The Good Part

　　美夢成真，
　　會是幸福完美的結局，還是另一場旅程的開端？
 
　　二十六歲的露西清晨五點就因為臥室「又」漏水了，不得不提早起床面對現實的人生。她好厭倦，厭倦幫電視台的資深製作人跑腿買咖啡，厭倦沒一個像樣的約會對象，厭倦經常漏水的租屋處，厭倦室友連廁所的衛生紙用完了，也能假裝沒看見。
 
　　一成不變的生活，意外出現了轉機。當她撞見一台許願機，把錢幣放入洞口的那一刻，露西全心全意許下了一個願望：「拜託，讓我跳過眼下的一切，穿越到人生中最美好的階段吧！」
 
　　隔天早上醒來時，露西的手指上多了一枚戒指，身旁是一位帥氣的伴侶，她現在是事業有成的女強人，還擁有兩個堪稱完美的孩子！看著鏡子中約莫四十幾歲的自己，露西真不敢相信願望就這樣實現了！站在人生的巔峰，享受美滿的事業和家庭，這不就是她夢想中的人生嗎？
 
　　美夢成真的露西，卻顯得惶惶不安，若想填補這一大段消失的時光、重建回憶，就得放棄看似完美的生活，回到二十六歲的自己……這念頭也太矛盾了吧？露西會甘願放棄舒適的生活和求之不得的帥老公，回到連約會對象都沒有的過去？美夢成真，會是幸福完美的結局，還是另一場旅程的開端？每時每刻看似平凡無奇，有時甚至讓人心煩無比，卻是無法重來的珍貴回憶？(文／博客來外文館)

＂Lucy Young is twenty-six and tired. Tired of fetching coffees for senior TV producers, sick of going on disastrous dates, and done with living in a damp flat with roommates who never buy toilet roll. After another disappointing date, Lucy stumbles upon a wishing machine. Pushing a coin into the slot, Lucy closes her eyes and wishes with all her might: Please, let me skip to the good part of my life. When she wakes the next morning to a handsome man, a ring on her finger, a high-powered job, and two storybook-perfect children, Lucy can’t believe this is real - especially when she looks in the mirror, and staring back is her own forty-something face. Has she really skipped ahead like she’s always wanted, or has she simply forgotten a huge chunk of her life? As Lucy begins to embrace new relationships and the perks of maturity, she’ll have to ask herself: Can she go back, and if so, does she want to?＂--

Sophie Cousens worked as a TV producer in London for more than twelve years and now lives with her family on the island of Jersey, one of the Channel Islands, located off the north coast of France. She balances her writing career with taking care of her two small children, and longs for the day when she might have a dachshund and a writing shed of her own. She is also the author of This Time Next Year, Just Haven’t Met You Yet, and Before I Do.