Stag

by Karen Russell

Have you ever attended a party where you are a true unknown? It’s very liberating.

I confess that I am unfamiliar with the conventions of these popular new divorce parties.

“Divorce isn’t a failure. We celebrated the start of their marriage with cake and champagne, and now we’re celebrating its ending.

“Pet,” like “wife,” is a word that makes me very uneasy. I hear a hairy hand tugging at a leash. Some fool imagining they hold the deed to a life.