Page 76 of Marriage and the Midlife Crisis

Chapter 26

Ryan

I picked a new restaurant for us to try, one that served both Greek food, which Melanie loved and didn’t get to have very often, as well as a wide selection of steaks, which I would gladly eat every day of the week. Since the restaurant was in the opposite direction as our house and her parents’ condo, we left her SUV at Kim’s office and she rode with me.

I reached across to hold her hand as I drove, and after a second or two, she threaded her fingers with mine. In that moment, I could pretend that all was right in our world.

As I pulled into the lot at The Mykonos Grill, she glanced at me with her brows raised.

“The reviews I read said their steaks are really good, too,” I explained, releasing her hand so I could park. I took her hand again as we made our way inside and were shown to a table near the front.

We spent a few minutes poring over the menu, and to my surprise, when our server came she declined the glass of ouzo he suggested and just got iced tea instead.

“I ordered Greek food on my birthday, and may have celebrated with a little too much ouzo,” she confessed wryly. “That Sunday morning was a challenge.”

I dropped my head and stared at the table as I processed the fact that my sweet wife spent her birthday alone, drowning her sorrows with ouzo while I was across the country in a fucking strip club.

“Hey,” she said softly, covering my hand with hers. “That wasn’t meant to be a dig about my birthday.”

“I know that. I just feel so damned guilty. I’m sorry, sweetness. I still can’t believe I fucked up so badly.”

“I know, but we’re working to get past that. Let’s just focus on that for tonight. I don’t think I’m up for anymore deep introspection today.” One corner of her mouth tipped up in a half-smile, and I squeezed her hand lightly.

“You’re right. I feel that we should decide what to order.”

Her brow furrowed as she warned, “I don’t think that’s how those ‘I feel’ statements work.”

“Eh, so maybe I need some practice,” I shrugged, giving her a teasing wink.

After I ordered my ribeye, and Mel ordered souvlaki – they served it with both chicken and pork here – she told me about going out for enchiladas and margaritas with Jen last night, and about the supply snafu with the Godwin project.

“When she finished talking to the original suppliers, Neela slammed the phone down so hard I was afraid she’d break it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so angry. On the plus side, Jen and I learned some choice curse words in Hindi.”

I laughed, unable to picture mild-mannered Neela slamming phones or cursing.

Melanie decided she was too full for dessert, but I ordered her a piece of baklava to take with her back to the condo. As I held the door of the ‘Vette open for her, she shocked me by pressing a quick kiss to my cheek before sliding into the passenger seat.

I had a huge grin on my face as I rounded the hood and got in on the driver’s side. I started the car and took a moment to enjoy the powerful engine one last time.

“If you don’t have to rush back, I need to make a stop, and I’d love it if you would go with me.”

She glanced at me curiously, and I simply shrugged as I pulled out onto the main road. I drove a few miles away to the Ford dealership and when I swung into the lot, Melanie whipped her head around to stare at me. I got to the row of F-150 pickup trucks near the front, then slowly cruised by them all until I reached the one on the end, a gleaming, glossy black Lariat model with shiny chrome accents.

I stopped and got out, then opened Mel’s door. After a moment’s hesitation, she took the hand I offered and stepped out of the car, glancing around in bewilderment.

“What are we doing here?”

“I’m getting rid of the last vestige of my midlife crisis, sweets. I came here on my lunch hour today and test drove this one, then talked to a salesperson about trading in the Corvette.”

She couldn’t have looked more shocked if I’d stripped naked right there in the parking lot and started dancing a jig.

I waved her over to peer into the truck’s interior with me. “This is the same model I had before, only this one is the current year. Since I used the inheritance from Dad when I bought the ‘Vette, and it still has such low mileage, I can trade it in and get enough to pay for the truck outright and still have almost twenty thousand left over.”

“But you love that car,” she said, gesturing over her shoulder at it.

“I did. It’s a beautiful machine, but it has some pretty ugly memories associated with it now. Besides, I’ve been a truck guy all my life. Truth be told, it’s felt strange not to be able to haul things around like I used to. I could barely fit my golf clubs in the trunk on that thing.” I scoffed.

“I thought with the extra money, we could upgrade your SUV, too.”