Tiny Love Stories: ‘I Know You Don’t Watch the News’

Our Last Outing

Growing up with a strict no fast-food rule, I was lucky to have my grandpa as my partner in crime. Our secret McDonald’s stops on the way home from school left no trace — except for our satisfied, conspiratorial grins. Two months after he died, I learned I could finally eat pollock after 25 years of being severely allergic. Sitting in a McDonald’s, I hesitated before my first-ever bite of a Filet-O-Fish — his favorite. The flaky texture and the creamy flavor were unfamiliar yet exactly as he’d described them. I smiled, savoring this final, secret communion with my grandfather. — Naomi Huang

A Clarifying Call

“Julia, it’s Talula. You blocked me so I’m using another phone. I know you don’t watch the news, but there’s a fire in that canyon by you!” My mind cleared as her voice took center stage, chaos from the evacuation receding into the background. All the animosity I’d harbored toward my former best friend instantly dissipated. “Lu, I miss you,” I said, the truth tumbling out of my mouth. For years, I had thought the deepest friendship I’d ever experienced had been burned beyond repair. But maybe in this moment of devastation, there was an opportunity to build anew. — Julia Stephens

Two Witnesses to Two Ceremonies

Two weeks before our wedding his mother died. Two days before our wedding I was in the throes of a painful miscarriage. “Baby Hinds was in a hurry to see his grandmother,” he said. Somehow those words comforted me. We went through with the wedding. I, in the haze of medication. He, in the shadow of great loss. Sorrow an uninvited guest. Twenty five years later, we renewed our vows. I like to think grandmother and grandchild were together. This time witnessing the joy of our life together. — Rachel Hinds

Yielding to the Moment

Three years into our friendship, I developed an unexpected crush on my best friend, Ellen. It was complicated because we were classmates, both “straight” and had never considered anything other than a platonic relationship. But, one evening, as we were lying in her bed watching a movie, I leaned in to kiss her. Although I was terrified of rejection, I shut my eyes and yielded to the moment. To my surprise, she was already there, waiting for my embrace. Now, six years later in our shared apartment in Stockholm, she is always there when I reach for her. — Rakel Clinton Lucas