Our Ages Added Up Perfectly
In 1990, I joined Herb’s campaign for South Carolina governor. Herb wanted to overturn the provision in the state constitution that prohibited atheists from holding public office. We met in person, then fell in love via phone and letter during the summer. I worried about telling him my age. When he asked, I said, “Fifty-two. And you?” “Forty-eight.” We lost the election but helped to overturn the law. After we wed, I asked, “What did you think when I told you my age?” He said, “I thought 52 and 48 make 100.” Did I mention he was a mathematics professor? — Sharon Fratepietro
The Silent Treatment
“Shut Up!” my 7-year-old son said to me. Stunned silence. A single mother, I knew it was decision time. We don’t talk to each other like that. So shut up I did. For three days I would not speak to him or answer his questions. He begged me to say something as I performed our daily rituals. I was hurt and determined, though unsure of the outcome. On my pillow, day four, lay a note: “Dear mum, I miss the sound of your lovely voice, and I am truly sorry.” Tears. Hugs. He never said “shut up” to me again. — Diana Henry
Toast Will Bring Us Together
It was an awkward first date between me, a foreigner from the United States, and Yun-Hsing, a Taiwanese. I took her to a party with too much English and not enough privacy. Friends kept interrupting to ask about my latest heartbreak, my missing cat, Toast. Trying to salvage the night, I invited her back to my place. I was changing clothes when I heard her shouting. When I ran over, she was holding Toast! We spontaneously embraced, melting our awkwardness. That was three years ago. We married this summer after Taiwan legalized same-sex marriage. — Hannah Chang
Less Lovable Than Lobster
Despite a drawn-out divorce, I frequently have reveries about a certain endearing trait of my former wife. When half-asleep, she would often make funny statements in her altered state. Example No. 1: She: “Turn off the light.” Me: “I did.” She: “No.” She points to the window. Me: “That’s the moon.” She: “Then turn off the moon.” Example No. 2, my favorite: As she snuggled up to me, eyes closed and semiconscious, she murmured, “I love you more than anything.” A pause. “Except lobster.” — Gene Keyes
See more Tiny Love Stories at nytimes.com/modernlove. Submit yours at nytimes.com/tinylovestories.
Sign up for Love Letter to get a weekly dose of real stories that examine the highs, lows and woes of relationships.
Watch the trailer for the Modern Love TV show, coming to Amazon Prime Video on Oct. 18; listen to the Modern Love Podcast on iTunes or Google Play Music; check out the updated anthology “Modern Love: True Stories of Love, Loss, and Redemption;” follow Modern Love on Facebook.