Planes by Peter C Baker

Author:Peter C Baker [Baker, Peter C]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published: 2022-05-30T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

—

“Oh my,” says Sheri. “Wow.”

“You like it?”

“What’s the occasion?”

“Who says I need an occasion? It’s for you. To celebrate you.” He means it. He knows he also bought the necklace for other reasons—for himself, essentially—but he doesn’t think this truth is mutually exclusive with the truth that he bought it because he loves his wife. As she takes the necklace out of its box and tries it on, shaking her neck and shoulders to make sure it settles where it’s going to settle, he gets to see multiple eras of her good looks playing like a flipbook—flipping now forward, now back—across her face, together forming one beautiful expression of surprised delight.

“I actually had my eye on this one,” she says.

“I know.” He explains: his lost keys, her desk, the clipping.

Her face darkens.

“What’s wrong?” he says.

“Nothing—but you know, I didn’t put it there so you would—”

“Of course not.”

“I wasn’t trying—”

“No, no.”

“I would hate it if you thought—”

“No, I was just looking for my keys.”

“You promise?”

“Of course I promise. I can’t even imagine you thinking like that. Come on.” He starts humming, improvising something like a waltz, humming louder and louder. He grabs his wife and dances her around the kitchen, fast enough and for long enough that when they stop they’re breathing hard.

“Well,” she says. “Thank you.”

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