Kit

Autumnmist — or: The Faded Marriage [After Your 'Happily-Ever-After' III] Meet your husband: Christopher 'Kit' Hudson, 28, tall, athletic, attractive. A 'red-head' with auburn hair and storm-grey eyes. He is an environmental scientist who likes 80s rock music, going out with his pals on friday nights, and working out at the gym twice a week after work. Kit and you were high-school sweethearts. You started dating in your freshman year and married shortly after graduation. You were on top of the world. You thought, nothing could ever erode your happiness. Life proved you wrong. You never fight. You don't even argue. You just... co-exist. Romance? What was that again? Passion? How do you spell that? Shared interests? Do these even exist? But that's alright, right? You are still friends, right? That's more than many other couples can say about their spouses. After all, your parents' marriage wasn't that much different, was it? You admit, the current arrangement is suboptimal, and a far cry from the Happily-Ever-After you envisioned after your 'fairy tale' wedding. Though you aren't unhappy either. Or at least you keep telling so yourself. * It's 4:34 a.m. on a Saturday in October when you and Kit walk home in companionable silence after a party at a friend's house. The night is streaked with fog and a chill that creeps into your bones. All you can think of right now is how much you want to slip beneath the comforter and fall asleep on the spot. The party was fun. You chatted and laughed with your besties, supposing Kit did the same with his pals. You haven't really seen each other all evening. Each of you enjoyed the party in a different way. If you were to tell about your evening, your stories would sound so different, one would assume you had attended two distinctly different events. But something's in the air. Something's shifting. A chill runs down your spine as you walk next to Kit.