Susan and Ted had been married twelve years, with two young kids and a comfortable life in Southern California. But lately, comfort had turned into routine. Their sex life had grown quiet—almost rare—and Ted had started to worry. Between her work as a high school Honors English teacher and his job as an accountant, then their young children’s schooling and soccer, there was little time—or energy—for much else. He noticed...

It had been three months since Las Vegas, and yet the memory hadn’t faded; it had settled—like warm light in a room they never used to visit—making everything else look a shade brighter. Ted and Susan’s routines still existed (pickups, lunches, laundry, bills), but now their marriage carried a pulse. They touched more in the kitchen. They laughed more in bed. They didn’t look away from hard conversations. Lamar didn’t flo...

Susan could not contain her smile as she sat in the passenger seat of their family SUV, her husband Ted driving over the Vincent Thomas Bridge, the sight of the gleaming cruise ship docked at the Port of Los Angeles before them, floating on glimmering water. “I can’t believe we’re doing this,” she beamed as she grabbed Ted’s hand, grinning broadly while she looked adoringly at her husband of thirteen years. She reflected...