The Last Romantics

by Tara Conklin

they watched The Brady Bunch or The A-Team on rerun or sometimes a program that showed a man painting oil landscapes, his voice so calm that it stupefied them.

Keeping busy is the best defense against feeling sad. It’s simple, but it’s true.”

“The love of your life is always the one you have betrayed the most. The love that defines you is the one upon whom you once turned your back.” I

I was wrong to tell you that this is a story about the failures of love. No, it is about real love, true love. Imperfect, wretched, weak love. No fairy tales, no poetry. It is about the negotiations we undertake with ourselves in the name of love. Every day we struggle to decide what to give away and what to keep, but every day we make that calculation and we live with the results. This then is the true lesson: there is nothing romantic about love. Only the most naïve believe it will save them. Only the hardiest of us will survive it.

Because when the lights go out and we sit waiting in the dark, what do our fingers seek? Who do we reach for?