![The metaphor sent me into a spiral.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a8be034/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1080x1350+0+0/resize/2000x2500!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbb%2Fa4%2F2798c83d4778b5756bf46b99ea31%2F2-salad-final.jpg)
!["He'd say things like, 'You're too serious' ... I went rogue. I tried being spicier, sweeter, umami-er."](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/3df6ae8/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1080x1350+0+0/resize/2000x2500!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fea%2Ffe%2Fb49a89544a00ad08e2a917850dd6%2F3-salad-final.jpg)
!["I stewed on it for months. Eventually we broke up."](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ac15029/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1080x1350+0+0/resize/2000x2500!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F42%2F39%2F8c662ffc41b68e695ea96c14e097%2F4-salad-final.jpg)
!["'What kind of salad do you think I'd be?' I asked my friends weeks after the breakup.... I had to know."](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0b153f3/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1080x1350+0+0/resize/2000x2500!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F4e%2F16%2F828781444a1f9218a5824b3f4700%2F5-salad-final.jpg)
![Illustrations of Harvest Bowl from Sweetgreen, Wedge from Musso & Frank, Papaya Salad from Jitlada and DIY Salad.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/cc9b96b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1080x1350+0+0/resize/2000x2500!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F48%2F70%2Fcfb79d4c4457b337fa8527049fe8%2F6-salad-final-edited.jpg)
!["I didn't have sex for a year.... All I knew was I didn't want to feel like someone was 'having me.' I wanted to be savored."](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0717cf8/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1080x1350+0+0/resize/2000x2500!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F39%2F67%2F589beac14375a2b48ea2d0f1c7d7%2F7-salad-final.jpg)
!["Three years later, there it was. Fragrant with dill and parsley, sprinkled with bits of preserved lemon. The Green Goddess."](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f73f23e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1080x1350+0+0/resize/2000x2500!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fee%2F03%2Fea95dcfd474e937aac21bc8dd847%2F8-salad-final.jpg)
!["For the first time in a long time, I was the one who decided: This is delicious."](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e723211/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1080x1350+0+0/resize/2000x2500!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe8%2Ff7%2F18d54f21440691d28ff4313e7da8%2F9-salad-final.jpg)
!["I smiled. Across from me was someone new. We savored every bite."](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/11b8848/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1080x1350+0+0/resize/2000x2500!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fcf%2Fdb%2F0c223ad94507aab53842b213b0df%2F10-salad-final.jpg)
The author is a writer and cartoonist based in Los Angeles. She is the author of “Drawn Together: Illustrated True Love Stories” (Voracious, 2022). She’s on Instagram: @drawingolive
L.A. Affairs chronicles the search for romantic love in all its glorious expressions in the L.A. area, and we want to hear your true story. We pay $400 for a published 950- to 1,000-word essay. (Occasionally we work with artists and cartoonists on illustrated stories.) Email your essay to [email protected]. You can find submission guidelines here. You can find past columns here.