rubber band

Gainesville is a large small town, an anomaly in its part of the state, and wouldn't be on most people's radar except for the university. It took me until my senior year to see the town that is separate from UF, and I came close to staying. Sara came to Gainesville for college and stayed. I left, but by some fluke, I'm back, unintentionally but happy to be here. On my first Wednesday back, I wandered through the downtown farmer's market and recognized Amy selling produce in one of the stands. Months later, I'm picking through garlic at Wards, and Ryan approaches to see if I'm the old friend he recognizes. Jesse, too, has pulled his whole workshop down here and is using Gainesville as a home base. He says Joe is around for a little while longer, but I'd have to go to the pool at six in the morning to catch him. We come back, it seems.

After eleven years, Liz returns to Gainesville, too, for a short visit. We try to explain to our husbands why we're so fond of this town, not just the university, but I'm afraid it looks quite plain in their eyes.