“Yeah, kind of. It’s hard to explain. Marriage is a whole different thing from just love, you know? Love can come in all different types of forms, really. Pining, wanting, caring, protecting, absorbing. And the wanting of love, I guess, is the most powerful, but it also isn’t sustainable. I think that’s why young people who get married get divorced a lot. It’s hard to want someone when you have them, you know? So, love has to mature the same way people do. And, you know, it’s different out here in the country. My mother got married when she was eighteen. I was twenty-six when I got married, and people thought I was an old maid. Most of the girls I went to school with had already had multiple kids. I mean, how old do you want to be when you get married?”

“I don’t know if I ever want to get married,” Harper said, “I don’t even like thinking about it.”

“Right. There’s no pressure for you. I was pressured by everybody. Find a man and be in love and get married.”

“Were you in love when you got married?” Harper asked.

“I think so,” Amelia said. “It was always hard to tell with Barrett. He was even older than me, but acted younger, and he made a damn fool of himself pretty often, but alone he was sweet and kind. He’d just bring me cups of water, all of the time, even if I didn’t ask for them. He just looked out for me. He didn’t smell bad and he worked, and that meant a lot back then, believe it or not.”

“That still means a lot now,” Harper said.

“The bar is low, I guess,” Amelia said, laughing.

“Anyway.”

“Anyway,” Amelia continued, “I didn’t think about feelings much until he proposed, then I panicked. I mean, I only ever thought, he’s suitable, he makes sense, he’s nice, and he’s normal. But when he proposed, I really started paying attention to him and how I felt. And I realized I never met anyone like him before. He was protective, strong, and honest. He cared for me and I knew I could trust him with all of me. I noticed then, well, he never felt comfortable with anything because he just seemed always a little sad. Never nothing crazy, he didn’t cry or nothing, but just a quiet, noble sadness. And I liked it. It was endearing.”

“Did you say yes when he proposed?” Harper asked.

“Oh, wow, no. I made him wait for two months before I had my answer,” Amelia said.

“Oh, my God,” Harper said, laughing. “You’re evil.”