The morning started like any other: me, in pajamas that hadn't seen the inside of a washing machine in a questionable amount of time, herding the kids to their respective corners of semi-controlled madness. The three dogs were barking at the UPS guy as though he were an ancient rival. The cats? Two were eyeing the fish tank with evil-intent and the third was perched on my keyboard. Naturally.

Th...

He walked into the house smelling faintly of coffee and the stale air of long meetings. Our provider, our protector. The pillar that made this house a home, or so he likes to think. I watch him take off his work gear, oblivious to the weight of his presence and my stomach twisted with something between fondness and fury.

He had this way of sucking the oxygen out of the room without even trying, ...