“No One’s a Mystery” (thoughts)

This review is part of John’s Short Story Monday event! I read “No One’s a Mystery” by Elizabeth Tallent awhile ago, though I’m just getting around to reviewing it. It’s a very short story: only three pages long, but within that space Tallent really brings her characters alive. A young girl and an older guy are in his pickup in Wyoming, and the story is their conversation. It doesn’t sound like much, but Tallent really brings out the poignancy, hope, and worries that we always bring to relationships. :) The ending is just too gorgeous. I can’t talk about it much more without ruining your reading experience, so why don’t you just go read it (I’ve linked to it) and then come back and tell me if you loved it as much as I did!

Notable Passage (don’t read until you’ve read the story, since this is the ending!)
“In three years I’ll write, `My nipples are a little sore from nursing
Eliza Rosamund.’
“Rosamund. Every little girl should have a middle name she hates.”
” `Her breath smells like vanilla and her eyes are just Jack’s color of
blue.’
“That’s nice.” Jack said.
“So, which one do you like?”
“I like yours,” he said. “But I believe mine.”
“It doesn’t matter. I believe mine.”
“Not in your heart of hearts, you don’t.”
“You’re wrong.”
“I’m not wrong,” he said. “And her breath would smell like your milk,
and it’s kind of a bittersweet smell, if you want to know the truth.”

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