Every Word Is True

If he stood here in the CVS aisle any longer Will figured he might start growing roots. He’d been staring at the greeting cards for what felt like hours and nothing was feeling right. He glanced down at his watch. 3:38. Shoot. Got to be home in 20 to start the dinner. It was Melanie’s birthday today and he had planned the menu himself, even gone to the Piggly Wiggly for the ingredients. He’d just about walked himself in circles trying to find smoked paprika, but he finally got everything he needed. He wasn’t a great cook, but he’d found a recipe that looked easy enough. The birthday gift was in the mail, now he just needed a dang card.

Will was a simple man. He owned it. One time Melanie’s starch-shirt brother had taken them to this fancy upscale restaurant to celebrate their pregnancy, and he’d tried to get a Bud Light from the bar while they waited for their table. The haughty little cattail of a bartender had rolled her eyes and snorted. “God, no,” she’d sniffed. “We only serve craft beers.” Will had never heard of a craft beer before. He figured it wasn’t the time to ask. He left the bar quickly and told the others what had happened. Melanie’s brother had roared with laughter and slapped Will to the back. “Bud Light, really? You want me to ask if they can cut the crusts off your sandwich too?”

Melanie didn’t laugh. “Shut up, Grant,” she said to her brother. “What an asshole. I’ll tell you what we’re doing. Grant, go tell the hostess we’re sitting at the bar tonight. No, do it! I hope to God she tries something like that again.”

The bartender pretended not to notice them for a while after they sat down. Finally, she moved slowly over to them to take their orders. Will asked for a steak and figured he’d get a baked potato with it. Before he even finished his request, though, the bartender had given an airy little scream. “God, a baked potato? Your steak will come with roasted rosemary-studded Russet coins. This isn’t Chili’s.”

Will was a melting butter pat. He looked down at the floor, hoping for a crack to appear and swallow him up. He looked up again when he heard his wife’s voice, though.

“I’m sorry, what’s your name?” Melanie asked. Her voice was like stepping into a walk-in freezer. Will felt his breath catch in his throat, and she wasn’t even talking to him.

The bartender raised her eyebrows. “Cleo.”

“Of course it is,” Melanie said. “Now tell me, Cleo, do these roasted rosemary-studded Russet coins start as frozen potatoes? Are you sprinkling dried rosemary into an Ore-Ida bag?”

The bartender’s eyes widened dramatically. “I can’t,” she squeaked. “I just can’t. Jesus take the wheel. Ma’am, these potatoes are sourced to a local organic farm in Cedarville and delivered every Monday. Each day, we cut up the ones we need and our nationally-recognized chef cooks each batch to perfection when they’re ordered.” She put her hand on her hip. “Now, is there anything else about our potatoes you would like to know? I live to serve.”

Melanie’s eyes narrowed. She put her hands on the bar. “Just one thing. If you get a delivery of a week’s worth of potatoes on Monday, and you only cut up what you need for each day, and today is Saturday, then surely there are whole potatoes waiting to be cut up for Sunday’s diners. And surely your nationally-recognized chef knows how to bake a potato. So tell me, Cleo, if it isn’t too much for you, might you have the ability to ask the chef if he can spare a potato from a sliced fate so my husband can have a baked potato with his steak?” She glared at the bartender, arms crossed.

The bartender held out for a few seconds, then wilted. Stiffly, she said, “I’ll check,” and marched into the kitchen.

Will got his baked potato. He had spent the whole evening sneaking awed glances at his wife. She barely broke 5 feet tall, but she seemed like a giant tonight.

“Sir?” A voice broke in on him. He started and peered around him. A teenaged CVS attendant was staring at him. “Can I help you with anything?” She looked wary.

“Oh, ah, no, sorry. Thanks,” Will stammered. She moved along but still seemed to be watching him. Will picked up a card to try to make himself look normal and non-threatening. What he wanted was a card that could express how he’d felt for Melanie at the restaurant that night, that glorious mixture of pride, admiration, and fierce love. The way he’d felt at the hospital watching her push screaming life into his trembling arms. He knew she pushed life into him each and every day just with her smile, the light in her eyes.

He knew he’d never to be able to write that on a card. It’d come out jumbled, a child’s incoherent babble. He sighed and pushed his ballcap back, then glanced down at his watch. 3:47. He swore under his breath. He needed to leave now to have a hope of getting home on time to have dinner ready by 6. He shot his hand out and took a card, opened it, scanned it, then started walking towards the check-out. It felt like one of those carnival games where you navigate the claw to grab a prize. I hope I got the teddy bear, he thought.

At the dinner table that night, Melanie shook her head. “Babe, that chicken was the best you’ve ever made. So moist, so tender. And that corn! I could eat that every day.”

Will felt a grin split his face. “Well, I had a good recipe. It ain’t that hard if you just follow the directions.” He took their plates into their kitchen, strutting a little. He’d been a little over his head in the kitchen. Dinner had been 20 minutes later than he wanted, and the rice hadn’t gotten puffy and soft like the recipe said it should. Melanie hadn’t cared, though. She’d savored each bite in between wide smiles.

Will came back into the dining room, holding an envelope. “So, your present won’t be here until next week, unfortunately. Dang Amazon, what can you do, right? But I got you this for today.” He thrust the envelope into her hands.

“Aw, babe, thanks!” Melanie said. She opened the envelope, picked up the card, and started reading aloud:

You’ve been right here beside me

Each step that I have made

And through the tears and lightning

We’ve never gone astray

You’re all I’ve ever wanted

My life you have made new

I walk through life undaunted

Because I am with you

I keep you in my heart, dear

The safest place I know

I keep you in my heart, here

You’ll never be alone

Then, she read, Every word in this card is true. Happy birthday! Love, Will

Will was looking at the floor as his wife read the card. He felt a little awkward hearing it out loud, he didn’t know why. When it was over he looked up at Melanie.

Her eyes were shining with tears. She blinked a few times and spoke in a small, quivery voice, “Do you … do you mean it, Will?”

Will felt tears start in his own eyes. He nodded quickly. “Every word.” He walked over to Melanie, raised her to her feet, and held her close. He hummed a simple melody as they held one another, slow-dancing their way across the dining room.