Love Means Never Saying Sorry

“I’m in love with a woman,” my mother revealed in a handwritten letter before moving cross-country. At her going-away party, she whispered, “Do you still love me?” Her eyes searched mine for approval. We struggled during my teen years. Silence carried the hurt, hers and mine. Physically unwell, suffering after a painful divorce, she needed me. I kept her secret until she was ready to come out. I leaned close: “Mom, I knew. I’ll always love you.” The truth helped us heal. Recently, she texted a photo with a blissful smile: “This is me; I make no apologies.” — Lisa Mccarty

A Couple of Individuals

My boyfriend, Saaketh, and I both live in studio apartments without central A.C. During Seattle’s heat wave last summer, I spent a night at his place. He walked into the room and curled up beside me. I sighed. “Too hot?” he asked. I nodded. “OK, I’ll come back later when it’s cooler.” Although we’re a couple, we give each other the space to experience life as individuals: the space to explore on our own, to cool off in unbearably hot weather. Later, when the temperature had dropped, I woke up with his arm around me again. — Tulsi Chudgar

What Sweet Means

Picking blueberries with my daughter, Dalia, was a gift. At that point, the only blueberries I’d “picked” were in the grocery store. My daughter’s disease was taking so much from her, but here was something she could accomplish while her siblings swam in the lake. It didn’t matter that her legs didn’t work or that she relied on a feeding tube. All that mattered was filling the pail in anticipation of the blueberry coffee cake we’d bake later that afternoon. Though Dalia wouldn’t be able to taste the blueberries she picked, she’d serve the fruit of her labor with pride. — Jessica Fein

The Mysterious Road

Both born in 1941, we both grew up on Rockwell Avenue in Chicago, and played in the same park. Our Social Security numbers are almost identical. We moved to California and had our families. He became widowed; I divorced. At 53, after working in the same building for seven years, our paths crossed. One minute either way and we never would have met. At 82, married with a combined family of four children, their spouses, and 10 grandchildren, we’re still deeply in love. Praise mystery. — Sallie Reid Tasto

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