That Summer Feeling

by Bridget Morrissey

“I always thought real love required complete acceptance,” I told him. “So the things I didn’t like or didn’t agree with, I just kept quiet about, because I thought it would turn into an ugly fight, and that was the last thing I wanted.” His calm face betrayed no hint of emotion. If my words affected him, he looked determined not to show me. “You know better than most people that all my parents ever did was nitpick each other,” I continued. “I’m sure they still do it. They’re forever at each other’s throats, the only two people in their house, bitter about the fact that they’ve chosen to be stuck together for life, acting like they don’t have a say in the matter. So I fought with you over none of it. I shared no observation that seemed less than kind. Which means you were right about what you said when you left me. You told me I romanticized everything. That was true, just not really in the way you explained it.” For once, Ethan let a bit of surprise show. It was nothing more than an exaggerated blink. Something that could be attributed to dry contacts. But I knew better. “I wanted to see the best in you because I didn’t want to be bad at marriage,”