Dave and Mary ate dinner, washed the few dishes and retired early to
enjoy their new bedroom entertainment. Well, it wasn’t new. It was the
portable TV Dave had hauled up the stairs, and he’d spent time adjusting the
connections, the angle and the speakers so everything would be perfect. This was
their first weekend at home alone since shortly after they were newlyweds. The
children were all grown and gone now, and Dave and Mary were looking forward to
this night together.
“Come watch this,” she called to him while sitting on their big
king-size bed with a pillow stuffed behind her back.
“Watch what?” He had shaving cream all over his face when he stepped
out of the bathroom.
Mary was listening intently to the news story about a woman who had
murdered her children. The details were displayed on the TV screen as she
watched in utter horror. “Can you believe it?” she said indignantly. “That
woman claims she was temporarily out of her mind. Her lawyer claims she wasn’t
responsible for her actions, because she suffered from postpartum blues.”
Dave wasn’t interested and he went back into the bathroom to finish
shaving.
“I had five children and I didn’t get depressed,” Mary continued.
“Heck. I didn’t even get PMS. I don’t understand what the big deal is.
What’s with these modern women who can’t handle normal life?”
Dave climbed into bed and sat next to her ready to watch The Late Show. “You are a good mother and a good wife,” he said
kissing her. “And I love you very much.”
They watched TV and then made love enjoying the quiet uninterrupted hours
together. So different from when their children had been at home. Always needing
something and putting demands on their time and energy. “I can get used to
this,” Dave commented afterwards with a relaxed sigh.
“You just want me to spoil you,” Mary said hugging him in the dark.
And they fell asleep.
Mary woke in the middle of the night. “Don’t touch me!” she yelled. Lately she’d been waking up with what the doctor called “hot flashes,” a symptom of menopause. It always began with an uncomfortable nerve sensation over her entire body, and she couldn’t stand anything touching her until it passed. Then it was followed by heart palpitations and a sudden drenching sweat. She removed her hands from Dave’s neck and threw the covers off to get cool. Why couldn’t he understand she didn’t want to be touched when she had hot flashes?
