Teaching My Boyfriend How to Write Love Letters

by Katie Wu

Grandma said to never trust men who couldn't write a love letter. 

"If they can't put their feelings into words, do they even have feelings at all?" She said every time I brought a guy–friend or friend–to a family thing. 

"Guys don't' write love letters anymore, grandma."

It was true. While grandma was proud of showing us her collection of love letters, I don't think she'd be impressed if I presented her with all of my "you up?" texts. But she just shook her head with a knowing smile, refusing to believe that times have changed; that men were not the same. 

On the day I least expected, love swiveled past my sundress, grazing the back of my heels, taking the form of a paper plane. Inside, I found a doodle of a guy with bushy eyebrows, smiling at me.

It was a terrible drawing, but it made me smile back.

When I looked up, the doodle had been brought to life.

"I'm Jim," he said, stretching out his hand to get the drawing back, but I forced it into my pocket, not ready to give it up yet. "Hey! I drew it." He chuckled, surprised by my intentions to keep it. 

"I'm Katie." I shook his hand instead. "And I liked it."