She Sold Her Hair

With no money of her own, Gwen had cut off her long hair and sold it to a wig shop for a hundred and fifty dollars — just enough to cover the bus fare and the biopsy.

While my mother and sister flashed their jewelry for the neighbors, my wife had sold her own hair to find out whether she was going to die.

I pulled her into my arms and asked her to hold on a few more days.

Then I turned off the lamp, stared at the ceiling — where my mother and sister slept soundly one floor up — and made up my mind.

They had no idea what was coming.

Chapter 2 — The Bait

The next morning, I started playing the most heartless husband in the world.