His Empty place in the bed felt like a chasm. He’d been threatening to leave for a while, but she always managed to convince him to stay. He still loved her, he’d admitted as such; it was her “habits” that he couldn’t abide. 

If she wanted something, she would have it. If someone wronged her, they would suffer for it. If he was ill, he would soon find himself better. If things needed doing when she was tired, they would be done.

Her ways frightened him, even when he stood to benefit from them. People had been working for what they wanted since God was a boy, and that was good enough for him. You didn’t just wish for things and instantly be granted them.

Then he wished she’d let him go.