Romantic Marriage #11

"Can There Be Happiness for a Substitute Wife" tells the story of Jane, a woman who married her heart's decision but came to doubt it when her husband Lance became distant and frequently absent, traveling for work and spending time at social events without her. After the circus left town, Jane joined Lance on tour as part of Bartram's Continental circus, where her excitement and sense of belonging grew—until Lance's neglect and her realization that she had sacrificed her own aspirations for marriage led her to contemplate whether true happiness was possible in their relationship. The issue also includes a humorous short story titled "Cooking with Gas" about a newlywed wife's cooking mishaps and her husband's patient responses to her culinary failures.