Howard and Helen

Howard and his coffee mug....

"Helen, where's my mug?" Howard asked, as he searched through the kitchen cabinets.

"Where it always is. I don't use it. I make the coffee and the breakfast. Do I have to babysit your darn mug too?" Helen responded.

"I don't understand why you keep moving it. Every few mornings I can't find it. I have to search for it like I'm going on a treasure hunt."

"What did I just say? I don't move it. You just can't see. Every few mornings you accuse me of moving it and after looking through the kitchen cabinets five trillion times, you find it." She continued to scramble the eggs.

Helen looked over at him and shook her head. She put a portion of the eggs on a plate for him, next to the crispy applewood bacon she had fried. The toast popped up in the toaster. She buttered it lightly and spread peach preserves on both slices. By this time, Howard was pouring coffee into his mug. The same mug he had just accused Helen of moving.

She shook her head again.

"So, where'd I move it to this time?" Helen asked sarcastically, as she put his plate on the table.

"Hush Helen, " he mumbled, as he sat down at the kitchen table.

She made her plate, poured herself some grapefruit juice, and sat down across from Howard.

"Paula called me last night. She's having a dinner for Carl Saturday night."

"I suppose you told her we'd go," he said as he bit into his toast.

"Why wouldn't we? They're our friends. Our close friends, and besides it's for Carl's birthday. "

"That man sure is getting old," he said smirking.

"Really Howard?? You're the same age as Carl, " she said laughing.

"I'm still forty-nine. "

"You know you sound ridiculous, right?"

"I sound like a young and hung man."

Helen laughed.

"Why are you laughing? You weren't laughing last night, when I had those legs up in the air... were ya?"

"Shut up!" she said, holding back her laugh, "and chew your damn food up before you start talking. Talking shit with a mouth full of food. "

The conversation continued as they finished their breakfast. It was a sunny Sunday morning. The temperature was fair. They spent the remainder of the morning relaxing... and dozing off.

Helen and her cellphone....

"Howard, call my phone, " Helen yelled upstairs from the living room.

Howard shook his head.

"Ya can't find it, huh?" He yelled downstairs to her from their bedroom.

"Just call it Howard, damn."

He laughed, grabbed the phone in their room, and called her cell. She could hear it ringing, but couldn't tell exactly where.

The ringing stopped.

"Damn," she said with an annoyed look on her face.

"Call it again Howard," she yelled again.

"Helen you are really getting on my nerves with this phone. You had so much to say this morning about my mug, now look at ya. Can't find ya phone in ya own damn house."

He called it again. This time she could tell where it was coming from. She moved closer to the couch in the living room. It was there. Wedged in between the couch cushions. Just as she picked it up, the doorbell rang. It was Paula.

"Hey girl, " Helen said as she stepped out onto the front porch.

"I was on my way home and saw your car in the driveway. Thought I'd drop off these strawberries I got this morning from the fruit ranch over in Clancy. I had so many, I told Carl I'd bring you and Howard some."

"Well, we sure do appreciate it. We love some strawberries," Helen said smelling them.

They talked for about twenty more minutes. Helen went back in the house and put the strawberries on the counter in the kitchen.

Howard had gone outside on the patio, with a glass of lemonade. Helen washed the strawberries off, put them in a bowl and took them out to the patio. She and Howard sat out back and talked about life and some of their friends. They cracked a few jokes during the conversation and fed each other strawberries. The sun was beginning to set, and they stayed outside to watch the completion of a wonderful day.

Fast forward... Friday night...

"Glen told Lydia he was with me last night, " Howard said as he rubbed Helen's feet.

"So, in other words, he lied," Helen responded.

"Yep... big ole bold face lied. Apparently, we had drinks after work at that bar over on third and Delta Avenue. "

Helen shook her head.

"And Lydia believed him, didn't she?"

"Of course. It's a believable lie. It's not like we've never gone to happy hour after work."

"Yeah, but why did he lie, is what I wanna know. And I sure as hell don't wanna get mixed up in his bullshit."

"You?? He put me in his lie, not you."

"Yeah, but now I know, and if she ever brings it up in conversation, well... what am I supposed to say? Am I supposed to lie to my friend like her husband did? And you, what are you gonna say? It's obvious he was cheating."

Howard took a sip of his brandy.

"Helen, we don't know that he was cheating," he said.

Helen laughed.

"You can't be fucking serious Howard. Why else would his ass tell that damn lie??" Helen asked filled with frustration.

"Ok, ok... it's possible he was cheating."

"You just aren't going to fucking say it, are you Howard?"

Howard looked at Helen.

"We need to stop talking about it. I know I brought it up, but we are sitting here going back and forth about this shit. It's really not our business."

Helen agreed. It wasn't their business.

"I know something though," Howard said.

"What? What do you know?" Helen asked laughing slightly.

"I know that I love you. Twenty years and three children later, I love you even more now. And I'm still in love with my best friend."

He kissed her hand. She smiled.

"I wouldn't trade you for all the chocolate in Belgium," Helen said still smiling.

He kissed her again, this time on the lips.

"Now, for a few million dollars, I'd make some calls... See how we go about making that happen," she said laughing.

Howard laughed too. Then he smacked her on her ass and kissed her forehead.

They talked about the dinner party for Paul and a thousand other things. They were grateful for having such good friends, close ones. Friends, that like them, had also married... their best friends.

When your best friend happens to be your spouse, the love shared between you is a bonus. It makes it worth the effort.