I knew he secretly cried at our daughter’s graduation even though he denied it.
I knew he slept better on the left side of the bed.
I knew which brother he called first when something went wrong.
I knew the stories that embarrassed him.
The relatives he avoided.
The mistakes he regretted.
Or so I thought.
His brothers kept making that joke.
“Anything for the second wife.”
At Christmas.
At barbecues.
On vacations.
Once, Daniel surprised me with tickets to a show for our anniversary.
Mark looked at the tickets and laughed.
“Wow. Second wife really gets the deluxe package.”
That time, I looked at Daniel.
He was smiling.
But there was something strange around his eyes.
A tightness.
It lasted maybe two seconds.
Then he shoved Mark playfully and said:
“Jealous because nobody can stand you long enough to marry you?”
Everyone laughed.
The moment disappeared.
I convinced myself I had imagined it.
