THE VOW

ANNIVERSARY DINNER

I didn't come down.

I sat in that attic with that empty box on my lap and that marker smell burning my nose until Kevin called my name three times.

"Zuri!"

I shoved the box back. Not neatly. I was shaking too hard. I pulled the hatch closed. Dust fell in my hair.

When I climbed down, Kevin was standing at the bottom of the ladder in his boxers, arms crossed. He wasn't sleepy anymore.

"What are you doing?" he said. His voice was low. Not mad. Scared.

"I couldn't sleep. I heard something."

"So you go in the attic? The realtor said don't go up there, it has asbestos or some shit."

"The realtor never said that."

He stared at me. Then his face softened. He put his hands on my shoulders. "Babe, you're spiraling. New house jitters. Come to bed."

His hands were cold. I could see sweat on his forehead even though the house was set to 68.

He didn't ask what I found.

That should have been my third clue.

---

The invitation came at 8 a.m. slipped under our door.

Thick cream cardstock. Gold foil.

_You are cordially invited to The Anniversary Dinner_

_Hosted by Eleanor Ellison - House Six_

_Tonight - 7 p.m. Sharp_

_Dress: White_

_All Couples. No Exceptions. - Mrs. E_

I didn't own a white dress. When I opened my closet, there was one hanging there. Size 6. Tags still on. Price tag removed.

"Kevin! Did you buy this?"

Kevin came out of the bathroom, toothbrush in his mouth. "Simone must have dropped it off. She said they do this for new wives. Sweet, right?"

Sweet.

At 6:58 p.m., we walked to House Six. All the couples were converging on the lake path, all the wives in white. We looked like brides going to our own funerals.

Eleanor's house was different from ours. Darker. Heavier curtains. No photos anywhere.

The dining table was set for twelve. One long table. White tablecloth. Twelve plates. Twelve wine glasses. No serving dishes.

Eleanor stood at the head. "Welcome home, Zuri."

Everyone sat. I was between Simone and Priya. Kevin across from me next to Priya's husband.

Eleanor clapped twice. A woman I had never seen before came out of the kitchen. Late fifties, Black, uniform, eyes down. She put a covered plate in front of each of us.

"On June 14th we all said a vow," Eleanor said. "In this community, we renew it. Every month. Together."

She lifted her cover. Grilled chicken. Asparagus. Mashed potatoes. Steaming.

Everyone else lifted theirs. Same meal.

No one picked up a fork.

Eleanor ate. Slowly. Deliberately. Watching us.

"Eat," she said to me, smiling. "You must be hungry after unpacking."

Simone's knee hit mine hard under the table. A warning.

I looked down at my plate. The chicken was perfect. But the potatoes had a tiny blue dot in them. Like a grain of something that didn't melt.

Priya leaned over and whispered so low I almost didn't hear it.

"Don't. It makes you forget."

"What?"

"The food. The wine. Don't swallow."

Across the table, Kevin was already eating. He was eating fast. Like he was supposed to.

Eleanor's eyes snapped to me. "Zuri? Is something wrong with your meal?"

My mouth was dry. "No. I'm... I'm fasting. For our anniversary month."

Eleanor's smile vanished. For one second, her face was just... empty. Then it came back.

"How devoted. Kevin, your wife is so devoted."

Kevin laughed nervously, mouth full. "She's a health nut."

Eleanor stood up. She walked behind my chair and put both hands on my shoulders. Her nails dug in.

"Devoted wives live long here, Zuri. Remember that."

Then the housekeeper - the woman from the kitchen - caught my eye as she refilled water glasses. She mouthed two words.

_CHECK LAKE._

Dinner ended at 7:30 exactly. Plates were taken away full, except Eleanor's and the husbands'. The husbands all ate everything.

Outside, the wives walked me home. Not their husbands. The wives.

Simone grabbed my wrist when we got to my driveway. Her eyes were wet.

"You didn't eat, right? Tell me you didn't eat."

"I didn't."

She exhaled. "Good. Listen to me. Year One, you watch. Year Two, you fight. Year Three, you run. You are Year One. You still have time."

"Time for what? What happens in Year Three?"

Monique cut in, looking over her shoulder at her house where her husband was watching from the window. "We get returned. Like the dresses."

Priya was crying now. "Go to the lake tonight. After midnight. Look under the dock. House One's dock. Your dock. You'll see why we don't eat."

They left me in my white dress in my driveway.

Inside, Kevin was already in bed, snoring hard. Like he was drugged.

I went to our bedroom window that faces the lake.

Our dock. House One's dock. The private one that came with the house.

There was someone standing on it. In white.

Eleanor.

She was staring right up at our bedroom window. Holding something long.

A shovel.