Del walked into a haze-filled house.
His wife, Annie, stood in the middle of the room, fanning the air
with her apron while the smoke detector blared an earsplitting tune.
He snatched the contraption from the ceiling and ripped out the
batteries.
“Cooking again, are you,” Del
asked, trying to hide a blossoming smile. He tossed his cell phone
and car keys on the counter and hung up his jacket. This wasn’t
the first time she burned his dinner. At the rate Annie set off the
detector, they should own stock in that company with the nonstop bunny rabbit ad. Luckily, there was more
than one route to his heart, and it certainly wasn’t through his
stomach as the saying went.
Annie dipped her chin to her chest. “I
so wanted this new recipe to work.”
He crossed the room, rested an arm
around her shoulders and gave her squeeze. “It’s okay
sweetheart. I’m sure whatever it was would have been
delicious.”
Rather than be cheered by his words,
she hid her face with her palms and sobbed. "I'm a disaster in the kitchen.” Her muffled words came out between hiccups.
He pulled her closer. “Now, now,
everyone has different talents. I wish I could sing like Pavarotti,
but I sound more like Gomer Pyle. You just don’t happen to be
Julia Childs.”
She peered up through eyes brimming
with tears. “But I wanted to surprise you with a romantic dinner.”
"I know....I know." He pulled her into a one-armed cuddle.
A determined look spread across her face and, she turned back to the counter. “I’m
going to try again, this time I’ll pay closer attention to the
directions.”
His gaze wandered to the dining room
and a table set with fine china, candles, and wine glasses. Dear God!
His breath stopped short of a gasp. He’d forgotten an important
date. There was only one thing to do to save face and stop her from
poisoning them both.
He crossed the room and removed the
knife from her hand. Cupping her chin, he gazed lovingly into her
eyes. “You can test your recipe another time or you’ll spoil my
surprise. Go get cleaned up. I’m taking you out for a special
dinner and, if we’re lucky, a night of dancing.”
Annie’s eyes widened. “Really?”
Her brows rose in an inquisitive arch, but straightened when she smiled.
“Oh, sweetheart, you shouldn’t have gone to all that trouble.”
She stood on tiptoes, gave him a peck on the cheek, then hurried
upstairs.
Del waited until she was out of sight,
then digging frantically through the desk, found the phonebook and
scanned the yellow pages for restaurant phone numbers. On a week
night, surely he could make a last minute reservation and still be
his wife’s hero. What would one more little white lie hurt when
he’d already told so many about her dismal cooking skills?
Success…he hung up the phone.
Reservation made and even flowers ordered. He’d pulled his plan
off without a hitch and felt pretty proud of himself…until the
sound of someone clearing their throat caught his attention. He
swallowed hard, turned, and saw Annie at the bottom of the stairs.
She stood with folded arms. “So,
you planned to surprise me with dinner and dancing, huh?”
“Well, you see…I-I… Okay, okay,
you caught me.” His shoulders slumped. “I forgot our
anniversary.”
Annie’s somber look mellowed. She
collapsed into laughter.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
“It isn’t our anniversary, silly.”
She walked closer. “I wondered what you meant earlier, but I
decided to see where this was going. What gave you the idea this was
the day we got married?”
“Well, you said it was a special
night, a-and I just assumed…”
“Oh that.” She waved a limp wrist
at him. “I didn’t mean special for you and me, silly. The
special is on Lifetime Television…it’s all romance night again.
I thought if I fixed a special recipe for an early dinner, we could cuddle up and
watch some movies together. You know… before we go up to bed.”
She lowered one eyelid in a sensuous wink.
He cracked his knuckles and flashed a
sheepish smile. “Well, in that case, I think I’ll cancel dinner
out and order in.”
Del had a plan, too. A little pizza,
a romantic movie, and when they went upstairs, he’d end up getting
a gift he hadn’t counted on…especially on a Wednesday night.
Lifetime movies acted like an aphrodisiac on Annie, and, for sure,
tomorrow he’d be sending the cable company a special thank-you
note.
