A Good Marriage - from the right side of the mirror

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SunEyedGirl

New Member
Feb 8, 2015
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Hello,

I signed up in the hopes Mr. King will receive this message. I won't be posting here in the future, but I wanted to send him a fan letter and couldn't figure out how.

I just had an amazing experience listening to the audiobook of A Good Marriage.

I've been a dedicated Steven King reader since the early 90's. There is something so horrifying and entertaining about the way he is able to describe a perfectly normal day and how easily it can be snatched away, shattered, destroyed. King's writing has been a companion in the "best of times and the worst of times," and I just want him to know his books are like an old friend (?) for me. Worn paperback covers, wrinkled pages from dropping them in the bathtub, and broken spines from several re-reads.

When entering my house through the garage and sidestepping the kitchen island, the first lovely area one comes to is a reading nook just beyond the kitchen, separated from the bright, plant-filled sun room by only a sliding glass door. The nook has a low bookshelf with an attractive printer and stapler on top, very functional - but it is filled top-to-bottom with these decrepit Steven King novels. They represent the darker part of me, and I display them so guests with darker fiction habits will know they are among friends.

I read Full Dark, No Stars some time ago, but I forgot this story was a part of that collection and downloaded it anyway, thinking it was something I had never read. I am so glad (horrified) that I did.

My husband happens to be out of town at a software conference and my only child went on a hike with family. Alone with tons of housework/yardwork to do, I decided to download an audiobook to keep me company. I purchased A Good Marriage, stuck in my headphones, and was on my way.

The first thing I had to do was organize the garage. We just moved into this house three months ago and, though my dear husband has made himself a primary workspace - the sports equipment, camping stuff, and a million other categories of items were all mixed up and still in boxes. As I got started, I smirked to myself that the story aligned so much with what I was doing.

I would soon not find it so funny.

It's February but unseasonably warm today here in the Southeast, so I opened the big garage doors and was working in just a t-shirt and jeans. About 30 minutes in I found myself with a terrible chill and had to grab a heavy sweatshirt. (It's 63 degrees outside, by the way.) When I got back to work, I found my hands were trembling a little each time I opened a new box, and I had to remind myself of my surety that my husband is just a normal guy at a legitimate conference in Phoenix. We're texting about dog meds and Sonos speakers right now. He's my best friend and there is just no way I'm going to find anything that will rip my life to shreds. I am 100% sure this is a day like any other day, and will end like any other day (but aren't we all?).

I shook off the heebie jeebies and finished the garage, the laundry and the dishes as the tale unfolded. Several times I paused and just stared into space when the story was too compelling to stay on task.

I had just made a cup of coffee and was raking out an old greenhouse on our property when the end of the story arrived and the retired detective showed up at Darcella's door. I felt an immediate need to escape the greenhouse, which is really falling down on itself and will need a complete renovation anyway, and I started washing the sunroom windows instead. I laid the coffee to the side, OK? It just seemed best.

At the very end, when the story was over and the Audible.com music began to play, I was guzzling a glass of water and wiping my forehead, staring at the creepy greenhouse as the music swelled. I then sat down on the deck for a few minutes and just grinned. I had just witnessed the mirror, safely on this side of it, and lived to tell the tale. It was the best morning of housework a horror fan could ask for.

Thank you for everything, Mr. King. You sick, crazy genius.
S.
 

~Ally~

Well-Known Member
Nov 11, 2008
10,095
3,626
Interesting first post, I liked it...very well written and it had me wondering whether you were going to discover some deeply hidden secret belonging to your own husband. Mwahahaha!! If that had been me and I had no intention of coming back I may have been tempted to embellish the facts a little bit--purely for creative purposes--to creep everybody here out and leave them craving more!

Anyhoo, now you've created a thread I have a sneaky suspicion you may lurk a little to see what responses you receive, so if you are may I suggest you consider posting a little bit more? I don't think you were being insulting by stating you wouldn't post again, you only came here to share your reading experience, and message boards aren't for everyone...however, if you've been a reader of King since the 90's you could discuss your favourite (and worst) works of his. Your choice...ooh, and welcome. :smile2: