Those readers who are from my generation know the song by Billy Joel called "Uptown Girl." It's a story about a blue class worker (Joel) trying to woo a high society woman (Christine Brinkley in the video). I'm not saying Marcie is posh like that, but she does have great taste in things. It's one reason I let her make the decisions when it comes to things for the house. It's not the fact that I can't pick out sheets or anything, but she has a better eye for it.
One night, we were having dinner at the dining room table. The dining room is open enough for us to see the living room from there. We were both looking into the living room when I heard Marcie sigh. I looked at her and smiled. She looked at me back.
"What?" she asked.
"You sighed, sweetheart. Did you see something?"
She shook her head. I looked at her with that "I know there's something on your mind" look in my eyes for a moment before she took a breath and answered.
"Okay, I saw that gap next to the couch and wondered if we could find a chair to match."
"You know all you have to do..."
"Leo!"
This caught my attention. I stopped mid-sentence before she continued.
"Leo, just because I was thinking about it doesn't mean you pull out your Black American Express and have me order it."
"I don't have one of those."
She paused.
"You don't have what?"
"I don't have a Black Amex card. Never thought I needed one. That's for big celebrities and stuff."
That disarmed her for a moment. Then she was back on track.
"No, I mean..."
I looked her in her eyes before planting a kiss on her forehead.
"You don't want me just spending money on a whim just because it's an idea of yours."
"Yes and..."
"I already know that."
She seemed to soften a bit.
"So why were you going to volunteer anyway?"
"Because you are my wife."
I planted a soft kiss on her lips before I continued.
"And I enjoy spoiling you whenever I get the chance to."
Another kiss.
"And I agree with you whole-heartedly. I dislike bringing in the dining room chairs whenever we have company over."
I went for a third kiss, but she kissed me first and held it for a bit. It was then she released the kiss and stood up before leading me into the living room. As I stood there, she wrapped her arms around me and smiled. We started looking at the living room and discussing the ideas going through her head. We decided that we would go out the next day to start looking at different places for the furniture she had in mind.
For the readers who may be new to this storyline, I feel like a bit of explanation is in order. Both Marcie and I have been married prior to with each other and both of us lost our spouses to cancer. We found our way to each other afterwards and have only been married a few months by this point. This isn't saying we argue a ton. We have a regular relationship as most married couples do. The thing is I have a strong tendency to make Marcie happy as much as I can. Marcie in turn is the more practical one of the two of us since she hesitates when it comes to spending a bunch of money and such. Hopefully this will explain it well enough for the newer readers to follow.
Marcie and I then went into the bedroom. As we readied ourselves for bed, I could tell she was still a bit concerned. I learned from experience that the wrong thing to do was broach whatever was on her mind. I know this because I remembered that if I bide my time, she will reveal what was on her mind and allow me to help. Sure enough, as we lay together with our arms around each other and softly kissing each other before heading to slumber-ville, she did exactly that.
