Husband’s mystery chore revealed

I guessed wrong.

I’ll start with that.

At least now I can share the rest of the story I was telling you last week as I was heading home from a business trip.

I told you how Husband had expressed how much he was missing me over this four-day trip.

So much so that he told me he had completed a chore I had long wanted him to do.

Part of his “fun” was not telling me exactly what he had done.

I made it home late Monday evening. Completely exhausted, I collapsed into bed. Just as my eyelids were about to slam shut, I popped up and I forced them open.

“What was the surprise chore?” I exclaimed.

“Oh, you’ll have to discover it yourself,” Husband said, drawing out this game as long as possible.

“You drilled hooks and hung all the drills and mops downstairs so that they’re not just laying around like Lincoln Logs,” I said confident in the way Husband must’ve expressed his love for me.

“That’s a great guess!” he said. “And it’s not correct.”

“You changed the hard-to-reach lightbulbs in our closet!”

“Wrong again,” he replied.

“You burned the pile of cardboard boxes from the new furniture we ordered?”

“Nope.”

“You figured out how we could make our one TV work?”

“Now, you’re making me feel bad about all the things I did not do,” he said deflating a bit.

I jumped out of bed with a second wind determined to discover the surprise. “Let’s play ‘Hotter-Colder,’” I insisted. “Let me know if I’m getting closer to the surprise as I move about the house.”

“I’ll just tell you,” Husband stopped me. “Because the chore happened outside and you won’t see it in the pitch dark night.”

That’s when Husband explained he had moved a huge shipment of tile from our side driveway.

It had been sitting there for more than six months. It’s leftover from the bathroom renovation project. The tile supplier accidently delivered twice as much tile as I purchased. When I called for them to come pick it up, they insisted it was easier for us to just keep it.

Easier for them that is. For us? It has sat there so long it became like its own piece of furniture in the driveway just begging for other things to get piled on top of it. Paint cans, garden tools, cardboard waiting to be recycled. It has hosted all of it and more.

Honestly, it bothered Husband more than it bothered me.

Though I do have to say, now that he has hauled it all over to a storage shed on the adjoining property, the side of our house does look much better.

You can bet I let Husband know how much I appreciate him and his thoughtfulness.

So, is it the chore I would’ve picked first?

Between you and me, Dear Reader, probably not.

Not to worry. My next work trip is only a few weeks away.

Daryn Kagan is the author of the book “Hope Possible: A Network News Anchor’s Thoughts On Losing Her Job, Finding Love, A New Career, And My Dog, Always My Dog.” Email her at Daryn@darynkagan.com.

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