AFTER 31 YEARS OF MARRIAGE, MY HUSBAND STARTED SLEEPING IN THE GUEST ROOM « BECAUSE OF HIS BACK » — THEN AT 2 A.M. I HEARD HIM WHISPER « DADDY LOVES YOU TOO, » EVEN THOUGH OUR CHILDREN LEFT HOME YEARS AGO.

I believed him, for a while.

Then I found the blanket missing.

Then I heard him whisper, at two in the morning, « Daddy loves you too. »

Our children had been gone for years.

There was no one downstairs who should have called him that.

I need to explain, though, before any of this makes sense.

My name is Marilyn.

I am fifty-four years old.