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I nod my head and with one final wave, I walk out the door and head home.
When I walk in from the garage, I see Marco on the couch with his feet propped on the coffee table watching a race. I set my bag and keys down on the table and go plop down next to him causing us both to bounce and I giggle.
I snuggle under his arm and breathe, “Hey.”
“Hey.” He kisses my forehead. “How were the parties?”
“Exhausting. How was the class?”
“Dumb.”
I nod in understanding.
We both settle into a comfortable silence, his hand wrapped around my shoulder and my head on his chest. I pull out my phone from my legging pocket and begin to scroll while he watches the TV.
After a while, the rumbling of my stomach interrupts the quiet.
“Hungry?” he laughs.
“A little.” I shrug under him.
“Did you just want to get takeout delivered and watch something?”
I pause to weigh our options as he stares down at me with a raised eyebrow. Eventually, I say, “I can’t decide. I’m comfortable here on the couch and today was such a long day, but when do we ever get the chance to do anything together without having to worry about the kids?”
“Never,” he says, and I nod.
I can feel it in my bones, this moment is pivotal. My mother’s words run through my headit’s important. I think back to what Katherine said during therapy about hownotputting in the effort is the only mistake we can make. And here we are, after a long day and the choice to put our marriage first is right in front of us.
Staring into his awaiting eyes, I say, “Let’s do it. Let’s get dressed up and go to dinner.”
“I was thinking we could get dressed down.” His smirk intrigues me.
“Huh?” I tilt my head to the side to look up at him better.
“I’m taking you to the bowling alley.”
“The bowling alley? That’s your big date? You have me for one night and you want to take me bowling?” I elbow him lightly in the ribs causing him to gasp and then start chuckling.
“Yeah, but not to bowl. They have a pool table and an arcade with air hockey and basketball hoops and that dance thingy all the kids are doing. We could order greasy pizza and Ice cream after we play games, just like we used to. I think it would be fun. What do you say?”
Memories of when we were first dating flood through my mind. “Let’s do it!”
We both jump off the couch like giddy little kids running to see what Santa left us under the tree, and he smacks my tush as we make a beeline for our bedroom.
Chapter 18
Date Night
Ellie
Walkingintothebowlingalley, I’m immediately taken back to my college days. Back to when I had no cares in the world and the most important thing to me was sinking baskets and landing on big numbers so I could win cheap stuffed animals or dumb slinkies that I didn’t actually want in the first place. Marco and I used to love coming to this very bowling alley on twenty-five-cent Tuesdays with all the other poor college kids looking for a good time on a budget.
Marco grabs my hand with a cheesy smile. “What did I tell you? It’s going to be fun! Just like old times.”
But it’s not like old times, it’s so much better. Now when I look at my date, he’s the man I’ve shared the last sixteen years of my life with. The man who cherishes my heart in a way eighteen-year-old me could never have imagined.
I stand on my tippy toes to kiss him. “It’s way better, love. Now let’s go get our game cards so I can kick your ass all over this place.”
