Fish

 

*a 200-word exception to my own rule

She introduced her new betta fish to people and told them, “His name is Dr. Wilson” and no one questioned it.

Because of course she did.

But there’s a backstory, as there usually is to every oddity.

Dr. Wilson was one of her bosses long ago, and he didn’t know it, but he had the honor of being one of only a handful men she trusted 100%. The handful was so small that only one of her three husbands had made the cut, even before the divorces.

Dr. Wilson was loud, blustery, brutally blunt and painfully honest. That intimidated other people, but she loved it. She knew if he ever had a problem with her, she’d know it because he’d confront her head on immediately. They’d work through it and it would be over. He’d never deceive her or stab her in the back while praising her to her face.

When their office was remodeled, she suggested getting a fish tank for the waiting room, but Dr. Wilson was adamant. “No goddamn fish tank.”

So, she got a small bowl for her office, installed a betta fish, and named it Dr. Wilson.

Every male betta would forever be Dr. Wilson.