
Anyone marrying a nymph expects (and, indeed, anticipates!) a certain environmental affinity, and occasional nude stream-bathing. But I believed we generally wanted peaceful, ordinary couple-dom.
Her. Me. A sleek condo.
But my modern Melia refused to fade into the Upscale Suburbia woodwork. She plotted a musical community garden, delighting locals with rap-scallions, bell peppers, pop corn, rosehip-hop, blues-berries, zydecoriander, R&Beans, honeydew-wop…
…mushrooming sound.
“I wanted a quiet life. For us.”
Melia shrugged. Smiled.
Then she tossed the plus-sign-bearing ClearBlue Easy test on the counter, between a pair of tromboncino courgettes.
It froze me to the marrow.
Linda McMullen is a wife, mother, diplomat, and homesick Wisconsinite. Her short stories have appeared or are forthcoming in over fifty literary magazines, including, recently, Drunk Monkeys, Storgy, and Newfound. Follow her on Twitter @LindaCMcMullen.