Marriage Matters

Nine

Kristine stood up eagerly when she heard her husband’s key in the door. It was Wednesday night, which meant Kevin was back from the first part of his week. He’d fly out again tomorrow afternoon.

There would only be a short period of time to repack a new suitcase for him, sort through the dirty clothes and put in fresh shirts, razors and toiletries. Chloe teased her about doing this, but it was Kristine’s way of staying connected to her husband while he was out on the road. Besides, he wouldn’t know how to fold a shirt if his life depended on it.

“Hey, Firecracker!” Kevin strode across the room, his arms open. Kristine fell into the hug. She’d always loved the way he smelled, like lemongrass and musk. “Did you miss me?” He kissed her on top of her head. “I missed you. Cried myself to sleep every night. Like a baby.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t get to see that.” She tilted her head back to look at him.

When their eyes met, his face split into a grin. Even though Kevin’s sandy brown hair had some gray in it and there were a few wrinkles around his eyes, he looked just like he did when they’d first met.

“I’m starving.” He looked past her toward the kitchen. “Did you make Philly cheesesteaks? Fried onions?”

“Try a grilled chicken salad.” Considering Kevin ate at airports and chain restaurants for the majority of the week, Kristine did her best to pump him full of vitamins at home.

“Sounds healthy,” Kevin sang, giving her a light smack on the bottom. After grabbing his favorite water glass out of the cupboard, there was the familiar clink-clink-clink of the ice machine then a whoosh of water. Such a silly thing, but just hearing the sound made her happy to have him home.

Kevin grabbed the salads and headed down to the den. Kristine gathered up silverware and followed him. He was already watching the sports station on their sixty-inch flat screen. She would have preferred for the TV to stay off, but she’d given up hope on that years ago.

“Kris, this looks great.” The plate was piled high with fresh spinach, portobello mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, red peppers, goat cheese and grilled chicken. Popping a tomato in his mouth, Kevin said, “How was your weekend with the girls?”

“Fun.” She settled into a brown leather chair and flipped up the footrest. “Chloe is doing way too much, as always. And June was as socially inappropriate as possible, whenever she got the chance.”

Kevin grinned, taking a bite of chicken. “Figures.”

The relationship between Kevin and June had been rocky from the start. He thought June was a “pretentious busybody,” while she thought Kevin was an “overeager ex-jock.”

“What else?” Kevin said. “You went to that French restaurant for our anniversary, right?”

Kristine flushed, staring down at her salad. “Yeah . . . How was your week?” Immediately, she felt guilty. Why couldn’t she just say she’d had dinner with a coworker and they’d talked travel?

Glancing at her athletic husband, Kristine knew why. If she told him, she’d probably do or say something to clue him in on the fact that Ethan had linked his arm with hers. Then Kevin would show up at the store and tell Ethan exactly what would happen to his arm if he tried anything like that again.

It was definitely not a topic worth bringing up. The trip to Rome on the other hand . . . that was something worth telling.

“So, I do have big news.” She set her salad on the coffee table. “Something exciting.”

Kevin’s mouth rounded into an O. “You got me an eighty-inch flat screen for our anniversary.”

She shook her head. “Nice try.”

“You’re a secret lottery winner and finally decided to tell me?”

“I wish.”

Kevin’s eyes danced. “June annoyed the air marshal and they threw her out of the airplane?”

Kristine laughed. “No. Give up?”

Digging back into his salad, Kevin took a few enthusiastic bites. “Tell me.”

“I won a trip to Rome,” she said. “At the end of next month.”

Kevin set down his salad, clearly surprised. “Rome, Italy? Or Rome, Georgia?”

“Italy, you goof.” Kristine still couldn’t believe she was going to Italy.

“That’s so great, Kris,” he said. “How’d you pull that off?”

“Oh, I didn’t.” Kristine felt another flash of guilt. “Someone in the store entered an essay contest. But since I own the place, I’ll get to go for a week and speak at this big-deal conference.”

“Well, that’s really cool.” Reaching for his salad, Kevin added, “Maybe the Pope will show up to your speech. Or that guy from Gladiator.” He hit Pause and the TV blared back on.

“Wait.” Kristine took the remote out of his hand and hit Pause. “There’s something else. I . . .” Her stomach flipped with nerves. “I . . . I want you to come with me.”

Kevin’s forehead scrunched up. “Honey, I can’t just take off with barely any notice. We’ll do it another time.”

“I knew you’d say that. So . . .” Kristine pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and dropped it on the coffee table. “I want to cash this in.”

Kevin read the note. “The IOU?” He laughed. “Kris, no. This is for a pair of diamond earrings or a spa day or something. Not to guilt me into doing something I can’t do.”

Kristine’s heart sank. The last thing she’d buy would be a pair of diamond earrings or a trip to the spa. Didn’t he know her at all? But the real issue wasn’t even that. It was the fact that he wasn’t going to go. It was the opportunity of a lifetime and he wasn’t even going to consider it. Sitting back in her chair, Kristine felt her eyes smart.

“Kevin, we need this,” she said, her voice low. “Our marriage needs this.”

“Our marriage?” Kevin looked at her like she had three heads. “What do you—”

Maybe it was time to tell him the truth.

“The other night,” she said, “I spent our anniversary sitting in a wine bar, wishing I was having a conversation with you about things that matter to me.”

Okay, fine. Maybe an abridged version of the truth.

“You’re mad that I wasn’t here for our anniversary.” Kevin turned to her, giving her his full attention. “I know. I was upset, too.”

“Not mad. I just . . .” Kristine picked up a crouton and rubbed it between her fingers until it crumbled. “I miss you,” she said, reaching for his hand. “I miss spending time with you. Please just think about it, okay?”

The Pause button must have expired, because the television snapped back on and football highlights roared through the den. Kevin held her hand, staring at the television with a troubled look on his face. “Absolutely. If that’s what you want.”

There were many things she wanted. She wanted her husband to look at her the way he had when they’d first met. She wanted to spend the weekends with him, trying new restaurants or going on getaways, instead of just recovering from a hard week of work. But most of all, she wanted him to want these things, too.

“I really want you to come with me to Rome.”

Kevin’s eyes were still trained on the football field. “Let me just think about it, okay?” Briefly, he squeezed her hand then let it go.

Kristine let out a breath and reached for her salad. Clearly, the conversation was over.