Magnolia on My Mind
He and I were walking, deep in conversation (in college, everything was serious). A group of lacrosse players with sticks walked toward us. In the path between us sat a magnolia blossom, big and pink, blown from a tree in the rain. We noticed the flower, and the lacrosse players did too. As we got closer and closer to the blossom, the players couldn’t contain themselves. They shouted to my friend (in unison as if they had practiced): “Come on! Give her the flower, man!” He obliged. Our romance never bloomed. But every spring, I smile, remembering this moment. — Alison Stine
Donor 309
I’d chosen Jonathan’s sperm from dozens of candidates. (He seemed kind, had sisters, loved art and books.) When my son Alex turned 18, he wrote a sweet letter about himself, hoping to connect, but saying he’d understand if it was all too much. Jonathan’s reply came quickly, an email that said, “Rise & Shine — It’s Donor 309!” We flew to California. A car door slammed outside my friend’s house; we went outside. A grinning Jonathan walked briskly toward us. Suddenly, we were all crying. “Look at this beautiful human we made!” he exclaimed. And then Jonathan and Alex embraced. — DJ Moran
Grandma’s Only Vice
In her mid-50s, my grandmother left her home in Taiwan to watch over me in Queens so my parents could both work. Her weekdays were filled with cooking, laundry, tending to me (and, later, my brothers) and watching “Wheel of Fortune,” although she barely knew English. To her, it was entertainment enough to witness a contestant’s accumulating fortune drop to zero after hitting “bankrupt” with a spin. “He should’ve guessed sooner!” she’d chortle in her mix of Hakka and Mandarin. My grandmother was practically a saint in my family, so it tickled me to see glimpses of this game-show-induced schadenfreude. — Nancy Fann-Im
‘No Dogs’
“No dogs,” I said on my profile. I was not interested in playing second fiddle to a canine (and one always plays second fiddle to a canine). So I swiped left on any profile with a dog in the picture. But then I met Barb. As we cared for our mutual friend who was dying, I was struck by Barb’s deep kindness. Barb handed our friend a glass of water before announcing: “I’ll be back in 10 minutes. I have to take my dog out.” I fell into Barb’s soul. And now that we’re married, I take the dog out too. — Jean Zeeb
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