Not Quite by the Book

by Julie Hatcher

was no longer concerned that it might be the day I experienced a real-life meet-cute that led to true love. I’d even skipped wearing my contacts as a small rebellion.

Not one of her longer visits, but I had to take what I could get. If I didn’t see her on their weekly dates or Saturday-night dinners with our folks, I wasn’t sure when I’d see her at all.

How k feel about my suster

store to you without telling her first. We have two children, after all, but you’re the one who loves Rini Reads, and Annie . . .” She let the sentence drift. I pressed a hand

“Hope” is the thing with feathers.

was no longer asking their permission.

Don’t put your life on hold, waiting for the right guy to come along.”

Yesss never rely or be depednet

moments, of a million little nows—and my now was happening.

My family, who I loved dearly, had absolutely drained me, for years, and they hadn’t even noticed. I’d had to move to another town just to find the time to cry.

“Prose before bros.” Dark brows crowded above his eyes.

think there might be fertilizer in my soul.”

That’s how people are. We share what we love with the people we love.”

“Plants won’t thrive in dirt, but topsoil

Whatever you need, but please kiss the hot handyman and send me details.”

Ughhh yes

Rain threatened to keep me indoors the rest of the day, but I persevered, walking the grounds, then went into town during a break between showers.

I gsy ittt

For me it had always been books.

Mrerr i love books so much

“We’re all a little bookish here.”

“Love is something we can all understand, whether romantic, platonic, or the sort we have for family. Love is the little silver thread connecting all of humanity, around the globe, century to century, forevermore.”

But the right kind of love, that sort that comes from all that is good in oneself and based on true respect for their partner, will lift you to new heights of confidence, strength, and wisdom.”

Live invigorrtes uou

“He goes on to say love should be reveled in. Rejoiced in and deeply, truly appreciated.”

Sometimes people find themselves in love with someone who doesn’t return their affections, but that does not invalidate the feeling, because it is always beautiful to love. And

Then I let Paul walk me out.

They ar def going to fakk in love

The Emily Dickinson Museum was a masterpiece. With every step I took on the grounds and through

wuldd love this but for shskespeare

Emily found inspiration in solitude, but maybe I need to be patient and let myself adjust.

Would I be sad wherever I went because I was the problem?

Ykur peoboeme follow yoi

craved solitude, but now I was positive I hated that. I’d even considered talking to the plants for company.

I. Noe that wsy but with cdrtaub people

“Good. It’s nice to be reminded cancer doesn’t always win. I hope to see a day when it loses far more often.”

She believed that those we love never truly die. They live on in us and in our hearts. In that way, our love gave them immortality.

“Like I’ve always known her. And sometimes it feels as if she knows me. I love the way she saw the world. She wrote heartfelt poems about the smallest things, like birds, bees, and dandelions. If not for her words, I’d rarely think of those things at all.”

In a lot of ways, Emily’s been with me through all the most crucial moments of my life. Good and bad.” I shifted to look more closely at him, searching for the right description of what Emily’s poems meant to me.

unflappable

For him, it was a mistake. How could I have misinterpreted something so severely? The memory played on a loop in my mind. He should’ve flung me over one shoulder, fireman style, and carried me back inside. We should’ve ended the night giddy with the knowledge that something new and intimate existed between us.

What about paulll

how much longer would Annie and I have them with us? Was that morbid to think?

I think about tgwr akk the tinr

What was I doing with my life? What did I want to

I’d long thought Emily’s solitude enhanced her poetry because she had time to see the world clearly and choose the perfect words for each moment. Now, alone on a hill, I felt closer to her than ever before. Thanks to her inspiration, I’d never be an incredible poet, but

It felt good knowing I’d handled things myself. I supposed

“You keep running away because you know you’re being an ass and lying to me. You keep coming back and playing with my emotions when you know what I came here to do.”

“As for the rest of it, I just want to make people happy. Accomplishing things does that. So, I keep going.”

“You don’t have to earn people’s love. Tell me that’s not what you think.”

Thats what i think

Had I equated service with worthiness and created my own misery in the process?

Cecily left the next morning, and my heart sank at the loss. But her visit had revived me. She’d helped me uncover some uncomfortable truths about my faulty thought processes and made me question things I’d blindly accepted about myself and others for too long.

Hoa i feel wyrj i leave my mom

would be the first thing I worked on when I got home.

haven’t been happy,” I admitted. “Not for a long time.”

Why is it that authors a century gone can so easily know our modern hearts? Were some

Timeless

had no idea who Forever Yours truly was, but somehow he knew me

Oooh secret admirer

written the perfect words for this moment. Affection is like bread, unnoticed until we starve.

mom and baby.” I’d come to Amherst because I’d wanted to quit searching for a big, epic love. But I already had all that in front of me. And it was growing. One little niece or nephew at a time.

Went searching for love And found it everywhere Just opened my eyes —Emma Rini