Good Day

Today was a good day. My parents were in town and they stopped by to visit. Heather and I met them at the door and it felt so picturesque. We don't live in the suburbs or anything, just another census mark in a small midwest town. That didn't keep Heather from smiling at my parents and giving them all the gracious welcomes and “excuse the mess” commentaries.

I had spent all day picking up the house to make it presentable, obviously, but that is what you say when you have company over. Her eyes sparkled when she said it and she just looked so beautiful. It could have been a scene of the Stepford Wives of something; it just looked so perfect.

Anyway, my parents came in and got situated. Mom sat down on the couch while she finished putting away her cigarettes. She had smoked on the sidewalk because she knows we don't allow smoking inside. Heather has asthma so we can't put her at risk, after all. Of course, someone sitting on the couch summoned the Twenty-three Pound Terror into the room to say hello to her favorite visitor.

Tipsy may have only been half weiner dog, but her tail was always a whirlwind of excitement to see Mom. Before she had moved out west to be closer to Dad and his job, Mom had been a regular sight, along with whatever peanut butter dog treat she could find at the store that week. Tipsy had never forgotten, even if Mom had stopped keeping the supply on hand.

Heather took the opportunity to launch into several stories about Tipsy's delightful antics. Mom spent most of the time keeping the dog out of her face and probably only heard a fraction of the stories Heather told, but Heather really did love that dog.

“We all know I am married to Evan for the pets,” she said in between stories.

Dad stopped in the archway to the dining room and pulled up the black metal framed chair he had left last year. It was a good sturdy chair and Dad has been putting on a lot of weight since his diabetes kicked up. He wanted to make sure he wasn't risking the furniture Heather had picked out for us.

Dad was almost sat down when we heard the soft thud and delicate protest of effort from the nearby bathroom. In trotted our cat, who had descended from her window perch to see what the fuss was about. Being a cat lover himself, Dad changed directions and scooped up the black and orange fluff we called Friday. Then he sat down to pet the cat, calling up a nice backdrop of content purring.

Heather paused a story about Tipsy falling off the bed to look at me.

“Tell your Dad about the flirt pole I bought Friday and how much she adores it! So cute!”

I proceeded to describe the multicolored ribbon toy and how it was nice to see Friday getting more exercise. Dad patiently turned the subject to talk about some of our favorite video games. He joked that Mom didn't see much of him when the new RPG had come out, but after 40 years they had learned to figure that stuff out.

Of course, I had to apologize for not having gotten further in the game myself. Although we had bought it around the same time, Heather had been pretty attentive about making sure I got plenty of sleep to rest up for work, so I hadn't taken as much game time as I might have liked.

“Gotta keep that money rolling in,” she had inserted from over my shoulder. She laughed like it was the funniest little joke.

I have to admit, while some people find her laugh too loud, I love the sound of it. It's so full of life. Besides, if she is going to be raising her voice, isn't it better to be laughing than yelling?

Anyway, that did switch the conversation to work for a bit. The concrete plant where Dad works is doing okay, though there was always talk of mergers in the future. Overall, he and Mom were comfortable, though they wished they were closer to me and my siblings.

I admitted that my latest factory job had been a rough switch, but that I was enjoying the work after a few months and had some fantastic coworkers. Dad was glad to hear I had solid support.

I know he worries about the fact that my brother and my sister don't keep in touch much any more. It has kind of left me with just work and then back home with Heather. Our kids were grown and moved out now and they didn't visit much either.

I just reminded him that I had only been married half as long as they had and if they could be so awesome still, then I knew I could do the same. He just smiled at me and handed me my cat. He looked a little sad, but he was probably just tired. Road trips like this were always rough on them.

Dad stood up and made a fair bit of noise in doing so. Part of that had been old joints and war wounds protesting, but the rest of it had been a wordless signal to Mom that they had places to be and other people to see.

Mom unburied herself from Tipsy's tail attacks and dragged herself up off the couch. They had only been here for like an hour, but they really made it look like they had gotten so settled that it was a monumental effort to get moving again.

