My wife is paralyzed, so I haven’t been inti:mate with her for four months. Out of deep frustration, I left her alone for ten days to go on a date with the younger sister of my colleague. And then… the unexpected happened.

the lamp on. The light made her look smaller somehow, as if pain had been quietly sanding away at the edges of her. “I called you twice,” she said, trying to keep accusation out of her voice and not quite succeeding. “I just wanted to know if you were okay.”

I snapped at her before I could stop myself. I said I was working, that not every missed call continue reading …