and are leaving town to pursue it until the night before you leave is definitely a mistake.

What's Kelly supposed to think?  Not only is she hurt that his acting skills were acceptable while hers weren't, but now she will question their entire relationship.  Rob, on the other hand, was probably just putting off an unpleasant and difficult discussion because he didn't know how she'd take it (or even because he DID know).  I don't get the feeling that he's running from her, but I suspect she may get that feeling, when she gets over her feeling of betrayal that she wasn't included in a major life decision when she thought they were in love.

Oh, boy!  I can see lots of heartache for both of them in the future (and for us as we suffer along with them).  Wonder how the lamp will come into play, exactly.  Hmmm.

I don't think I've ever read a story before where the BBM comes in the first 2 chapters!  (At least I hope that's the BBM.  Heaven help us if something worse is in store for the two of them down the road!)  Wonder how much worse it will get before it gets better, and, hence, how much more suffering we're going to have to do while we worry about this.  Jeez, Mindy, you could have eased us into this instead of just blindsiding us with an emotional 2x4! 

Thanks, ladies, for following along!

JV, I think you explain Rob's motivation best - he was under a lot of pressure to give an immediate answer about the dream job of his career, which he gave, but then he had to figure out how to tell his best friend and life-long-girlfriend that he chose his career over her.  Faced with the burden of that confession, he sort of ... gave up.  Until the very last minute.

In a lot of my stories, I draw on my own dating disasters.  I am exceedingly happy to say that this break-up disaster is *not* part of my personal past!  Now, that doesn't mean that no guy ever broke my heart, in the name of career advancement....  Just not under the same circumstances.

Which is a good thing, of course, because *my* genie lamp continues to be missing!

Mindy, pleased to hear from so many readers!

Now, why didn't I see that one coming?  LOL  That's certainly a twist on your standard, blue, middle Eastern genie a la Robin Williams' genie in Aladdin or Sinbad's portrayal (though he wasn't blue).  It's even a twist on the I Dream of Jeanie type of genie.  Interesting!

Kelly is a bit jealous of his success, but I can't blame her.  She's just had a couple of hard hits to the old ego.  She doesn't seem overly possessive to me, though.  After all, they've been a couple for 20 years, I believe.  It's pretty normal after 20 years of doing things together with no indications to the contrary to expect things to stay as they are, so I don't feel like she was unreasonable to expect to be consulted on his life-altering decisions.  She's hurt that Rob seems to be willing to throw their 20 years away (or, at least, expect her to just wait for him) in favor of his career.  In many ways, I'm sure she feels like the woman who's been married for 20-25 years when her husband walks in one day and blindsides her with the announcement that he wants a divorce.  She's stunned and probably can't see her future without him, especially since they have been together since they were children.  Clearly she anticipated that they'd get married at some time in the future, based on her "not married yet" statement.  I'm assuming, at this point based on what we've read so far and Rob's obvious distress over how she'd take the news that their being a real couple has not just been a figment of her imagination and that they were both equally invested in the relationship prior to this.

So, it looks like they both have some soul-searching and probably some painful lessons ahead of them before things get better (or before they decide to call it quits in favor of another hero, but my money's on Rob).  I can see that this whole, month-long read is going to be agony for me until things get resolved, but I'm in too far to back out now.  I've got to know what happens!

a six foot Russian ballerina genie pops up, not even in stories.  I wonder how dad knew to give Kelly the lamp?  Has he used it in the past?

I don't know about it being important for Kelly & Rob to separate.  I know they are young, but we don't expect married couples to split up just because they are young.  I think Rob handled this badly, and feel he probably didn't want to think about totally committing to Kelly or he would have spoken to her and/or included her in his plans.  Boy do I feel for Kelly.  It sucks to be blind-sided like that!

Interesting tale.  It's going to be a long month! 

I agree that Rob handled it badly, but I don't get the vibe that it was because he didn't want to commit to her.  I think he just knew that she would be upset and didn't know how to break it to her without upsetting her.  At least, I hope that's why, though I could be wrong. 

This story is definitely going to be a bumpy ride.

The genie making Rob stay is a disaster that will lead to much heartbreak.

right now.  She is being totally selfish right now by wishing that Rob stay.  Shame on her!

I am very curious about that genie though.  Is the genie really a man?  What documents did Kelly sign?

Mindy, you left us with another cliffie for the weekend.

