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.