Mrs. Wrong Last Name

Chapter Seven

She just stared at the phone in disbelief. Then she set it down shook her head and headed back towards the waffle maker.

The Husband came out of nowhere and sidled up behind her. He put his arm around her waist and said, "Smells good."

She smiled. "Smells like carbs, they always smell good," she replied.

He gave her an extra squeeze and started to tease her. "Oh so that's what you smell like. I warned you about that, you are what you eat you know..."

And with that he pinned both of her arms with one hand and proceeded to tickle her. She squealed and twisted and finally managed to somehow get away.

Then without any warning at all, she unceremoniously stuck her hand in the waffle mix and flung it at him.

"Hey!" he screamed, laughing and dodging. She came at him trying to smear it on his face and instead got it on his arm. He had a much longer reach than she did.

"Wife- I don't think you want to start that. We'll end up in the yard with a domestic disturbance that you are certainly NOT dressed for."

She twisted and looked out the door. There were about five inches of snow on the ground and she was still wearing The Husband's tshirt she had slept in. Running through her options she decided it would really suck to be carried over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and rolled in the snow.

Thinking over all the possible outcomes of that scenario she begrudgingly settled on a truce.

They shook on it grinning (with waffle mix still on her hand) but he continued to eyeball her sideways just in case she decided on a sneak attack. He looked over the waffles and the little kid came running in. She washed her hands (and The Husband's arm), plates were served up, and they gravitated to their designated eating spots.

The little kid dug right in, humming happily and making the sounds of complete culinary happiness.

The Husband looked at the little kid then back at her and smiled. "Have you had any time to think on it at all?" he asked. "I know it was kind of sprung on you last night."

She looked at the little kid too, then answered him. "Yes, well way to go Husband, if you are gonna spring something like a major life change on me it helps to throw in a trip to Italy."

She cut her eyes at him over her coffee cup but was smiling at him, and he felt emboldened by her mood. "So, I don't have to tell them anything for a week about work. You have the trip regardless and can tell me no if you don't want me to take the Asia thing. Just think it over. But in the meantime let's find you someone to take to Italy."

They brainstormed through several friends of hers. All of which either had younger kids and no good childcare options for a ten day European jaunt, or had jobs they couldn't leave behind, or had husbands that wouldn't be able to handle things in their absence.

"It's an awesome thought but I just don't know if it will work. I mean I have a lot here too- the kid, the dogs, WORK..." she looked off thinking about all the pitfalls of responsibility.

He furrowed his brow. "Maybe, but... what if you quit your job?" He looked at her with one of those looks like he had zero idea what her reaction would be and was bracing for the worst just in case.

"What?" she said in disbelief.

He put his hands up defensively. "I know, I know. I know you love your job and coworkers. I get that you have to stay busy. But if you didn't have to work you could fly out to Asia every other month. I could come here every other month. You could take the little kid back home to Texas anytime you wanted. You could visit the big kid. You wouldn't sit here and do NOTHING- we both know that. You could write. You could plan. You just said yourself most of your friends aren't able to take this trip because of life, what if you could take a trip whenever you wanted, to wherever you wanted. I know you love to travel. Don't be mad, I'm just talking out loud."