5:37 PM

"I booked something."

He looked up from his laptop.

His wife was standing in the doorway.

"What?"

"Four nights."

"Where?"

"Does it matter?"

He stared at her.

She laughed.

"No children. No work. No parents. No weddings. No one needing a lift anywhere."

"When?"

"Next month."

He opened his calendar automatically.

She walked over and pushed the laptop lid down.

"I already checked with your assistant."

"You spoke to Mei?"

"I've been married to you for twenty-six years."

He smiled.

"Where are we going?"

"I'll tell you later."

She walked back toward the kitchen.

"Just don't schedule anything."

He sat there for a moment.

Four days.

Just the two of them.

No school runs anymore.

No children's activities.

No parents travelling with them.

No work dinners.

No itinerary built around somebody else's needs.

He should have felt excited.

His first thought was:

What will we do?