Auntie Lou’s a singer-songwriter. If a tune doesn’t wander too far from middle C, she can keep up with it. She wrote “Unconditional” in one afternoon, but the surprise-hit B side, “Hopeless,” was her life’s work.

Marriage taught me she got it backwards. The flipside of unconditional is enduring hope.

Miriam N. Kotzin writes fiction and poetry. She is the author of five collections of poetry, two collections of short fiction, and two novels—most recently the novel Right This Way (Spuyten Duyvil). Her 50-word stories have been published in 50-Word Stories, 50 Give or Take, and Blink Ink. She teaches literature and creative writing at Drexel University.