MY HUSBAND WAS CLOSE ENOUGH that I could hear him turning the pages of his newspaper. I was straightening up before leaving on a quick trip. What happened next probably could have been prevented, but then again had it been prevented, we would not have this little lesson marriage memoir.
“I really hate leaving you, even for a short time,” I called out.
Silence.
“I do.”
Silence everywhere but in my brain.
“Ah, Honey?”
“Oh!” he said. “Were you talking to me or the dog?”
It was a fair question. Anyone who knows me knows my dog is among the great loves of my life, which is why I probably should not have paused that extra hair before I replied.
“You. You. Absolutely.”
injaynesworld says
What a perfect little slice of life; beginning, middle and end. I’m smiling.
Elin Stebbins Waldal says
Oh this is splendid Marion!
Ariane says
So delightful & SO familiar. Coulda been me addressing one of my two big loves — Mr Burns or my husband. I make an effort when returning home — and it is effort — to kiss the man before the dog, but since the man has it just as bad as me, he gets it when I forget. ;)
Helena Binder says
This could be the start of a play! Love it.
Diane Cameron says
Oh I love this.
marion says
Thanks, all, for the lovely comments. If you are a dog lover, please see the blog post by a friend on the love of his life.
Rich says
Thanks for the plug. It is greatly appreciated and shamelessly accepted. I’m tickled.
Shelly Miller says
What you can say in few simple words astounds me. A nice landing spot to start my writing today. Thanks!
Joan Z. Rough says
Love it!
Katherine Stevenson says
I LOVE this too! I also have to admit I would sure love a follow up to the last one and your husband’s comments about the number of shoes in your closet :-)))
VIGA says
Oh boy! That really cracked me up for more reasons than one:
This morning, my hubby who is really hard of hearing, heard me saying something and asked:
“Were you talking to me?”
“No,” I replied. “I was talking to the dog.”
Not 15 minutes later, I was in another room and I heard him say something. I asked: “Did you just say something to me?”
He replied: “No, I was talking to the dog!”
I cracked up. I said: “You know this would make a great cartoon or a short vignette. Maybe I’ll blog this one… ”
And then, I check my email and find this post by you Marion! No fair. That was my idea LOL!
Sally says
My husband says this to me ALL THE TIME! I say something to him, and he says, “I thought you were talking to the dog.” Actually, I usually get better listening from the dog…LOL And we both do it, to tell the truth. I got a big giggle out of your anecdote!
Lynda says
I love this sweet little story, Marion. Dogs are the best people.
Our fur-baby is a Red Heeler Cattle Dog mix, with a diva attitude. One day my husband said, “I don’t believe this… Lady just rolled her eyes at me! I wonder how she learned to do that?”
At which point, of course, I rolled my eyes at him.
“Oh, that’s how,” he said.
Lori Robinson says
Funny.