The Wives and the Friend

This flow traces how the Deceased Friend’s marriages and the Narrator’s long friendship intersect, producing jealousy, separation, and competing memories.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The First Marriage

The First Marriage A formative passion The Deceased Friend and his first wife share an intense love that the Narrator remembers as almost legendary. The young circle around them admires the couple and models itself on the Deceased Friend. Love and betrayal His infidelity contributes to the marriage’s collapse and his wife’s breakdown. Their passion becomes part of the history that later shapes the Narrator’s understanding of his romantic life.

A Friendship Under Suspicion

A Friendship Under Suspicion Jealousy and accusation The second wife calls the Narrator’s closeness with the Deceased Friend incestuous and demands that he stop seeing her. Their friendship survives for a time through secrecy and deception. A complicated loyalty The Narrator feels shame about the hidden meetings but remains attached. The conflict shows how a friendship can be real and sustaining while also existing inside harmful patterns of dishonesty.

A Life Between Marriages

A Life Between Marriages Difficulty being alone The Deceased Friend rarely sleeps alone and moves quickly from marriage to girlfriend or casual encounter. The Narrator and he are often closest when he is between partners. The Narrator’s ambivalence She feels a pang when he falls in love and relief when a relationship ends. Her reaction exposes a desire for exclusivity that their friendship never openly promises.

A Reunion at Dinner

A Reunion at Dinner Shared recollections The Narrator and the first wife dine together after the memorial. The wife admits that she once envied the long friendship she and the Deceased Friend never managed to have. A different kind of loss Their conversation reveals that each woman knew a different version of him. The Narrator’s closeness and the wife’s former passion cannot be compared or combined into one authoritative memory.

A Message Through Apollo

A Message Through Apollo The first wife’s concern The first wife sees Apollo over Skype and questions why the Deceased Friend expected the Narrator to risk her home. She offers a perspective that is protective but skeptical of the arrangement. Two people left behind Their conversation joins the women through shared grief and concern for Apollo. Neither can know exactly what the Deceased Friend intended, but both must decide how to live with his choices.

The Narrator’s early adulthood

During the second marriage

Across the years between marriages

The evening of the memorial week

After Apollo moves in