Her great grandmother and grandfather met in in the fields while try to shoo the doves away.
(from The O. Henry Prize Stories 2006)
He dreaded going to the outhouse, because some of the birds had got mired in the filth beneath the hole and set up a screeching clamor of despair that caused others of their kind to throw themselves against the hut in rescue attempts. But he did not dare relieve himself anywhere else. So through a flurry of wings, shuffling so as not to step on the birds, he made his way to the outhouse and completed the necessary actions with his eyes shut. Leaving, he tied the door closed so that no other doves would be trapped.
Love this story. Love the idea that inexplicable romantic circumstance is a family tradition. Love the bizarre politics and otherworldly setting. Love the dove infestation. Makes me think of Futurama, where abandoned houses always seem to have owls scurrying around inside. Love the future.
Read it here.