The At-home Mother's Life: It Was A

He Was Afraid That The Secrets She'd Kept Would Always Be Here, Inside Him, An Ugly Malignant Thing Lodged Near Enough To His Heart To Upset Its Rhythm, And Though It Could Be Removed, Cut Out, There Would Always Be Scars; Bits And Pieces Of It Would Remain In His Blood, Making It Wrong Somehow, So That If He Accidentally Sliced His Skin Open, His Blood Would--for One Heartbeat--flow As Black As India Ink Before It Remembered That It Should Be Red.

...this Fear Was Unbearable. It Unwrapped Who She Was, As Neatly As He'd Unwound Her Bandage, Leaving Too Much Pain And Ugliness Exposed. Nerve Endings; He'd Said They Were The Problem [causing Phantom Pain In The Amputated Limb]." Things That Cut Off, That Ended Abruptly Or Died--like Parents And Marriages--kept Hurting Forever.

He Is A Man, And He Is Afraid. This Is Not A Good Combination.

It’s A Promise Ring,” He Said Solemnly. “the Lady At The Store Said It’s What You Give The Girl You Love. It Means I Want To Marry You Someday.

And Maybe That Was How It Was Supposed To Be...joy And Sadness Were Part Of The Package; The Trick, Perhaps,was To Let Yourself Feel All Of It, But To Hold On To The Joy Just A Little More Tightly.