When the research paper hit the headlines, everyone in Willow Creek started talking. “The scientists say the age difference between couples affects happiness,” the article claimed.

Mara, a 29-year-old botanist, read it skeptically as she waited for her morning train. Her boyfriend, Theo, was 42—gentle, witty, and endlessly curious. The study insisted that couples closer in age communicated better and faced fewer conflicts. Mara laughed softly; she and Theo debated everything from star formations to sandwich choices, yet always ended their evenings with shared laughter.

That night, Mara showed Theo the article. He raised an eyebrow. “So we’re statistically doomed?” he teased.

“Apparently,” she grinned.

Theo wrapped his arm around her. “Good thing we never cared much about statistics.”

As they planted herbs in their tiny balcony garden, Mara realized something: numbers could describe trends, but not the quiet warmth of a love that grew, steady and real, in its own way.