This is not as much a story as it is a montage of Michael Merriweather’s different lives. Is he aware of them? It’s unclear. While many of the lives are the same in many ways, there are also great differences in career and in education. He and his wife always marry. They meet in grad school, arguing about fate. (Nice touch.)
Sometimes they have children and sometimes they don’t. This makes a difference in their wealth and their lifesytle. They always love each other—just differently.
While the plot is minimal, and characterization beyond the main character nearly non-existent, the author nevertheless creates a portrait of love between two people across multi-universes. It is tender. It survives bad jobs and good jobs. It survives the pressure of children and the loneliness of being without children. It endures the stubbornness of youth and righteousness as well at middle-age contentment.
I rather liked this subtle tale.
Accord to his bio on the Simon & Schuster site, author Stephen S. Power short fiction has appeared in places like AE and Flash Fiction Online. He’s published more than seventy poems. He’s a veteran editor. Simon & Schuster has published his first novel, Dragon Round.
His site is: http://stephenspower.com/
Reviews of Old and New Stories. Mostly Old 