As married couples do, Carly and her husband, Daniel, were settling in for the night. Carly was nearly asleep when Daniel came bursting in from the bathroom with a chattering wave of aimless words and syllables. He often did this when he was trying to tell Carly something he shouldn’t. He was fighting against himself through the process of confession, and it often left her more drained than she already felt.

“Daniel, you’re rambling. You know how I feel about the rambling,” Carly groaned as she sat up in bed.

“Carly, could you listen to me at least once in this marriage?” Daniel pleaded.

“When do I not? And I still don’t know what you’re talking about!” Carly argued.

“I just told you: I’m from another dimension,” Daniel cried. “I wanted to tell you before, but I didn’t think it was a big deal until today.”

Carly sighed and pushed the eye mask further up her forehead so she could see him more clearly. He paced in front of the bed. She sat on her side, propped up against a pillow with arms crossed. She had grown accustomed to situations like this, but not to this level of tension.

“I asked if you had cleaned the damn dishes. I didn’t want to get up and go downstairs again!” Carly pulled the eye mask off her head.

“This is more important than dishes!” Daniel threw his bath towel to the floor. “Dammit, why must you constantly nag?”

“I’m not nagging! I’m reminding!” Carly kicked the sheets off her legs.

“Well, stop reminding and listen to me!” Daniel hissed. “Today. For once. Please!”

Carly huffed. She couldn’t do another fight this week. They always happened before bedtime. It was their routine, and it exhausted them. No wonder she had crow’s feet so early in her life.

“Fine,” she crossed her legs and sat tall. “Why today?”

Daniel stopped in his tracks and looked at her.

“Well, cause its important you know that technically, I’m not supposed to be here. There are some laws about dimensional travel.” Daniel explained. “And I have a feeling that something might happen today.”

Carly took a moment to process. It defied reason. An unbelievable, uncreative excuse just to get himself out of cleaning the dishes. This wasn’t new to Daniel. He did it all the time. Last week, a wrist cramp struck. Today, it’s a dimensional time-traveling portal crap. Though frustrated, Carly still played along. She knew enough from his video games and sci-fi comics to put the theory together so it made sense.

“Fine. What dimension are you from originally?” she asked.

“Earth 52,” Daniel replied.

“There are more Earths?” Carly ruffled her eyebrows. “What Earth is this, then?”

“Earth nine,” he replied.

Carly rolled her eyes. The whole thing was laughable, but she continued the conversation for his sake.

“You time-traveled to how many destinations?” she asked.

“Not time-traveled! I’m a dimension jumper. And only five others,” Daniel said. “If I were time jumping, this would be an entirely different conversation.”

“And what conversation are we having right now, exactly?” Carly asked, crossing her arms.

“The ‘I’m breaking the law by jumping dimensions, marrying you, and staying in this earth dimension’ conversation,” Daniel continued.

“Oh, so this is my fault now, huh?” Carly argued.

Although not clear to her yet, her frustration rose at the blame her husband had placed on her again.

“Ugh. That’s not what I’m saying!” Daniel groaned.

“Then what are you saying?” Carly hissed.

“It’s not you, it’s me!” Daniel cried.

“Ugh! It’s always something with you, isn’t it?” Carly huffed.

“Me?” Daniel cried.

“Hey, you’re the time-jumping dumbass,” Carly shot back. “At least I don’t lie to my husband and screw with timelines.”

“Not a time-jumper and not a lie! You’re the well-known liar,” Daniel argued.

“Me?” Carly gasped.

“Yes, you. Eating my lasagna and then denying it when I asked,” Daniel snapped.

“Ugh. Let that go! That was one time. And this different dimension thing is bigger than that, and you know it. Stop deflecting!” Caryl spat.

Daniel sighed, defeated, and sat down at the end of the bed.

“I know,” he mumbled. “I’m sorry. It’s just…”

His tone faltered, threaded with the quiet strain of someone close to breaking. Carly softened at the change and crawled down the bed to him. She settled herself next to him.

“So why tell me now?” she asked. “I’m guessing something’s up?”

Daniel leaned forward on his knees and buried his face in his hands.

