The View from Where the Walls Meet

Written and © by Jack Bogut – All rights reserved

 

It was the end of a busy week. I was happy just to be home, put on my sweats, and hide.

A simple dinner, a glass of wine, the evening news, some mindless TV, and fall asleep propped up until Joni pushed me over and turned out the lights, that would be perfect.

When I pulled in the garage and the door was closing I heard her shout,

            “Hi, honey. Before you go in and get settled, everything’s gone wrong today. I know we were out last night, but I’d give anything if you’d take me out to dinner. Anywhere. I’ll go anywhere. You can choose. I don’t care. Just take me out and I’ll be happy. Anywhere. Your choice.”

So I mentioned my favorite restaurant. After a long pause she said,

            “Okay. If that’s where you really want to go…”

            “You said you’d go anywhere.”

            “And I meant it, but it seems like we were just there…”

            “Yeah, two months ago.”

            So I mentioned another place and she sighed and said,

            “Okay. But I’ll have to change my clothes.”

            “Why?”

            “Because I’m too casual.”

            “Okay, I can wait.”

            After another pause she said,

            “I wish I had gone to the cleaners.”

             “Why?”

            “The dress I want to wear is at the cleaners.”

            “Well then, what about Mexican?”

            “Fine!”

            “Fine?” I responded. “This sounds like a losing battle to me.”

            “No. I’m sorry honey. I don’t mean to be cranky. I really mean it. I’ll go anywhere you want, as long as we just go somewhere. Don’t even tell me where and let’s get out of here.”

            “How about Chinese?”

And that’s when she turned away from me and said,

“OK, I’ll just have a salad…”

 

You can smell paint in this corner.