She Never Liked Me Much, But She Sure Loved Me

　　"Mary and I got married in 1944," Starnes went on, "when I was supposed to go off to the war." And Colin thought that Starnes might benefit from a lesson from his eleventh-grade English teacher Mr. Holtsclaw, who taught them about transitions. Colin couldn’t tell a story to save his life, admittedly, but at least he'd heard of transitions. Still, it was fun to listen to Starnes. "Anyway, I didn't go off to the war because I shot off two of my toes because I'm a coward. I'm an old man so I can tell you that frankly. I wasn't afraid of war, you know. War never scared me. I just didn't want to go all the way-hell over there to fight one. I had a reputation after that — I pretended I shot myself by accident, but everyone knew. I never did lose that reputation, but now most everyone is dead, and y'all ain't got any stories from them, so you have to believe mine by default: They were cowards, too. Everyone is.

　　"But we got married and oh Lord we sure loved each other. Always did till the very end. She never liked me much, but she sure loved me, if you know what I'm saying." Colin glanced at Hassan, who glanced back, his eyes wide in horror. They both feared they knew exactly what Starnes was saying. "She died in 1997. Heart attack. She was nothing but good and I was nothing but bad, but then she died, and I didn't."

　　He showed them pictures then; they crowded around his La-Z-Boy as his wrinkled hands flipped slowly through a photo album thick with memories. The oldest pictures were faded and yellowing, and Colin thought about how even in pictures of their youth, old people look old. He watched as the pictures moved to a crisp black-and-white and then to the bland color of Polaroids, watched as children were born and then grew up, as hair fell out and was replaced by wrinkles. And all the while Starnes and Mary stayed in the pictures together, from their wedding to their fiftieth anniversary. I will have that, Colin thought. I will have it. I will. With Katherine. But I won't be only that, he resolved. I will leave behind something more than one photo album where I always look old.

An Abundance of Katherines, P83-84
John Green
ISBN 978-0-14-241070-7