Ask Again, Yes

by Mary Beth Keane

It had nothing to do with Lena, whom he loved as much as he did the day they married. It only had to do with him, and the things he wanted, and the things he missed about himself, the things he missed feeling.

he stood at the bottom of the stairs and told her he thought she was smarter than that, why in the world had she waited so long to go to the doctor? And even when she sat down on the step and cried, he found he could not go to her or say any of the things that would make her feel better. “You’re going to be fine, Lena,” he said eventually, her at the top of the stairs, him at the bottom. It was an order. He once had a dozen men in his command.

“We repeat what we don’t repair,”