I Came Home Unannounced After Four Years Abroad and Found My Wife Starved and Shaved in the Backyard. My Mother Said She’d Brought It on Herself. I Didn’t Yell

It is, on this terrace, in this light, with her hand warm in mine, more than enough.

Phedra leaned her head against my shoulder, the silk scarf soft against my neck, and watched the waves come in.

“Thank you for coming home, Damian,” she said quietly.

I put my arm around her and pressed a kiss to her temple, and under my hand I could feel it — the steady, strong, healthy rhythm of her breathing, the thing I had once crossed a fence and been afraid I would never feel again.

“I’m never leaving again, honey,” I told her, looking out at the wide bright horizon.

“Not ever.

We’re finally home.”