Calgary, October 2025
Let me introduce myself. My name is Martin Smith, I am 28 years old, and I live alone in my nice apartment. There has never been anybody with whom I would like to share my life. There were some short affairs, but they never lasted. I like to maintain my independence.
Also, I work for a large engineering company, have an interesting job which I like, and it pays good money. That is why I can afford a nice apartment.
But one morning, something incredible happened. It was Saturday, I was still half asleep and half thinking about my usual weekend of grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning the apartment, and doing all those things a single man must do to prepare himself for the next week of work. Then I noticed a movement in my bed, I turned round and saw a woman lying beside me. I was certain there was no woman with me the previous evening, and there wasn’t any woman in my life. But there she was, lying beside me. I touched her lightly and asked who she was and what she was doing in my bed. She smiled and said:
“I am your guardian angel to keep you out of trouble.”
I just kept staring, and her smile disappeared.
“Martin, what’s wrong with you? Did you lose your memory? I am your wife, Jane.”
My wife! I didn’t have a wife. And I never saw that woman in all my life. But this wasn’t the time to start the argument, so I didn’t say anything. Perhaps I was transferred to a new life in a different universe.
We got up and took turns using the bathroom. She had her own toothbrush, and the wardrobe in my bedroom was full of her clothes. Then we went down to the kitchen, and she made breakfast for both of us. The next thing on the agenda was grocery shopping. I never liked it, and it takes me forever to fill the shopping cart, but she was very good. It took her a fraction of time it takes me, and at home, she knew exactly what belonged where. So far, this new life in a different universe wasn’t too bad, but I needed some explanation. Therefore, when everything was sorted out, I said I had to do some work and went to my room to investigate.
She said she was my wife. Therefore, there must have been a wedding, and there should be some record of it. Perhaps photos that might be on my phone. I opened my photo album and there it was: a whole lot of photos I had never seen before. She with me, she with friends, us on holidays, and, most importantly, the wedding pictures. From the dates on the photos, I discovered we were married two years ago. I also needed to find out who she was. There were other pictures of her with kids in the classroom, with kids in a playground, and it was obvious she must be a teacher. From the pictures, I deduced the location of the school, and Google Maps told me the school’s name. Because she was married to me, her name should be Jane Smith, and the list of teachers at that school confirmed her employment there. Now I knew her full name, her job, the date of our marriage, but nothing about our life together. That will have to come later.
“The lunch is ready,” I heard her calling from the kitchen. Now I knew something about her, and I hoped to be able to maintain a semi-intelligent conversation. I asked about the kids at school, about the latest gossip, and told her about the news from my work. Then she came with a surprise: “Don’t forget that I invited Anita Williams and her husband for a coffee this afternoon. Be nice to them, they always liked you.” As it turned out, Anita was her co-worker from school, and I hoped the conversation will bring some light about my life with Jane.
Williamses came on time, they brought a bottle of wine, Jane made some sandwiches, and we had a party. The women talked shop, and the husband, whose name was Dave, worked in engineering like me. We also ended up talking shop, and then it started to rain. It was a real downpour.
“It reminds me of how I met Martin,” said Jane, laughing.
“Tell us,” asked Anita.
“You tell them,” Jane turned to me.
“No, you are better at that. You say it.” I was wandering what the story of our meeting was.
“It happened in the supermarket,” Jane started. “It was pouring like now, and I was waiting in the pay line with only one little bag. ‘It isn’t worth getting soaked for just one package’, said a man who was standing behind me. I agreed, and then we were waiting for the rain to stop. But it looked like a long wait, and we started to talk. I told him I walked in because I live close by, and he offered to drive me home. I accepted, but by the time we got to his car, we were both soaked. Then it was my turn to be a good Samaritan. I offered to dry our clothes in the dryer, and while we were waiting, we had a shower. And that’s how it started.”
“Did you have the shower separately or together?” asked Anita.
“Together, to save the hot water.”
We all laughed, and it was nice to learn more about my married life. Then the guests left, we spent some time cleaning the kitchen, had dinner, watched TV, and it was time to go to bed. By then, I liked Jane. I liked her a lot. I took her to my arms, kissed her mouth, her breasts, and we made love. My new life in a different universe started very well.
Then I woke up for real and was facing another weekend alone.