Daniel came home early one Friday and immediately knew something was wrong.
His wife, Melissa, was in their bedroom pulling dresses from the closet and folding them into a large suitcase.
“Are you going somewhere?” he asked.
Melissa barely looked up.
“Reno.”
Daniel stared at her.
They had been married for twelve years. She had never mentioned a trip.
Then Melissa explained that during a recent girls’ weekend, someone had jokingly told her she could make hundreds of dollars doing something she had been doing for Daniel at home for years without getting paid.
She said the idea had stuck with her.
“I’m tired of giving away my talents for free,” she added dramatically.
Daniel stood silent for several seconds.
Then, without arguing, he walked to the closet and pulled down his own suitcase.
Melissa stopped packing.
“What exactly are you doing?”
“Coming with you.”
Her eyebrows shot up.
“Why?”
Daniel zipped his bag halfway and smiled.
“If somebody is willing to pay that much for what I’ve been getting at home, I want to see how you plan to live on fifty bucks a year.”
Melissa stared at him.
Then she burst out laughing so hard she had to sit on the bed.
Daniel started laughing too.
The suitcase was eventually unpacked.
The Reno trip never happened.
But for months afterward, anytime Melissa complained about money, Daniel would casually ask whether her “new career” was still hiring.
