What If…I Love You

by Yvonne Marie

Oh, wow, that’s so cool that you’re traveling to Peru to climb a mountain alongside thousands of other travelers who are trampling over the natural habitat and ruining the ecosystem, all so you can have this once-in-a-lifetime experience that you will slip into casual conversations for years to come.

I have the palate of a twelve-year-old.

I pretend a lot.

I feel the cost of giving more than I ever get back

I wish socializing came more naturally to me,

The distance is all I have left and I’m holding on to it like a tether that will keep my anger righteous and targeted.

Here’s my shot. My one shot at a second chance with Renee.

“I’m sure we can find a mutually beneficial solution,” I say. But I’m hoping that it won’t mean the end of us. That’s the part that I don’t say.

“Renee, I’ve been in love with you for as long as I can remember.

you’ve always been the standard that I’ve measured every other man against.

I want to play and explore with you because I love you.

I just stay there. Close my eyes and just feel it. Feel what it is to finally be home.

if my mother can tear up the lawn of the house he built for her and create a garden, then I can do what needs to be done to set a new course for this company, even if it means undoing some of my father’s work.