Happy Medium

by Sarah Adler

“The truth is this: I want to stay here. And I want you to stay with me. I want to work together every day. Sleep together every night. Plant a field of sunflowers together, one that will actually grow. I just want to be together for as long as we can. I want you to be my family. And even if it doesn’t work out and I wind up stuck at Gilded Creek for the rest of my life, it’ll have been worth it.” He pauses and takes a deep, slow breath before continuing. “Loving you . . . loving you will always be worth it. And I do love you, Gretchen Acorn. I do.”

Love, she’s found, is a lot like the gotcha euphoria she used to experience, but steadier. Reliable. Something she can hold on to for longer than one rapturous moment.