Then I opened a video.
Music.
People smiling.
Mark standing in front of the woman.
He took both of her hands.
“I promise to love you for the rest of my life.”
People applauded.
Someone laughed.
Then a voice said:
“I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
I stopped the video.
Restarted it.
Watched again.
My husband.
The man I had slept beside for nineteen years.
The man whose work shirts I had washed before his trip.
The man who had kissed me goodbye three days earlier.
Had exchanged wedding vows with another woman.
There was even a ceremony program.
Mark and Claire.
A Celebration of Love.
Saturday, 4:00 p.m.
Marina Restaurant.
I looked at the date.
Then at the time.
Saturday afternoon, I had been home folding laundry.
Mark had been promising another woman forever.
The folder had been created Sunday afternoon.
Apparently while he transferred the pictures from his phone.
