The Love Clause

hind slate-colored clouds. Julia stood at the kitchen sink, her hands wrapped around a chipped ceramic mug, watching the world so

en crayon pressed hard against thick paper. Julia recognized the shape:

he asked, brushing a strand of

nly. "It ticks lou

that ticking well. The sound of time stretching

he was behind on two assigned readings, had missed an email from h

sat at the desk at midnight, staring at a single sentence for twe

story. It was her story. It was Elara's. And

e stopped surviving

, that made

-

high ceilings, worn leather chairs, and walls lined with out-of-print volumes. She had claimed th

idly, a playwright from Lisbon reading with a highlighter between her teeth. Conversations f

screen. The cursor

dful of scenes, a few monologues, lin

new document

ne: Befor

wa

words

r and essays while Julia worked. Their roles had reversed, in a way. He made lunch now. Picked up Elara. Folded laundry. And though

enture. But somewhere between time zones and

d her lap

she was scared that writing the sto

-

eaves loose from their branches. Liam cooked lentil s

watching them both. A family mad

," Liam said,

oice slow. "Do yo

tching hers. "Sometimes

our st

d. "Yeah. But I like this too.

rand of hair behind his ear. "I'

vely. "It's not about balance. It's

th, the steadiness in his gaze. She had fallen in love with that steadiness. But

you too," she said, voic

ied. And that was

-

rn stuffed dragon, Julia crept back to the desk. Th

d since the hospital days. Inside were pages filled w

caught on

would be a return.

derlin

ned her lapt

and Julia woke to the sound of Elara whispering to her stuffed dragon beside her. Liam's side

ou at six. P.S. There's a bookstore

ucked the note i

ture book with deep concentration. Julia brushed a kiss across the top of her daughter's head

not effortlessly, but honestly. And something about that had cracked ope

rative with a group of students half her age. She began by asking eac

a small mirror,

ood bathroom," she said. "The d

e it after her cancer diagnosis. She told

ory stirred something in her-no

l strides and parental duties. Listening to these young writers, she understood: telling the

room emptying with the hush of soft conversation and closing door

Wri

nervous hands. His name was Callum-one of the quiet ones.

y you read last week? About the mother on the r

, surprised. "Thank y

used to tell stories like that-about storms and waiting. She p

. "Maybe they were her truths

o say thanks. For making sp

he left behind, Callum's words echoing in

-

ic café and a bakery that smelled of cardamom and butter. It was the kind of place that bar

quiet sound of jazz playing from somewhere near the back. She wandered slowly,

copy of Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet. She op

urney is the

ught t

an with short gray hair and laugh li

. "I think I

ome back," the wo

the book hom

-

awing again, lost in her own world. Liam see

small back patio. The wind had picked up again, tossing leaves across the stone t

w minutes later, hol

ne. "I might take on more hours next semeste

ertain. "I thought we wer

I just... I miss teaching pr

guilt flaring like a m

made this choice together. But now that you're f

tment in his voice

his hand. "We'll

curling around he

nd swept past them, lifting the corn

nce, a train passed. N

e t

en when it felt l

with a

ement and memory when her phone buzzed. She ignored it at first-thinking it was a calendar r

calls - M

oic

omach

l traps: her mother's veiled judgments, Julia's defensiveness, the aching space left by her father's absence. Since arri

ated, the

e came through, b

ncle Robert. He collapsed at work yesterday. They think it was a stroke. He's stable now, but it shook your aunt up

or a moment, her hands

e Ro

roast, the way he used to sneak her quarters for candy behind her dad's back. He wasn't j

ed her things into her b

-

ed on the s

voice instantly aler

in university building, her words tumbling out. Liam listene

ink I can right now, not with the lectu

"The real question

through her first-layer answe

he wa

ad fought to escape-the suffocating expectations, the subtle criticisms, the

st," she said final

-

tched tight, the house still around her. Liam had taken Elara

nswered on t

ul

, M

hank you fo

es. He was talking, even joking. But the doctors were concerned-he w

g about you,"

er of a blanket. "I've b

e. "I know y

with resentment. But it c

stared at the ceiling, a k

shed home. Who cooked soup and held

woman who had finally

she be

-

the decision w

her essays had been selected for a public reading series in

the screen,

ld open every door she

ulder and exhaled. "Ju

sand emotions tumb

nt. Fear

her mother

. But I'm sending something for Aunt Carla, and I'll c

o reply for

, a shor

Take care

anger either.

Julia didn't c

around a memory: her uncle teaching her how to ride a bike, running

said "I'm proud of you." But he alw

ow, that

ars than Julia expected, her resilience tucked behind wide eyes and th

e call from Elara's

rious-but Elara's been withdrawing. She's quiet, even for he

inked. "

its. She used to be o

wed. "I'll t

lway, the girl curled in bed with her back

in?" Julia a

without tur

bed. "Ms. Beattie called toda

was

ntinued. "But I miss your

voice small. "No one

ed. "What d

real. That they were good. But here... a boy said they were st

hest ache

rd," she whispered. "I

fferent doesn't mean you're weird. It means you see the world with magic. A

y don't

ugh when they don't understand. But that

't respond

: "Do you eve

iled. "E

the tiniest sm

blankets, until Elara's breathing evened and she drifted o

-

ain. The owner, who introduced herself this

ething in partic

ave any children's books about kids who d

ded. "Fo

tles like The Girl Who Spoke to the

ought t

the second, her daughter had nestled against her sho

ered, "Maybe dragons just need to

of her head. "Maybe t

-

e staff lounge across tow

ered a full-t

rtment head had dropped the hint dur

ca

It was a commitment. T

lid-but still fragile, like china kept in constant motion. They'd come her

ly and drafted an email to

ing anymore. It means we're choosing this plac

e dele

deep down, he

reading arrived w

nding disaster. Her breath fogged the mirror. Her palms were damp. She hadn't been this nervous in y

