"Sugarbaby" from William Gay's collected stories, I Hate to See that Evening Son Go Down captures slow, unaffected degradation of a marriage in ways I've never read before. The main couple, Beasley, and let's say, Martha (as part of the rules, I'm not allowed to go back to the story at all, and I can't remember the wife's name) are seen within their small community as a pillar of marital perfection. They've en-joyed/-dured marriage longer than any other couple. One day, Beasley buys his wife a dog, a small, yap-yap-yap kind of dog, who doesn't seem to appreciate the fine home Beasley has brought him into. Eventually, Beasley shoots the dog with a gun far larger than would be necessary to kill such a tiny animal. This fact, though not directly addressed, is mentioned only enough to be allowed to simmer in the reader's head. This is what makes a…