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  1. The night before I marry you, I start to have a panic attack. Are you filled with dread too? Does the word forever sound like the end of time?
  2. I want a bath to calm my nerves, but someone’s already showering in the hotel bathroom. Steam billows out of the open door. A groundhog named Raúl stands in the tub with his eyes closed. Hot water sprays on his face from high up. He slowly massages a cloth around his neck in circles. He looks at peace. In the height of my mania, I think about shouting, “More like shower hog!” but it feels wrong to startle the groundhog. And for what, a story, a cheap laugh? I close the bathroom door so the groundhog can remain in his pleasure.
  3. Let the groundhog dream his dream. Let water be water. Shut your eyes.


Joe Aguilar is the author of Half Out Where. He lives in Worcester, MA. Website: joe-aguilar.com
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