Or my personal favorite:
“You used to dress up for me. What happened?”
I usually ignored him. I didn’t have the energy to argue.
Three weeks before our fifth anniversary, Elias invited his friend Vance over for beers.
They sat on the patio while I washed our youngest’s bottles in the kitchen. The window was open.
“Got anything special planned for your anniversary?” Vance asked.
Elias chuckled.
“Probably just pizza.”
Then he added:
“Honestly, man, if I met her today, I wouldn’t even ask her out. She’s aged so much in just five years.”
I froze, gripping the bottle brush.
Eventually, I finished washing the dishes and went upstairs to put our children to bed.
That night, Elias asked why I was unusually quiet.
“Just tired.”
He rolled over and fell asleep while I lay awake, staring at the ceiling for another hour.
By morning, I’d decided exactly what to give him for our anniversary.
