Home to his suffering wife.

As Matt pulled into the driveway, he noticed that his neighbor was out watering his plants. He gave a friendly wave and a smile, and Matt gave him the middle finger. Of course he laughed at that.

As he carried the first load in, Penny came to meet him at the door. She was wearing a light sundress and sandals. "How was the store?" she asked.

"The same as it always fucking is," he grumbled. "Buncha giddy dipshits hopped up on that stupid **** telling me how much they love produce."

She helped him unload the groceries, then they began to put them away. Putting a carton of eggs in the fridge, she spoke mildly. "Remember, there's an upside to this. Our groceries are free, and we can basically do anything we want now."

"And nobody will mourn us when we die!" he snapped, sounding harsher than he'd intended. "Fuck this, Pen. A world without suffering is a world without people. You of all people should fucking know that."

Rather than responding, she retreated into the living room. Penny had brought up the idea of getting the anesthetic several times but Matt put his foot down. He said he loved her, not the "zombie clown" that the anesthetic would make her. It was obviously a sore point so she stopped bringing it up.

Groceries unpacked, he came back with a sheepish look. "Penny, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. This is my hangup, not yours."

Penny smiled sympathetically. "I get it, Matt. I really do. You don't want me to become like all the people you see in public, hugging each other after fender-benders and giving away money to strangers."

Matt noticed that she had opened her mouth to continue, but decided not to. "But?" he prompted.

"But that's just the showy people! The theater kids who love attention and want everyone to see how happy they are! Most people just quietly keep leading their old lives, only without all the misery and pain. It doesn't erase who you are."

"How would you know?" he shot back. "Sure, they claim to be the same person, but they don't act like the same person. You can't completely change your personality then act like you're not different!"

She gave him a strange look. "Well, there's one way I could know..."

He scowled. "No, no, no! I told you for the last time, I love you. I don't love some freakish laughing marionette that will take your place. I can't imagine life without you, but I'd rather be alone than go to bed every night with a reminder of what I used to have."

She sighed heavily. "Ok, I've been putting this off for a while, but I just have to come clean."

Matt stared at her, dread growing in the pit of his stomach. "Penny? What did you do?"

"I took the anesthetic."