A Glitch in My Serenade

n the warming days of early New England summer, I started lying to my fiancé. Every morning, my alarm clock would go off at six o’clock and I would start my day by making two espressos—the first for her; the second for me—getting dressed and telling my partner that I had to head out to the office, where I would catch up on some reading and get ready for a busy day. Our wedding was only two months away, on Aug. 18, 2023, and we each had overflowing to-do lists as we prepared to take the next step in our partnership. The only problem was that my early morning destination was a lie: I was not headed to the office, and each day I was becoming more worried that my gambit would be a bad omen for my marriage.