I locked my wife in the pantry under the stairs

only hands me a towel.

“Relax,” she says. “It’s just sauce.”

Just sauce.

Not disrespect.

Not a test.

Not proof someone must be locked away until they learn.

I wipe my shirt and breathe.

Later, when Nora falls asleep, Emily walks me to the door. For a moment, we stand in the soft hallway light, both of us changed beyond recognition.

“I found the ring,” she continue reading …