Maybe the first time you saw her you were ten.
She was standing in the sun scratching her legs.
Or tracing letters in the dirt with a stick.
Her hair was being pulled.
Or she was pulling someone's hair.
And a part of you was drawn to her,
and a part of you resisted - wanting to ride off
on your bicycle, kick a stone, remain uncomplicated.
In the same breath you felt the strength of a man,
and a self-pity that made you feel small and hurt.
Part of you thought: Please don't look at me.
If you don't, I can still turn away.
And part of you thought: Look at me.
NICOLE KRAUSS
The History of Love
She was standing in the sun scratching her legs.
Or tracing letters in the dirt with a stick.
Her hair was being pulled.
Or she was pulling someone's hair.
And a part of you was drawn to her,
and a part of you resisted - wanting to ride off
on your bicycle, kick a stone, remain uncomplicated.
In the same breath you felt the strength of a man,
and a self-pity that made you feel small and hurt.
Part of you thought: Please don't look at me.
If you don't, I can still turn away.
And part of you thought: Look at me.
NICOLE KRAUSS
The History of Love
Ashley and Dustin's romance began well before they knew the definition of love. They were small children, from the same small Ohio town, where each of their fathers attended high school together long before they were fathers, where every child of the same age played together, where everyone knows everyone. In time, Ashley and Dustin grew up, went their separate ways, and were eventually drawn back to La Rue to be serendipitously reintroduced by their families. And it is in this same small town where they will put down roots of their own as husband and wife, cultivate shared memories and grow their lives together in they place where they began.
