Marriage Part 1

by Aimee Nicole

My first marriage never fit quite right, like hand me down clothes from an older sibling or thrift store sneakers. The engagement ring slid off my finger like overworn socks, and we never bothered to have it resized.We never bought matching wedding rings, or any wedding rings at all. Never followed through on matching tattoos. No wedding filled with guests or cake smashed into faces. Only one picture to memorialize the day. The justice of the peace’s face read an easy payday, not true love. I pushed her doubts away— down into my gullet for two years. The divorce came suddenly like a flood in daytime. Unpredictable over the horizon, but the signs were alarming had we bothered to check the news, or any channel at all.

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