maria dossett

you’re the kind of man they write books about

and i mean it because i’ve read them before

i read women who move across the country, quit their jobs,

post bail & break up all to start anew

they live in lakehouses left for them in wills or

city apartments paid for by book publisher salaries

their lives are built on the daydreams i craved for my own life

and then one after the other,

moments after the worst days of their lives, 

they meet him

broad-shouldered, scruffy-haired, & hopelessly well-rounded

good at making small talk & asking questions that make her feel

seen & known & good & loved

he spills his secrets to her as they bond over late-night noodles

their favorite coastal bookstore

the local diner they both coincidentally loved as kids

& every trope & trip in between

and i fell in love with those men just like the women did

i fell for blue eyes & strong arms & a hidden heart

i fell hearing about childhood dreams & dashed hopes

of parents who died or loves that were lost

i craved the company of someone who at first look

made life hopeful and light and easy

but he was nowhere to be found in the real world

so i found solace in the stories he lived in

moved into my own apartment outside the city

focused on lakehouse vacations with my friends

and settled into a life of my own

i said yes to drinks one night

like the girls in my books did

he was broad-shouldered and well-rounded

good at making small talk & asking questions that made me feel

seen & interesting & good

we bonded over a game of pool and beer and pizza

i couldn’t believe the ease i had

in picking fun at him and making jokes

in saying what i wanted and not caring how it looked

he made every day together feel

hopeful and light and easy

he told me he loved me after two weeks of being my boyfriend

and i never dreamed i could say it back

the characters in my books were foolish

you could never trust and hope in someone that quickly

after not knowing they existed just months before

but i knew from the beginning

i fell in love with blue eyes & strong arms & an open heart

they fell for me too, and only me

i adored hearing stories of childhood dreams,

of dark days and beautiful days and normal ones in between

he spilled his secrets to me

between late nights and long car rides 

and i made a place for him between all of my broken pieces

hopeful that the more we shared, the longer he could stay

and he stayed

and stayed

and stayed and stayed and stayed and stayed

and i fall in love more every day

like i’m reading my favorite book

over and over and over again