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That night, while I was in the shower, the water heater exploded.
I went down on the bathroom floor, one whole arm shredded and bleeding from the shattered glass door.
I called my husband twelve times. No one picked up.
He didn't show up at the hospital until dawn.
Marvin Gilbert looked at my bandaged arm and frowned.
"It's over and done with, so why call me here? You're a grown woman. You can't even shower without hurting yourself?"
"Hilda's nerves are shot. It took me forever to get her to sleep. If she wakes up, is that on you?"
I was in too much pain to speak.
My best friend, beside me, couldn't hold it in. She pointed right at his face.
"Do you even hear yourself? Kate Fox warned you before her business trip that the water heater's pressure valve was faulty and to get someone in to check it."
"Why did you lie to her and say it was already fixed?!"
Marvin tossed his phone down in front of me, impatient.
"Don't go looking for problems. Who lied to you?"
"The repair order's right here. See for yourself!"
When I saw the order on the screen, I suddenly laughed.
The repair was real. And it was just as real that Marvin would never change the default address.
That address was his ex-girlfriend's home.
...
When I said nothing for a long time, Marvin looked at the order himself.
He explained, a little uncomfortable.
"I forgot to change the address. And Hilda's water heater happened to be due for its regular servicing."
"So the one at home blew up, fine. It's not a big deal. I'll just buy you a new one."
Moira Donaldson laughed, sharp with contempt.
"You make it sound so simple, Gilbert. Which family do you actually belong to? You leave your wife to fend for herself and spend all your time waiting on your ex-girlfriend."
"I really don't get it. Is Hilda a beggar, or just starved for love? Accepting another woman's husband taking care of her with such a clear conscience. What, tired of being the ex, so now she wants to be the mistress?"
At that, Marvin's face went dark.
"Kate, tell your friend to clean up her mouth. If you've got a complaint, take it out on me. Why drag Hilda into it?"
"Her ex-husband cheated and they divorced. She has no other family to lean on, and she's got depression on top of it. We've known each other a long time. What's wrong with me looking out for her a little more?"
"Besides, you're fine, aren't you? You're both women. Don't be so cold-hearted!"
I lowered my eyes to my bandaged right arm. Thin lines of blood were seeping through.
Even the smallest movement hurt enough to break me out in a cold sweat.
So in Marvin's eyes, this counted as fine.
Before I could say anything, his phone rang with its special ringtone, still that same song, "Someone Special."
Marvin answered at once, his voice gentler than he had ever been with me.
"You're awake?"
"Don't cry, don't cry, I didn't leave, I just stepped out to grab you some breakfast. I'm coming back right now."
He put the phone down and gave me a cold glance.
"Hilda had another nightmare. I need to get over there."
"Your friend's here anyway, so there's no point in me staying. Get some rest."
The hospital room fell quiet again.
Moira poked my forehead, exasperated with me.
"You clam. I don't even know what to say to you. Why didn't you tear into him just now?"
"I've honestly never seen anything like it. He and Hilda broke up five or six years ago, and he still hasn't changed the special ringtone or the default address. How many times has this been now? I can't believe you keep putting up with it!"
I didn't answer, but a number popped into my head on its own.
The hundred and twentieth time.
The first time, I'd had a sudden flare-up of my stomach trouble at the office, and Marvin had offered to order me some painkillers.
I waited two hours, only to find out they'd been delivered to Hilda's place.
When I confronted him, Marvin was all impatience.
"Hilda's period's coming, and her cramps are always terrible, so I just got her stocked up early. Can't you place another order yourself? Nitpicking over something this small."
The second time, he was away on a business trip over Valentine's Day and said he'd ordered me roses.
I waited until the small hours, and then found out from Hilda's social media that they'd gone to her again.
All I did was comment that they'd been sent to the wrong place.
And Marvin called to accuse me.
"It's Valentine's Day. Everyone else has flowers, and Hilda's the only one without. What's wrong with letting her be happy? Are you deliberately trying to embarrass her?"
In three years of marriage, this had happened more times than I could count.
It wasn't that I never fought about it, screaming at him to change the address.
Every time he said next time. And every next time was exactly the same.
I opened Hilda's latest post.
In the picture, a repairman was servicing her water heater.
The caption read:
【Even though the heater was just replaced last week, he still insists the technician check it several times to feel at ease. Being watched over like this really does feel wonderful.】
The mirror on the side wall of the bathroom caught her reflection.
An arm was around her shoulders, the face blocked by a sticker.
But I recognized the gold cuff on that shirt.
It was the custom-made piece I'd given Marvin.
So he hadn't forgotten to change the address. He simply didn't want to.
And it wasn't that he didn't know a faulty water heater could be dangerous.
It was just that protecting Hilda mattered more than whether I was safe.
I smiled at Moira, still seething beside me.
"You're right. So I don't want to put up with it anymore."
"Once I'm discharged, come with me to a law firm. I want to draw up divorce papers."
