The trouble had been with each of us being so myopically focused on our own turf, as it were, that we ignored the very real dangers with which the other was consumed. In a turn of events worthy of O. Henry, we’d come to threaten to each other by way of our own need to protect each other.

I now assist with home repairs by providing support. I make the coffee, run to the hardware store, do the cleanup, and sometimes administer first aid. I’ve always done this, but begrudgingly because I often felt I was doing so at the expense of protecting us from outside dangers. I also took another look at the budget in terms of how much more would be better placed in savings, and we are better off financially for my effort. He’s come to tell me he appreciates my way of nurturing, protecting, and providing what money can’t buy.

He created a high-tech, invisible fortress around our home so no one can get past the property line, much less in the house, without the notice of the entire neighborhood and law enforcement. Whereas before he was dismissive of my concerns, he has now made himself aware of those I perceive as dangerous. He has responded to the children and me with protective body language and assuring words. I’ve come to have a new appreciation for the skills he has always had with finances, home repair, telecommunications, and sheer brute strength.

When I check email and read articles in the paper now, I find the world is the same as before all this started. Our part in it, however, is more secure on many levels, not the least of which is with each other.

Last night’s dream was much more pleasant. We were walking hand-in-hand through a vast field of freshly bloomed tulips, my favorite flower. On a dirt road running through the middle of it, he found a BMW M5 with the key in the ignition and a title bearing his name. We ran off together in a blaze of marital glory.