They almost flung me out. “Everyone called me crazy for marrying a 65-year-old woman,” but on our wedding night I saw a mark on her shoulder, heard “I have to tell you the truth,” and realized my entire life had been a lie.

Careful.

Necessary.

—“How have you been?” she asked.

I nodded.

—“Better.”

A small silence.

—“You?” I asked.

She gave a faint smile.

—“Learning how to be something I never got to be.”

I understood.

Not lovers.

Not strangers.

Something harder.

Something real.

Family.

THE END