Imagine what happens when . . .

a widow spots another woman, a stranger, putting flowers on her husband's grave.

a boy genius climbs out his bedroom window to follow his cat to see where it goes at night.

a lonely, depressed young woman encounters a silverback gorilla in her backyard at night.

a joyful Dalmatian that bites forces a boy and his father to uncover family secrets.

the Loma Prieta earthquake catapults a fading grandmother, documentary-making daughter, and rebellious granddaughter to Africa, where they can no longer ignore one another.

an in-home cutlery sales pitch by a lovely young woman slices away years of deceit.

The short stories in To Love in the Past Tense offer some possible answers.