It started as a harmless routine. My wife would dress up for her “girls-only dinners” once a month. The routine began just six months into our marriage, and she considered this event as a essential way to stay connected with her friends.
“It’s important to have some girl time,”
“You don’t mind, do you?”
“Of course not,” I replied, genuinely supportive.
Over the years, though, the dinners become strange.
Not because of the routine itself but the way she approached it. Her preparations seemed more complicated than necessary.
“Isn’t that dress a bit much for nachos and margaritas?” I teased one evening as I watched her zip up a sleek black dress that hugged her figure.
She smirked in the mirror.
“You don’t get it. Women like to dress up, even if it’s just for each other.”
I didn’t think much of it until last week, when a single text unraveled everything.
While she was at her “girls-only dinner,” my phone buzzed. The message made me cold.
“I know you don’t care about our traditional family dinners, but your wife’s little brother drew this for you.” The message was from my mother-in-law.
Traditional family dinners? That didn’t make sense. Attached to the text was a photo. At first glance, it seemed innocent enough—her little brother, Sam, holding a messy crayon drawing. But my attention wasn’t on Sam.
It was on the scene behind him.
There, at a long dining table, was my wife.
What is going on?
I wanted answers, but asking her mom felt… wrong. So I waited.
When my wife came home that night, she acted as though everything was perfectly normal.
“Dinner was great,” she said as she set her purse on the counter.
“Oh, these girls! We talked for hours.” She laughed.
“What did you eat?” I asked, trying to keep my tone casual.
“Oh, some Italian place downtown. You’d hate it—too much pesto!” She chuckled and went off to the bedroom.
The next morning, after she left for work, I stared at my phone before finally calling up my mother-in-law.
“Hi, sweetheart! Did you see the picture? Isn’t it adorable?”
“Yeah, I got it. But… what traditional family dinners?”
“Oh, you know, the monthly dinners. Your wife told us years ago you didn’t like family gatherings, so she started coming alone.”
“She said what?”
“I— I didn’t realize you didn’t know,” my mother-in-law stammered. “I’m so sorry.”
I forced calm into my voice. “It’s fine. Just let me know when the next one is, okay?”
“Of course,” she said.
The day arrived, and my wife left as usual, dressed impeccably and flashing a confident smile.
I waited twenty minutes before grabbing my keys and heading to her parents’ house.
When I walked in, all members turned toward me.
“Hey, everyone,” I said.
“I heard you were having one of your traditional family dinners and thought I’d stop by.”
“Can we talk outside?” she whispered.
“I’m so sorry,” she sobbed, burying her face in her hands.
“I never meant for it to go this far.”
“Why would you lie to me? To them?” I demanded, my voice cracking.
“I’ve always been invisible in my family. They favored my brothers, my friends—anyone but me. But when I introduced you, they adored you. Suddenly, I wasn’t enough. They talked about you constantly, and I felt like I was disappearing again. So, I told them you hated family gatherings. I thought it would make them focus on me for once.”
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” I asked, “You made me the bad guy. To your entire family.”
She sobbed harder. “I know. I wasn’t thinking straight. I just… wanted to matter.”
“You need to tell them the truth,” I said finally. “That’s the only way we fix this.”
Finally, she tearfully shared everything.
Now, those family dinners happen at our house. We have new tradditional dinner.
“Thank you,” she buzzed. “Thank you for not giving up on me.”
