Kate Gies
Writer
I Love You
in Release Any Words Stuck Inside of You
“He drops the words in front of you and you leave them there, hoping they’ll dissolve into the flowered tablecloth and you can go back to your roasted pumpkin risotto. He asks if you have anything to say but all you can do is nod. He grabs your hand, presses it to his chest, and a gelled noodle of hair falls to his forehead. Can you feel it in my heart? he asks. All you can feel is your stomach twisting and curling up past your ribs. Your throat stings with the vinegar of your stomach, so you start swallowing. You’re nodding and swallowing. He releases your hand and it flops to the table like a dead squid … ”