Relationships

Both of us were previously married and we’ve each had the experience of caregiving the person we sleep with.

The night before we watched “The Case of the Grinning Gorilla,” a perfectly terrible Perry Mason episode about a chimpanzee hiding jewelry.

Love is a mirror. I witness myself, follow the ripples of me on his face. He is my muse. Ink on my brain. The mark on my heart.

Like a mail-order bride, I have learned to be his partner, we’ve made a home together and our collaboration is regenerative.

I slipped into a cleaning fantasy and broke my Suzy Creamcheese oath to never rummage through his stuff again.

For 11 months the garage was out of bounds, his personal domain, a secret kingdom hidden behind a veil of mist, motor oil and mildew.

This guy I’m living with is relentlessly cheerful. Sometimes I’m so ornery just seeing him smile gets on my nerves.