Heather thanked them repeatedly for stopping by and letting her talk their ear off. I had just given each of them a hug and told them I loved them. Those hugs always seemed to take a little longer after each visit.

We walked with them out onto the front porch. Dad started to suggest he take some pictures before they got moving, but I reminded him that Heather didn't like cameras. He nodded and put his phone in his pocket. Then he walked down the sidewalk toward his truck. Mom gave me one more hug.

“Well, where's mine?” Heather asked, sounding playfully heartbroken.

Mom just chuckled, but did stop and give Heather a quick hug. Then she was down the stairs and walking away. Dad stood there patiently holding the passenger side door open and offering Mom a hand as she climbed in.

Tipsy barked from the other side of the front door and whimpered. She hated it when Heather wasn't home, even if that just meant stepping outside for a minute.

“I know, sweetie, Mommy will be in in just a minute and we will go snuggle up, I promise.”

Heather's words may not have completely calmed the dog, but the sound of her voice at least stopped the barking for a moment.

Once Mom was secure in the truck, Dad closed the door and walked around to his side. He looked back and gave me a wave just before he climbed in himself. Despite being a newer truck, I could hear the frame shift when he sat down. I reminded myself that I needed to be more active so that I didn't start gaining weight the way he had. Between work and sleep, however, there hadn't been much chance for exercise.

A moment later, Mom and Dad drove away while Heather and I waved after them. We went back inside where Tipsy jumped around nervously. Friday, in contrast, sat on the back of the couch looking like she was waiting for all the noise to stop.

“Well, that was nice,” I said.

“Sure. Always good to catch up.”

There was a moment of silence while Heather got Tipsy to settle down.

“Evening is still young,” I finally said, “What do you want to do now?”

Personally, it seemed like a good night to use some of the social energy we had just whipped up and hang out. I imagined playing a couple board games together while we listened to a comedy special. We had always both been good at Scrabble. And while I would have loved a good game of Trivial Pursuit, Heather preferred Monopoly, which she normally won, of course.

“You don't work tonight, right?”

“Nope.”

She let out a heavy sigh. My gut tightened. I wasn't going to be playing games tonight.

“You know, my social meter is kind of low after that. You may not work, but you haven't been sleeping well. Maybe you should lay down and try to catch up on sleep. I'll make sure Tipsy doesn't bother you. Just make sure you take her outside to potty real quick before you lay down.”

So, while Heather went to the bedroom to change out of the nice clothes she had just put on a couple hours before, I put the leash on Tipsy and walked her around the yard. Once she had finished her business, I took her inside and gave her the treats Heather had ordered for her. Then I made sure to put Friday's wet food out and into the cute little bowl Heather had found online.

It often occurred to me that while Heather may not have a job, she was certainly a proficient shopper. I often joked to my coworkers on payday that she would have my paycheck spent before it had even hit the bank.

Anyway, once Tipsy was done with her treat, I led her to the bedroom. She rushed in and jumped on the bed to give Heather kisses and brag about what a good girl she had been. In between sloppy kisses, Heather made sure to point to the ear bud on her left ear. She was already on the phone with her friend from Alabama.

I nodded my understanding and quietly told her good night and that I loved her.

“And I love this precious baby!”

Heather gave me a look, almost daring me to comment. I said nothing. I heard her laugh again as I headed back to the living room. I was glad she was so happy. That's what marriage is about, right? Making sure your wife stayed happy.

I turned off the lights and curled up in the corner of the couch against the wall.

“Don't forget your machine!” Heather hollered from across the house, “Don’t need you waking up the neighborhood with your snoring!”

She was right, of course. So I made sure to unravel my CPAP from where it was tucked into the side table beside the couch. Once I was all masked up and the dull hiss of forced air filled the room, I closed my eyes to think back on the day.

Sure, it had been a hassle and a bit of a fight to get Heather to agree to have Mom and Dad stop by. Sure, it had been painful and chaotic trying to clean things up to the standard that Heather agreed was acceptable for the company. Sure, the visit hadn't been very long.

At the end of the day though, Mom and Dad had still managed to pop in for a visit. That made it a good day. Right?