Wolff

"They had been separated for over a year." (354, The Benefit of Doubt, Tobias Wolff) Marisse suspected him of being unfaithful but didn't have the heart to cause an uproar. It wasn't out of worry for her children that she failed to confront her husband, it was because the invisible band that used to connect them tightly had loosened or broken, Marisse did not know but she felt no desire to retrieve what might already be lost. Marisse was no novice to loss; when she was twelve her alcoholic father had died when his liver gave out, but that was no sad event to the budding teenager. If she had one bruise, she had twenty where he'd struck her.

In a just a few more years, Marisse's life took another major turn. An American man, visiting France at the time, took her by surprise in a fury of charm and worldly experience that left her speechless except for the small "yes" she managed when he asked her to return to America with him.

In the years to come, Marisse Sheeline and Frank Murphy would trade cultures, share newly founded memories and before long Marisse found herself sporting a large diamond ring on her left hand and a small baby at her hip, Peter, her first child. They lived happily for a while, Frank's work took him all over the world but he always came back, bearing a little toy for Peter and a large kiss for baby Laura. Whether it was real or not, Marisse convinced herself that they were in love, like any married couple should be.

Age had barely touch Frank; his green eyes shone just as brightly and his smile was still youthful. On the other side of the scale, bearing and raising two children had robbed Marisse of her once lustrous dark curls and her large dark eyes seemed duller than they had been in her first years with Frank. Every year Peter and Laura grew up, Frank's business trips became more frequent and longer.

And when Frank returned home, late at night from his trip that had lasted just a little over a year, he reached out to give a one armed hug to Laura who all but jumped into his arms, returned Peter's brief nod in his direction and slowly turned to meet eyes with Marisse. It was in that simple moment that she knew, she just knew.