I could be wrong (often am, unfortunatly), but I think the genie is a she rather than a he.  At least, that's my take on the term ballerina.  I always assumed that meant the women in the pink tutus.  Now that I think about it, I wonder what they call the male ballet dancers.  Hmmmm.  Are they ballerinos (basing that on Spanish masculines and feminines here)?  Or are they ballerinas, too, and I've just had the wrong association in my mind all these years.

FF, I assume the word is from French, since that's where ballet originated (I think).  Can you enlighten me on this?

Male ballet dancer= danceur

Female ballet dancer=danceuse

the starring role dancer=Etoile

Even thought I don't (can't) post daily, I'm still enjoying the read!  I'm disappointed in Kelly, but Rob should have handled it all better, too, in telling her.  Interested in seeing how all this plays out, especially how the contract fits in.

Hugs,
April

Even a wish for world peace could have unintended consequences. A world filled with numb people, for instance. But, she is reaping what she sowed with her wish.

Well, she got the repercussions of her wish a bit faster and more powerfully than I might have imagined.  I figured they'd still be together and he'd be showing her how miserable he was over not going and making her regret the wish, but I didn't foresee the break-up. 

Clearly, they do need some time apart to realize what they have together and to appreciate it on a more mature level.  Up to now, I think their relationship may have been a bit too much on autopilot:  a "this is how it's always been and will continue to be" scenario rather than appreciating each other fully.  So, now, perhaps they can figure out what's good between them and can be together by choice instead of just because they always have been.

As FF said, the old law of physics (For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.) could come into play no matter how pure the wish, a la "The Butterfly Effect", if you ever saw that movie.  I'm not a big Ashton Kutcher fan, but I liked the premise of the movie, showing him that vast differences down the road for him and for his girlfriend as a result of different decisions he might make now.

He has admitted that he was wrong, but she should have been supportive of him.  Right now, they both need to grow up before they have their HEA.  Mindy, I can't help but wonder where you are taking us next.  LOL!

I can't help but wonder what Kelly will wish for next.  I think in this situation, you could probably say "stick her foot in her mouth."  That's certainly what she has done so far.

Thanks for calling my attention to the fact that the ballerina is a female, JV!  I had forgotten the word "she" and was thinking more about her tatoo, I guess.  LOL!

FF, thanks for the interpretation of ballerinas in French.  I also was wondering about that.

...my copy of "How Not to Make a Wish" so the gender changing genie didn't surprise me as it would have.  I figure any being with that much power can surely change themselves easily - I bet it is great fun to write, a character that keeps changing.

As for this story: 

I am disappointed with Rob.  I feel that if a couple in a serious relationship (despite their age) is having problems they should first try to work it out, not quit - unless things can't be worked out.  He didn't even try.  His response came from right out of the blue - he didn't know about Kelly's wish, all he got is that she was angry - something he knew would happen because in chapter 2 he stated, "You're going to hate me."  She said less than 50 words to him before he dumped her.  I wonder why his reluctance to communicate hasn't caused issue before.

I re-read the beginning, because I wondered what I had missed, how bad could Kelly have been for him to do that to her?  I didn't get any sense of it yet.  One of the characters is off, Rob for not thinking the relationship was serious or Kelly for not knowing that there was something wrong.  Meanwhile I am confused.

I'm glad to see that Kelly is regretting her wish.  I think under the circumstances her angry wish was understandable; I didn't like it, but I understood what happened.  I wonder how she is going to deal with it now, especially in light of Rob breaking it off.  

PS Mindy, I LOVED the version of Romeo and Juliet in "How Not"...

I'm with you FF.   I still think Rob was smart to break it off.  The more I listen to Kelly talking about their relationship the more it sounds like it was a suffocating relationship.  If my DH agreed with everything I did and liked all the same things I like, I think I'd be bored to death.   They both need time to grow.

Kelly is a whiner.  As papaya said, if my DH agreed with me on everything, we would both be bored to death.

They do need to break it off for a while and grow before they get back together.

Mindy, now Jaze is a he.  What other surprises do you have in store for us.  Wish this was a full length book.  I can hardly wait to read the next chapter.

Hmmm, I still think she's a whiner.  I hate not being able to see Rob's POV.  I am hoping that he realizes that they may love each other but they need time apart to really figure out who they are, what they are doing and where they are going with their relationship.  Granted he should communicate instead of clamming up, but now I'm wondering if she's done all the communicating for them and he's just afraid he won't be able to stand up to her  and she's going to talk him into being together without really looking at their relationship.  I'm sure he's hurting as much as she is.