A Holly Jolly Ever After

by Julie Murphy

And what if this was virtue? What if this was purity? The raw generosity of sharing space and pressure and pleasure, the honesty that came with each moan and every breath? What if good sex only made me more like Winnie Baker in the end . . . happier, more hopeful, closer to my own soul and the soul of the person I was with?

Sometimes the things we wanted most came when we least expected them, when we weren’t prepared for them, when we thought we didn’t want them anymore.

And sure, Winnie wasn’t ready for me. But I was building a life for us . . . and I would be here, serving up pies, when she was ready.