Signal Loss

Marcus hadn't slept properly since Elena walked out three weeks ago. The apartment felt like a museum exhibit of their marriage—her coffee mug still by the sink, her throw blanket draped over the couch, her cat Luna staring at him with what he swore was judgment. He'd taken up running at 5 AM, the pavement pounding out a rhythm that drowned out the silence waiting at home.

"Third floor, no elevator," his dispatch screen read. Another day, another cable repair, another elderly person wondering why their premium package wasn't working. Marcus climbed the stairs, his tool belt weighing on his hips like a tin cowardice.

The door opened to reveal Mrs. Gorski, maybe eighty, wearing a housecoat covered in faded flowers. Behind her, a massive grizzly bear stood frozen mid-roar—taxidermy, obviously, but still unnerving. The bear's glass eyes seemed to follow him.

"He was my husband's," she said, noticing where he looked. "Shot him in Montana, 1974. Bastard." She waved a manicured hand toward the TV. "Cable's out. Can't watch my stories."

Marcus worked in silence, stripping coaxial cable, testing signal strength, rerouting connections. A calico cat wound between his legs, purring like a small engine. He thought of Luna, waiting at home for someone who wasn't coming back.

"You married?" Mrs. Gorski asked from her armchair.

"Separated."

She nodded, like this confirmed something. "My Arthur? Ran around on me for thirty years. I kept the bear, though. Reminds me what I survived."

He finished up, handed her the bill. The cat jumped onto the bear's head, curled up between its ears.

"Life's got a way of testing your signal," she said suddenly. "You just got to find the connection again. Sometimes you need to reroute the whole damn system."

Marcus walked to his truck and sat for a long time. Somewhere in the building above, a woman was watching her stories, a cat slept on a dead bear's head, and he was still running—from what, he wasn't sure anymore. But for the first time since Elena left, he thought maybe he could stop running and start rerouting.