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.”