“New York/ LA whirlwind Romance”

I’d like ot talk about the Short Story “New York/ LA whirlwind Romance”. I liked it because it seemed real- for anyone who has been in a long distance relationship, or more easily admitted, had “friends” in a long distance relationship these things that have been written are relatable. I saw that this piece started off as an excerise where the heard lines from passing conversations and wrote them down and I like that- it speaks to how similar everyone really is. It was almost written as if to show the stereotypical relationship. While I read it it seemed genuine to me, but looking back and taking the sentences a part one by one it seems almost comical. While the lines could be taken seriously, I could also see this as a humorous parody of what a the author deems to be the “average” long distance relationship. The line “Look, I’ll say it, I love you” really exemplified that- in the context of the character I believed that he would say it, but outside the story it seems kind of funny to me- like the kind of thing that is so cliché no one would actually say it. Overall, I liked this story, I was surprised, but I liked it. I was going into this reading under the assumption that it would be preachy and polemic but it seemed like an entertaining short story to me.