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"In a parallel world, I live in a sunny one-bedroom Chelsea apartment with a
little terrace and a sweet view of Lady Liberty … if I squint just right. I can
afford it, because my late husband Lenny bought it at a bargain-basement price
in the early 80s. Maintenance fees are super reasonable thanks to the co-op’s
progressive raison d’etre — affordable housing for working-class New Yorkers.
I pad around in slippers with my first coffee of the morning. I glance at
Lenny’s portrait, an oil painting a Provincetown artist friend gifted him back
when they were both young, sun-bronzed, and eternally smiling.
I feel warm, so I smile right back at him.
I don’t hurt anymore when I look at the painting. Memories of grief have long
since faded, replaced by habits of joy. I take a cozy-blanket pleasure being
embraced by the home Lenny and I shared for a decade, a home he struggled to
bequeath to me.
But I don’t live in a parallel world.
In the real world, Lenny and I were denied the protections of marriage. As we
planned for his impending passing, we became registered domestic partners. We
hired lawyers. We commingled our finances so money wouldn’t have to go through
escrow.
In the real world, I don’t have that portrait anymore."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
