We flew down a country road on his 175cc Honda, roared up a hill, missed a curve, climbed an embankment and went airborne above a fallow field. I’d first seen him the week before in leather pants, motorcycle boots, and a laundered purple button-down, ringlets of dark hair dangling over his collar. “Cute, but too short for me,” I thought. Yet here I was. The bike landed, chugged a few feet, and tipped into sticky mud. The damage was mercifully minor, bent handlebars and a cracked face shield. We wobbled home covered in dirt and humiliation. It was true love.
Susan Morrel-Samuels writes short stories and children's literature in Chelsea, Michigan. She was the 2025 Judges Choice award winner in the statewide Michigan Writes contest. LinkedIn: Susan Morrel-Samuels