At her family barbecue, Nicole laughed in front of…

Nicole tried to recover, forcing a laugh. “Oh, come on, Jake. Don’t be dramatic.

I was just joking.”

I looked straight at her and asked, “Were you? Because that’s how you’ve been treating this marriage for years. Like a joke.”

Her dad, a quiet and decent man, frowned.

“Now hold on, son. Maybe we can talk this through.”

I nodded. “We’ve done that.

I talked. She talked. Nothing changed.”

I stood up slowly and looked at her mother, who had always been kind to me.

“Did you ever notice she never brings me up unless it’s to make me the punchline?”

Her mother opened her mouth, then closed it. See, I had spent months watching my wife turn our relationship into her favorite performance. Every dinner party, every social gathering, there was some little jab about me.