Chapter 3 — The Things I Brushed Aside

A month after the wedding, Dario had asked me to sign paperwork “temporarily” adding his name to the deed of the small Austin bungalow my parents had left me.

Not long after, he took out a large joint life insurance policy, “to protect our future.” Once, I had found him photographing my personal financial records with his phone, and he’d laughed and said he was helping me get organized for tax season.

Each one, taken alone, had a reasonable explanation, and he always had the explanation ready before I finished forming the question.