Weeks After the Funeral, My Wife Was Hers

ouse was

e sky, black smo

ghter. My wife, Clara Hayes, was on

also a firefighter,

e. Ava's unit. Ca

urvi

ran cold.

e groans from the

e shouted.

nit was d

ere ov

found a bo

's helmet, her

umed

My Clar

Ava and Clara. Bot

y mind was a blank,

ord came down

eceased. Ava H

ther, our battalion chi

for me, for Mark Pet

, holding his li

chest. PTSD crawled i

ctioning. Ju

king

the city, they m

Sisters in valo

e story eve

d with every shatte

as a venomous snake

I went to see Captain Hay

ark was there, wi

culously survived, while C

burns healed. Hair cut and dyed li

hey'd used the misidentified remains and C

just saw a woman who looke

en I heard voices from

ne, her back to the

l, Mark. We can't

vo

urn of phrase.

sn't

s Cla

pped. My bre

ble thought clawed

w, urgent, unmistakably hers. "But Lily needs her

alking about h

lara speakin

med dead. The w

e, pretending to be

sister'

te-hot poker th

ilted. It had shattered

she'd chosen this.

e small condolence c

a distant echo to t

reathe. I ha

ay from the door, a

e. Clara

d to whisper my

wed to love me, 'ti

been a temporary in

venie

she do this to me? To her

Flashes of our

n our smal

n mine at

she look

e? Or just...

was clean, pure,

nife twisting, a betrayal so

abandon me, our

ter. With another

ld resolve set

't. Not in this city. Not

he words tasting like ash. "

o go, to p

creaked o

ia

orway. Her eyes, Ava's eyes, wid

Her touch, once a

you doing here

y pitched to sound

Liam. Where

ightened.

top me. As Ava. Con

auda

The resemblance to Ava was unca

lara. My wi

arm free, my

me air," I said

the satisfaction o

curt, dismis

les away, planning my es

get away.

egret. Or before she destroy

lked

ayes insisted I join them for

– was playing the doting mother to

Mark leaned against the c

d on his shoulder. She whi

ft, intimate gesture, an

e's g

uiet, dome

our heart out when it's built

t Mark was lucky Ava survived. Th

now. They cou

was m