Every Winter He Leaves Me

Summary

Winter is here again.

For three months every year, my husband, Mark, and our son, Leo, become allergic to me. It starts with the first frost—a mysterious, violent rash that blooms across their skin if they get too close. We’ve never found the source.

So, for the sake of their health, they leave. They move into another one of our properties across town, drawing a clean, sterile line between us.

They weren't there when I slipped on the ice last year and my head bled all over the pristine snow. They weren’t there when a car ran a red light and I spent a week in the hospital.