Tiny Love Stories: āThat Was My First Inklingā
My First Inkling
When I was 7, my grandmother told me she saw Halleyās comet in 1910. As a young woman in rural Tennessee, she was amazed. She explained it would return in 1986, when sheād be in heaven and Iād be a grown man. That was my first inkling, lovingly and mysteriously rendered, that all things change ā and people we love pass away, though the stars appear to stay the same. In Seattle, 1986, I watched the comet scar the darkness, my grandmotherās memory burning bright within me. By the time Halley returns in 2061, I will have joined her in infinity. ā T.S. Davis
Little Allies
My 10-year-old nephew and his friends were playing in the yard when my sister overheard them using the word āgayā as a put-down. She pulled my nephew aside: āYou know Uncle Coreyās gay, right? Have you ever told your friends that?ā In the school parking lot the next day, my sister overheard the same boys using āgayā pejoratively again. āDo you even know what that word means?ā my nephew asked his friends. āI have a gay uncle and heās awesome.ā The boys didnāt respond, but a little girl standing nearby chimed in: āI have a gay uncle, too!ā ā Corey Gerard Lambert
Three Shots After It Was Over
I called you when I left the gynecologist. You, whom Iād been with for years until recently. Weād already started seeing other people. Yet we found ourselves together at Dr. Chiuās office treating an S.T.D. one of us had given the other. While there, we were recommended a course of vaccines for HPV. Three shots over the course of the next nine months became our relationshipās post-mortem. You squeezed my hand as I flinched at the needle. I laughed at you for always forgetting your vaccine record. After, we rewarded ourselves with Dairy Queen and banter. ā Lauren Lim
Accidental Thief
Today I came across a butter knife that weād accidentally stolen from our wedding reception. My memories are not quite as vivid as they used to be, although I thought Iād be able to recall all of it. The one thing Iāll never forget is how I felt that entire day, excited and bursting with joy. I was the happiest woman on earth, without a care in the world, including no guilt for stolen things. I was stealing time and memories. ā Mesa Fama
#Tiny #Love #Stories #Inkling