The Husband [antikvár]

1A man begins dying at the moment of his birth.Most people live in denial of Death's patient courtship until, late in life and deep in sickness, they become aware of him sitting bedside.Eventually, Mitchell Rafferty would be able to cite the minute that he began to recognize the inevitability of his death: Monday, May 14, 11:43 in the morningthree weeks short of his twenty-eighth birthday.Until then, he had rarely thought of dying. A born optimist, charmed by nature's beauty and amused by humanity, he had no cause or inclination to wonder when and how his mortality would be proven.When the call came, he was on his knees.Thirty flats of red and purple impatiens remained to be planted. The flowers produced no fragrance, but the fertile smell of the soil pleased him.