When the Lights Go Out, the Vows Get Tested in the Dark

weather, neighbor’s call.

The kind of story that fits into a form.

“Sir,” he said, quietly, “do you have someone who can stay with you tonight?”

“I have a wife,” I said.

He blinked, like he didn’t know how to respond to that.

An ambulance came anyway. Protocol. Routine. The word again, like a hammer.

Martha didn’t fight them. She just looked at me as they continue reading …