She stepped into the room looking radiant, her cheeks flushed from the cold, and exclaimed, "It's absolutely beautiful out there! So crisp!"
"Cold again, huh?" He grimaced, making no effort to get out of bed as he looked longingly toward the window. "When is this winter ever going to end?"
"Never," she said. "I want it to stay exactly like this—frosty with that brilliant February sun shining down."
"Well, maybe the sun..." He shot her a suspicious look. "Why are you so chipper this morning, anyway?"
"It's not morning," she countered. "It's the afternoon."
"What afternoon? It's ten in the morning."
"Ten in the day."
"There you go, arguing with your husband again," he said sourly. "Seriously, why are you so happy?"
"Because everything worked out," she said, her tone thick with mystery.
"What worked out? Where were you?"
"First, get out of bed, please."
"Why? I'm comfortable here. I'm going to lounge for another hour or so, and then we'll have breakfast. Is breakfast even ready?"
"I know the bed is your favorite place in the world," she smirked, ignoring his question. "But get up anyway. I can't talk to you while you're lying down."
"Well, excuse me," he said dismissively. "Since when is this a rule? Why can't you talk?"
"Because I know you aren't going to like my happy news. But fine, if you want to stay there, stay there." She gave a nonchalant wave of her hand and began calmly pulling a rolling suitcase out of the closet.
"Whoa..." he said, startled. "A suitcase? Why do we need a suitcase?"
"Not 'we.' Me."
"And why do you need a suitcase?"
"I just do."
"Are you going somewhere?"
"I'll tell you when you get out of bed."
"Why do I have to stand up? Just say it, don't annoy me! Here we go again with the morning bickering. Just tell me."
"I can't."
"Why can't you?!"
"Because you don't hit a man when he's down, honey."
"What?" he stammered, caught off guard.
"It's an old saying. 'Don't hit a man when he's down.' Remember?"
"Right..." He finally pulled himself into a sitting position. "This is getting interesting. So your news is bad, then? What, are you going on a business trip? Your office has never sent you anywhere before."
"I'm leaving for good," she said, her voice almost melodic. "For good!"
"What?" He froze. "For good? Why for good?"
"Just because." She flashed another joyful smile. "While you were snuggling under the covers, I took a little trip down to the courthouse and filed for divorce. That's my happy news. Happy for me, at least. Probably for you too, though you haven't realized it yet. Now you can go back to sleep; I won't be bothering you anymore."
"Are you out of your mind?"
He couldn't believe his ears or his eyes. He felt a sudden urge to crawl back under the duvet, fall asleep, and wake up in a different reality—anywhere but here.
"You've lost it!" he repeated, more certain this time. "You're crazy, that's what you are! I've suspected it for a long time."
"Exactly," she nodded. "Your suspicions were correct."
She felt like bursting into song over the happiness that had finally found her, but she worried it would seem like she was mocking him.
"Explain this to me," he practically yelled. "What's gotten into you?!"
"Nothing but a little wake-up call. Honey, we've been strangers for a long time. Don't you see that?"
"So what if we have?" he suddenly conceded. "Fine, things have been tense lately... we're always snapping at each other. Something went wrong, sure, but we can move past it! Lots of couples go through this! Why file for divorce today? We should wait."
"But I don't want to move past it," she said brightly. "That tension you mentioned? It snapped last night. Something inside me just broke, and suddenly I felt light. Light and happy. And I ran to that courthouse with a very light heart."
"But why so sudden?"
"Things always break suddenly."
"But this is unpleasant for me," he started to whine like a child. "This hurts!"
"Then rub the sore spot; it'll go away." She smiled. "Better yet, get out from under that blanket, go outside, and smile at the sun. Everything will look different. Everything will be fine."
He kept a miserable silence, watching as she quickly but neatly packed her things into the suitcase.
"And where are you going to go?" he finally thought to ask.
She only shrugged in response.
"Is there someone else?" he asked again.
She shrugged again.
"Why aren't you answering me?" he asked sternly.
"What's the point?" She sat down on the closed suitcase. "Let's just have a moment of silence before I go... Oh, and one more thing. I want to say thank you, dear."
"For what?" he asked, bewildered.
"For those rare moments of happiness, and for your ruthless lessons. If it wasn't for you, I'd still be walking around with rose-colored glasses on. Well, I'm off..."
She stood up, took the handle of the suitcase, and rolled it toward the hallway as casually as if she were leaving for a weekend trip. In the hall, she quietly put on her light faux-fur coat and... gently clicked the door shut behind her.
And he remained there, sitting in his bed, thinking that everything that had just happened was surely nothing more than a bad dream.
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