That went on for a month. Then one day he came home beaming, carrying a glass terrarium with two pythons inside, their scales an eerie, unnatural color. He claimed they were a rare species he'd rescued and that he'd turn them over to a wildlife shelter once he made contact.
Out of respect for his work, I agreed to keep the snakes in the basement.
A few days later, he gave Virginia and me each a jade pendant on a chain.
"Sweetheart, thank you for always standing by me, you and Virginia both. I got these blessed jade pendants from a temple. Once the jade turns completely red, you'll be surrounded by good fortune for the rest of your lives."
His knees were scraped raw. My heart ached for him, and I was so touched that I fastened the pendants around my neck and Virginia's right away. I wouldn't even take mine off to shower.
I had no idea he wanted to trade our lives for theirs.
Fighting through the searing pain in my chest, I photographed every message on that phone. Then I put everything back exactly where I'd found it, as if I'd never been there at all.
There was so much left to do. For Virginia's sake, I couldn't afford to panic.