I Was Lifting Our Heavy Mattress to Search for an Earring I Had Dropped Behind the Bedframe – I Expected to Find Some Dust, but What Was Carefully Taped Beneath His Side of the Mattress Made Me Slowly Sit Down on the Uncovered Floor

had a running joke that we were the couple who ruined dating for everyone else. Marion, my boss, used to raise her wine glass at office parties and say,

“If Clarissa and Ethan ever split, I’m done believing in love.”

I laughed every time. I believed her, too, because we’d built a beautiful, comfortable life together. He was my rock and my confidant.

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