“No, nothing special is going on, I just want some time with my wife.
“Yeah, okay, I’ll be home in 20 minutes, you can tell me then. Thanks, bye.”
*********************
Nick was full—he loved the veal Saltimbocca at Bistro Romano—and Emily was a little bit tipsy. She’d had most of their bottle of wine, since Nick was driving.
He paid the sitter, watched until she got her car started and drove away, then locked the front door and turned off the outside lights.
Emily was waiting for him by the stairs, smiling, but he said, “come into the kitchen with me, would you Em? I’d like another half-glass of wine.”
She’d been wary at first during dinner, wondering if something serious was on Nick’s mind, but they’d had a nice time, and now she was feeling relaxed and happy.
They sat, and Nick told her about Suzanne’s son and his broken engagement. He reached across the table and took Emily’s hand.
“I’ve been thinking about it all day. Such an unhappy ending—such a waste of what sounds like it was a great relationship.
“I don’t want the unhappy ending, Em. I want this to be over, okay? You and me: we’re back. We’re done with it. You did something really fucking stupid, I was hurt and angry, we worked on it, and now we say enough.
“Is that okay with you?”
Emily smiled broadly, holding his hand tightly. There was one tear sliding down her cheek.
“Of course, honey. You know that’s what I wanted all along.
“It doesn’t mean I’m going to stop feeling ashamed of myself, though. That’s going to take a while longer.”
He said, “well, I don’t mind if you keep trying to make it up to me from time to time.”
Suddenly he laughed. “You know, I read a story once about a guy whose wife had cheated on him. It was months later, and she was trying to get him to forgive her. She said, ‘if you’d stay married to me, I’d blow you at the mall if you wanted me to!’ ”
He grinned at her. “So how about it, Em? Will you blow me at the mall?”
Without cracking a smile she said, “nope. But if you come upstairs with me right now, I’ll blow you in the hall.”
They both laughed. Nick reached over and took her hand. “It’s a deal,” he said.