“You’re gonna be so pissed,” he said.

“I’m already pissed,” she replied. “It doesn’t make a difference now.”

Daniel stayed silent, jaw tight and eyes fixed ahead as if to weigh his next words. Carly knew this version of her husband well—the profound silence, the distant stare, the tension settling into his shoulders. Whenever Daniel grew this quiet, something serious followed. A slow unease curled in her chest, and fear began to take hold.

“They’re coming for me,” he finally said.

“Who?” Carly asked.

“Inter-Dimensional Police,” he said.

Carly stared at him in disbelief. She struggled to separate his words from the elaborate video game plots he spent nights obsessing over. Things that belonged behind a screen now spilled into reality with terrifying seriousness.

“For what? For the dimensional jump? Is a space permit required to be here?” Carly asked.

Daniel glanced at her and let out a faint smile, the tension in his face easing for the first time in minutes.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Daniel said.

“And you don’t have one?” she said carefully.

He shook his head.

“How do you know they are coming?” she asked.

After a brief, pause, he reached into the pocket of his pajamas and pulled out his worn brown leather watch. The strap looked softened with use, the metal dulled with time. Without a word, he extended it toward her, holding it out between them like something heavier than it should have been.

“This is how I do it,” he explained. “I turn the dial, and the portal opens. I haven’t used it in a while. But it beeped at me a few times today. I’m not sure what that means. But it can’t be good at this point.”

Carly studied the watch in her hand. The leather band showed sagging stitches and frayed edges. He had worn it since the day they met. Even at their wedding. She believed it was a family heirloom or his peculiar habit. All their problems were now settled in that tiny, worn-out watch.

What had felt unclear moments before started to solidify, the truth pressing in with quiet, unavoidable weight.

“I’m losing you?” her voice catching as the realization hit.

Daniel reached out and enclosed her hand in his, giving it a brief but meaningful squeeze that lingered between them.

“I know this is hard to hear, but I need you to listen now,” he urged. “Dimension jumping without a permit isn’t like a denied travel charge, but marrying you is.”

“I don’t understand,” Carly said. “You’re not making sense.”

“It shouldn’t,” Daniel stated. “I hoped to never tell you, but it’s too late, and I have to prepare you now.”

“Prepare me for what?” Carly held her breath.

Before he could say more, there was a knock at their bathroom door. The edges of the door glowed with bright purple light. They both jumped to their feet. Daniel wrapped his arms around Carly and pulled her in tight as if he struggled to hold on. The door burst open, and three people wearing black tactical gear with the words INDP printed on their vests spilled into the bedroom. Two held up what looked like precision rifles with lasers, and the other stood calm and tall in front of them. A dimensional portal glowed with blues and pinks, and pulsed behind them.

“Daniel Cuevas, you are charged with illegally jumping through dimensional timelines and overstaying portal jump time,” the tall one bellowed. “You will be arrested and brought to the inter-dimensional planetary bureau to face the consequences of your crime. Do not resist.”

The other two INDP officers rushed forward to grab Daniel.

“I love you,” Daniel forced Carly to look at him. “Don’t forget that, okay?”

“Okay,” Carly tried to hold him tighter, but the officers were pulling him away as he struggled to hold on to her.

Her mind couldn’t catch up with what she was seeing. Daniel had lost his fight against the officers. They dragged him across their bedroom, farther and farther away from her. She tried to grab onto his hands as they flailed out towards her, but the tall officer shoved her away without a word.

“I love you, Carly. I’ll be back, promise,” Daniel called as he disappeared through the portal.

“Daniel!” Carly cried out, but by the time she forced her feet to move, the portal had disappeared. Instead, she threw herself across the cold bathroom floor.

She shook as she struggled to comprehend what had just happened. She’d lost her husband. Was this real? The love, the marriage, or the INDP officers. She wanted to cry and scream. None of it was fair. Not the confession, and not the sudden quiet in her home. What used to be their home.

This was just like him. Whether it was a headache or interdimensional portal police, he always managed to get out of doing the dishes.

Editor: Lucy Cafiero