Secret

by Cara Grill

One night he decided to tell me the biggest secret of his life, the one he’d never told anyone, and it boiled down to this: he was a born liar. He knew it, he couldn’t help it, and he was ashamed. As I stood in the cold listening to him talk, I could suddenly see our whole future stretching out ahead, the whole sorry mess, clear as day. I saw how I could really love him, and how he’d never love me back, how we’d push and pull and fight and make up over and over again until we were just too tired and worn out... then it was gone and there was only his sweet-sad face, pale under the streetlights. I hugged him tight, told him it was all gonna be ok, then took his hand and led him back into the warmth and light of the bar. I guess maybe I'm a liar, too.

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Cara Grill, author of An Only Child, lives in Seattle, has Superman pajamas, and once taught her cat how to use the toilet.