He pulled in at the door and rang the doorbell, arms full of bags. Annie came up and the door swung open. He smiled.
Annie's face was cold as ice.
"You're not coming in this house until you shave that thing off." Her words were curt and cutting. All of his friends just kind of stood there, awkward, while the couple stared at each other. He dropped his bags and Annie made a move to shut the door. He closed the distance in a single step and grabbed her by the arm. His face was full of rage, and he pulled her close to him so he could whisper. His voice broke with anger and his breath tickled her ear.
"Annie, I will cut off my beard because I love you and you don't like it. But you do not get to tell me what to do. This marriage is a team. We're equal partners. And I will never be ordered again." He let go of her arm and Annie stumbled back. He pulled himself up to his full height and took a deep breath.
Annie screamed. "Get out of my house!"
He stepped backward calmly onto the mat and whispered.
"It's my house too."
I like this story because the guy refuses to be emasculated.
ReplyDeleteFirst thought: "We are going to go and see ALL THE NATURE! TONIGHT! Seriously, I've made a list."
ReplyDeleteSorry.
Why was she so upset? There is clearly a deeper issue at hand than just that he's shaved his beard. But either she's completely insane and should never have been married or she just found out that someone died or is terminally ill, that she's pregnant, or that he's cheating on her, or all of the above. Or he and his grizzled state has made her relive a horrible catastrophe that broke her-- something that she has been trying to forget her whole life.
I appreciate his honesty, and that was probably the best he could do under the circumstances. I appreciate that he didn't completely lose his temper. He's tired and grungy, and he's just coming down off the mountain (which is a metaphor I don't think I can explain right now). But he's clearly missing something important in this picture, just as she is, and I just have to know-- why is he missing it? Their communication must never have been very good, and I have to wonder how much of each other has become "nothing spaces."
Why did you write this, Robby? What are you trying to say?
I don't know why I wrote it, Janelle. I just thought of it this morning. I was actually afraid of writing it down, but I figured . . . why not?
ReplyDeleteLyssa, yeah. I wish women like you happened more often, then. :( lots of women . . . control things. Blech.
That explains everything. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks.