Tiny Love Stories: ‘I Couldn’t Ignore What That Silence Told Me’
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Version 0 of 1. Kim Jong-un wasn’t to blame. It turned out to be an employee error at the Hawaii Emergency Management Services that triggered a false North Korean missile alarm sent to those in the state, including my husband. He and his colleagues at the medical conference stopped discussing ocular herpes and took shelter. For 38 minutes, they faced their own imminent deaths. I wonder who he called or texted during that time; it wasn’t me. After a while, I couldn’t ignore what that silence told me. He didn’t even feel compelled to say goodbye to me, so that was goodbye. — Jennifer Byrne My father’s words worked hard. He used as few as possible. “I love you,” I told him before I left for college. We were varnishing the gunwales of the canoe he had given me. “There’s a holiday,” he said, pointing to a spot I had missed. “I love you,” I told him as I pulled out of the driveway in an old car he had found. “You should say you love me back,” I said. “Write if you get work,” he said. “I love you,” I said when he was older and unwell. “That’s good,” he said, his eyes full of love and mischief. — Peggy Moss Santa Barbara’s sunlight made the gold in Miguel’s eyes shimmer. Our gaze lingered. In Laguna Beach, he crooned Gipsy Kings to me at sunrise. Under a blazing Los Angeles sky, he thrust chrysanthemums into my sweaty hands, then disappeared. In San Luis Obispo, he taught me to salsa in the Madonna Inn Jacuzzi, our bodies glowing in the full moon. In Point Reyes, rain raged all afternoon, so we huddled in my car. In Stinson Beach, the sun appeared briefly for me to tell him I loved him. He embraced me and let me down gently as the sun set. — Dominic Laituri A well-meaning neighbor dropped off sourdough starter and a list of recipes, unannounced. “We just fed it,” he said. “You should be good to make pizza dough in about four hours.” We made the dough (what other option did we have?) and sent a picture as evidence. Soon I was feeding our “baby” twice a day, and making either pizza, crackers, bread or muffins around the clock (or so it seemed). The last recipe from his list? Cinnamon rolls. I made them today and they were delicious. We brought the rest to our neighbors. Who else? — Liz Zito See more Tiny Love Stories at nytimes.com/modernlove. Submit yours at nytimes.com/tinylovestories. Want more from Modern Love? Watch the TV series; sign up for the newsletter; or listen to the podcast on iTunes, Spotify or Google Play. We also have swag at the NYT Store and a book, “Modern Love: True Stories of Love, Loss, and Redemption.” |