Pearl sat curled up on the couch in the living room, wrapped up in her favourite comfy blanket with some sheet music in her lap. She had to learn this composition in time for her recital next week. It was her first violin solo in the orchestra and she was incredibly nervous about it.
She looked up and smiled when she heard the sound of the key in the lock and the front door swinging open. That was her favourite sound in the world; the sound of her husband coming home to her.
“Pearl, honey? You home?” Damien’s voice echoed through the house. She heard the clink of keys being dropped in the little dish they kept on the accent table by the front door.
“In the living room!” she answered. Her whole face lit up when he walked into the room. People kept telling her it was just the honeymoon phase; that eventually, marriage would become ordinary and boring and those butterflies that fluttered in her stomach whenever she saw him would go away. She hoped that wasn’t true. How heartbreaking to take a love like this for granted. She couldn’t imagine taking Damien for granted. He made her feel safe and listened to, even when she wasn’t brave enough to speak her mind. She was trying to work on that.
Damien leaned down and gave his wife a long kiss that made Pearl’s cheeks go scarlet. She smiled and touched his cheek, taking in every feature of his handsome face. “How was work?” she asked him.
“Oh you know, same old space stuff,” he said but he was smiling. Pearl knew he loved his job at the space station. He was working hard to become a full-fledged astronaut one day. She was so proud of him… but also so scared to be without him for so long when his dream came true. She didn’t tell him that last part, though. “Not nearly as exciting as the surprise I have for you,” Damien added with a little wink.
“A surprise?” Pearl laughed. “But you’re always surprising me. Our trip to Sulani, that weekend spa getaway, all those nice dinners, the diamond necklace…” she started to list off all the things she could remember in just the last three months alone.
“What can I say? I like spoiling my sweet, kind, smart, talented wife,” he said and kissed her forehead. “And beautiful, too, but that goes without saying,” he added. “So. How does a night of dancing and champagne at my company’s charity ball sound to you? You can take my credit card and go shopping for whatever designer dress you want. I’ll rent a limo. We can stay in a five star suite for the evening. Sound fun?”
“O-Oh um… when is that happening?” Pearl asked tentatively.
“Next week. Saturday evening.”
Pearl’s face fell. “That’s the night of my recital, Damien…”
“Really? I thought the recital was Sunday.”
Pearl shook her head. “But… if you really want to go to the charity ball… I know my second has been really wanting a violin solo, so–”
It was so easy to just agree and do what someone else wanted to do. It avoided arguments and kept everyone happy. Everyone except Pearl. She’d worked so hard to get that violin solo. She had calluses on her fingers from holding her bow for hours on end every single day. This was finally her big moment to share her gift with the world. The thought of throwing it away on a dress she’ll only wear once and champagne she didn’t even like made her eyes well up with heartbroken tears. She couldn’t just go along with what someone else wanted. Not this time.
“Pearl–” Damien started.
“Damien.” Pearl cut him off. She set her sheet music aside and leaned forward, clasping his hands in hers. “I love you so much. And I love that you always want to do such wonderful things for me. You make me feel so special and important.”
“Because you are special. You are important.” He squeezed her hands and she gave him a misty-eyed smile.
“And I believe you when you tell me that. It’s not easy to make me believe those things about myself, but you do and I love you for it.” She took a deep breath. “But the thing is, Damien… I don’t really… like lavish, expensive things…” she said haltingly. She knew she was always safe to speak her mind with Damien, but it was a skill she was very unpracticed at and it didn’t come easy to her. “I appreciate them and I’m grateful for them but I just don’t… like them… all that much.”
Damien sighed and touched his wife’s chin. “Oh, Pearl…”
“Please Damien, let me finish,” she said. If she was interrupted, she might lose her nerve and end up crying at a charity ball next week. “The fancy restaurants, the nice hotels, these big lavish events… I’m not used to that lifestyle. I grew up bouncing around from one rundown apartment to the next in bad neighbourhoods where my mom was scared to let me walk to school by myself. I just feel so… awkward and out of place in designer ball gowns talking to people who’ll never know what that’s like, Damien,” she said quietly, looking down at her lap. “I get so anxious about whether I’m acting the right way or saying the right things around those people… whether I’m doing a convincing enough job of pretending I belong that I can’t enjoy myself at all. I just go along with those things because I know it makes you happy. We can go to a charity ball if that’s what you want… but not the night of my recital. I’m sorry. It’s really, really important to me, Damien…”
“Pearl…” Her husband gently lifted her chin to look him in the eyes. “I was going to say I’m sorry for getting the dates mixed up. I never would have made those plans if I thought your recital was the same night. I know how important it is to you, I’d never ask you to skip it. Especially not for some stupid charity ball. We’re going to your recital on Saturday night and I’m going to be there to watch you shine. Okay?”
Pearl blinked back relieved tears and nodded. “Okay. Thank you,” she said in a tiny voice.
Her husband pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. “And I’m sorry I’ve been putting you in uncomfortable situations without realising it,” he murmured against her hair. “I just know how hard your childhood was and I want to make sure you never struggle like that again. I want you to have everything you want in life, Pearl. You deserve everything I can give you and more.”
“Damien… Everything I want in life is right here. It’s you. Just you.”
He pulled away so he could look at his wife’s beautiful face. He placed a palm against her cheek and she smiled and closed her eyes, leaning into it. “I still want to spoil you, though. So what do you want to do next Sunday? After your recital?”
“Hmmm…” Pearl thought about it for a moment. “I haven’t gone bowling since I was a kid on a school trip. And I’ve been craving bubble tea lately. Bowling and bubble tea?” she suggested.
He smiled and kissed her. “It’s a date, beautiful.”
Snarky Sims 