After I Do

by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Big Sur

TS

We checked in, yet another honeymooning couple in the cabins of Big Sur.

TS

What a beautiful thing to have been. What a sad thing to be.

The stress of questioning whether it has or has not happened is too much.

“Oh, my God!” I am yelling. Or maybe I’m not. I don’t know. “Oh, my God!” Oh, my God. Oh, my God. God, yes. Oh, God. Oh. God. Oh. God. Oh. God. Oh God. Oh God. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. YES.

“Brutal honesty. It’s OK to hurt me. It’s OK to hurt my feelings. It’s OK to embarrass me. As long as you do it from love. Nothing you could ever say out of love could hurt as much as it did to look into your eyes and see that you couldn’t stand me anymore.

Some people need more boundaries, some people need fewer. Some marriages need more space, some marriages need more intimacy. Some families need more honesty, some families need more kindness. There’s no single answer for any of it.

All that matters is that you open your heart, give everything you have, and keep trying.