Elara. She'll love seeing her mama read

ia had

mother. Or a partner. It

now, she longed for

ofessors, students, editors, and a scattering of strangers. There

ed woman with a voice like v

rk moved our selection panel unanimo

. Warm.

d out under

dium and adjusted the micropho

oom s

she

-

as titled I

carried anyway. It blended memory with fiction-how Uncle Robert used to carve fruit with a paring knife

he hall fell i

once, when she reached the part about Elara drawing dragons with

shed, there was a

e, strong an

he lights, lips pa

mile that didn't feel performative. "Tha

, an editor from a mid-sized press approached her. He was

mething I didn't realize I was mi

ated. "Yes.

card. "I'd lik

-

d thinned to a mist, the pavement slick and

, head buzzing. Not from nerves now-bu

one vi

ep, hugging her dragon with a pict

e says your dra

aughed

hesitation, she

g four

ul

did a reading. It

"That's w

in her voi

ught you might want

r said quietly. "

e, those words di

felt

of pancakes. A soft clatter came from the kitchen. For a blissful second, she thought s

se!" sh

ed. "What's

eberries. And whipped cream

har

er hand, "Daddy says we're celebrat

d at the stove, flipping the final pancake. He wore her

d a dragon last night

lt more like riding o

l cou

around their tiny table. The pancakes were slightly burnt, the blue

she wasn't thinking about what came next. Ju

nts neve

ne rang again. This tim

er siste

id, her voice quieter than usual. "Mom sent me the lin

did I. But I'm learning to un

was a

come

. "You want t

Elara. Maybe.

ulia to find her voi

e two sisters. Julia didn't know what it would look like. But maybe

-

the emails sta

sidency program that Julia could apply for. A blog picked up her story and posted an excerpt, and within a day, she'd received a message fr

hat's exactly how

s didn't e

ith Liam, the sky painted in peach and

t, I'm not just submitting work-I'm exposing everything. I wrote

leaned back, arms resting behind h

id eventually. "You're not trying to impre

ven if that truth h

f you lie by omission. Only if

at her lap. "You

I trust you to tell it in a way tha

on't want to be the rea

id. "Because that'

-

ekend, Rach

, tiptoeing around their mother's guilt, their father's silence

a melted

le crayon as a peace offering. Rachel knelt down, eyes wet,

ing room, surrounded by crayons, pa

Julia poured two glasses of wine and

hated you,"

er, surprised b

you got away. That you didn't c

"I didn't get away. I ra

u did. Because watching you stand up and

d. "Permissi

ll the

g between them, until Rachel said, "I'm

er and squeezed

't need t

-

of the chapter c

box to find a respo

Proposa

the messa

wness, the lyricism-it's something rare. If you'

eath c

the hallway, sta

?" he

eld i

face breaking

it," he w

e said.

from her room.

s arms. "Your mom jus

lit up. "Like

act

"You even know

ar her stories," Elara said matter

all l

ouse felt full-not just o

ecom

ll its soft,

el's visit, the house

. The hum of the faucet, the low ticking of the wall clock-everything felt suspended in

that morning, but not before o

uffle slung over her shoulder, the air c

said. "And not just for the w

rising in her throat. "Yo

o keep sh

her. The embrace was brief, tight, f

nd it had taken less than two days to understand that

-

radiant blue, the kind that made the trees look like they were trying to compete for attention. Golden leaves car

t, where a few other children were playing. She to

n since receiving

laziness-bu

ut, and instead of rushing forward, she found herself circling it, a

so the matte

story without betra

t your truth whil

akers on pavement. An elderly woman sat beside her wit

something to say," she sai

faintly. "T

meone who's

d. "Have you w

me ago. Gave it up to raise thre

oth la

r regret it?

tories didn't disappear. They changed form. Found their way into bedtime tales, b

red at he

cont

ok would be. Not just a r

without cruelty. Tender

s already shuffling away, as tho

ned to a

she

-

Julia was waist-deep

rred. She rearranged chapters, trimmed excess, and dug deeper

n't pause fo

eived an unexpected

s to come visit,"

r stomach tig

o see Elara

n to him. Their last conversation had e

if I'm ready,"

ady," her mother replied

h a promise to

-

h Liam that evening a

my graduation, never asked about my teaching jobs, an

dn't in

with money' and 'you need to live in the real world,

id. "I remember the l

ands. "What if seeing him just reopens

time you realize you didn't close it. You carried it. Qui

't answer

sitting silently at the table, reading the paper, while her younger

-

did arrive, the

h like he wasn't sur

nd Julia's leg. "

as curious,

pened t

, D

. "You lo

broke the tension by offering him a drawing she made-

said, pointing a

he drawing like it was

an off to find more crayons. "I didn't know h

dn't have to understand it.

s downcast. "I

was a

rry," h

led. Slowl

id. "That matters m

-

vening, he hugged her. It

the window as his

terward, stunned by the stran

iam. "It didn't

ut it didn't brea

d. "That'

-

e opened her m

chapter-one sh

bout for

and, cinem

ve not to absolve someone else, but to releas

, and it shaped me-but I get to

e sat back in her chair, tears s

iting for app

riting fo

heal

ho once believed her

the

orld was