My name is Nick. When I was on my way home from a three-day work trip, I felt good about finally kicking off my shoes and relaxing with my wife’s fried chicken. It was the dish that I had been craving since leaving home.
As usual, the drive back to our little town was quiet, and I was just going over my mental checklist of things I needed to do by the end of the weekend. I needed to finish a work project, schedule a meeting with new investors, and check in with a few junior workers who were scheduled for their performance reviews.
At that moment, I passed by the diner named Kate’s Diner – one of those small-town spots where the regulars walk in and the waitresses already know who you are and what you’re going to order. Kate, my wife, runs the place, and she’s known for her quirky messages on the big sign out front.
Usually, it’s something like “Best Burgers in Town, Babe!” or “Try our Famous Pancakes, We Dare You!” or even, “Sugar, Honey, Honey, Half-Priced Waffles Today!”
But today? I almost drove into a telephone pole while glancing at the message on the sign.
Nick, I know what you did. Don’t bother coming home. – Kate.
I slammed on the brakes, and stared at the sign for a second, thinking I was hallucinating.
“What the hell, Kate?” I said to myself.
I pulled over. What was Kate on about? Had something happened while I was away? I hadn’t done anything wrong, at least, not that I knew of. But there it was, plain as day for the whole town to see.
Nick, I know what you did…
Great. Everyone in town had probably seen the sign by now. Small towns really don’t need much to set off a gossip wildfire, and this was practically pouring gasoline on the flames.
I pressed down hard on the gas pedal and headed home. My mind raced through every interaction I’d had in the past week. I hadn’t even been here for three days!
But that message?
It wasn’t just some inside joke.
Kate was pissed but she wouldn’t jeopardize her diner’s reputation over something stupid. It was late, usually when Kate would leave the evening staff at the diner and head home to recharge for the next day.
“Here goes nothing,” I said, parking the car in the garage, getting ready to face whatever situation I was walking into.
There she was, my wife, sitting at the kitchen table, a slice of toast in front of her, arms crossed, with this ice-cold look in her eyes.
It was like I was a stranger to her. She treated her customers much warmer than this. And that stung me more than anything.
“What’s going on, Kate? What’s with the sign?” I asked, trying to keep calm, even though I was completely freaking out.
Initially, my wife didn’t say anything. Instead, she slid a piece of paper across the table like it was evidence in a murder trial. And pointed to the bouquet of red roses on the counter.
I picked it up, curious to see how a piece of paper could have changed so much.
It was a handwritten note on a card, attached to a receipt for a dozen roses.
Thank you for a wonderful night, love. I can’t wait to see you again.
“What on earth is this?” I asked, completely baffled.
“You tell me,” she snapped, her voice sharp and almost unrecognizable. “So, who is the lucky girl, Nick?”
I felt disoriented.
“I didn’t send these! Kate, really?” I exclaimed. “I’ve been out of town. Why would I even…”
“Don’t lie, Nick!” she shouted, standing up from her chair. “These were delivered while you were gone. You must’ve gotten sloppy, Nick. I can’t believe you’d throw our 10 years away for some fleeting affair like this.”
I stared at Kate, speechless. At that point, I couldn’t see my wife, I couldn’t see the woman I had married.
How could I?
This woman thought that I was che:at:ing on her. My stomach twisted as I tried to understand and piece this mess together. Flowers? A note? I hadn’t sent any of those things!
But as much as I tried to explain it all, Kate was too far gone to listen.
“Kate,” I said. “I need you to listen to me.”
“I don’t want to!” she shouted, tears streaming down her face.
I ran my hands through my hair, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. And then, in the middle of my mental exhaustion, something caught my eye.
The address on the receipt wasn’t quite right. The area was ours, but the delivery address was wrong. It was off by a few digits. Same street, wrong house number.
I held up the receipt.
“Kate, look at this. It’s not even our address. This must’ve been for someone else.”
My wife blinked, her anger faltering for a second.
“What?” she whispered.
“We live at 243 Maple, right?” I asked slowly, as if talking to a child.
She nodded.
“This says 241. These flowers are for someone else, Kate.”
She snatched the receipt from my hand, her eyes scanning it furiously. Her face flushed red as the reality of her mistake dawned on her.
“No…” she muttered, sinking back into her chair. “No, no, no… Nick, I’m sorry.”
I ignored her for a while. I needed to make sure. I grabbed my phone and called the florist’s number on the receipt, trying to get to the bottom of this mess before the end of the business day.
“I’m sorry, sir,” a woman said. “But I can’t give out that information.”
“I’m not asking for names, ma’am,” I said, trying to be as diplomatic as possible. “Please just confirm the address on your side. If there has been a mix-up, which is what it appears to be, your delivery man needs to fix this. The flowers belong to someone else.”
“Yes, I understand what you’re saying…” she said, her voice trailing off as I heard her clicking away at the computer.
“You’re right, sir,” she said. “241 Maple. I’ll fix this immediately. I apologize for the inconvenience.”
The flowers had been sent to a woman down the street, an innocent mix-up by the delivery driver.
The note? Not mine. The roses? Not mine.
Kate sat there, wide-eyed and mortified. She stared down at the table, not knowing what to say.
“Nick, I… I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I thought that… Nick…”
She couldn’t even finish the sentence.
I felt the exhaustion of driving all day hit me. But it was more than just that. My wife had just publicly accused me of ch:eat:ing in front of the entire town, and all because of a wrong address.
I sighed.
“Kate,” I said quietly. “You put up a sign, babe. At the diner, even. A huge sign. I mean…”
Her eyes widened in horror.
“Oh my goodness,” she said. “The sign! I was just so hurt, Nick. I didn’t stop to think. And you know, Jeremy just cheated on my sister. It’s all so fresh in my head.”
By now, half the town had probably seen it, and the other half was probably hearing about it from someone else. There was no erasing that kind of spectacle.
“I’ll take it down,” she said. “I’m so sorry, Nick. Why don’t you take a shower and then meet me at the diner for dinner?”
I gave her a small smile and nodded.
She left, and I got into the shower, washing off the day’s drama. I didn’t want to go to the diner, I wanted to crawl into bed. But if I didn’t, Kate would take that as a message, too. I didn’t know what I wanted to do next, but I didn’t want to give up on us yet.
I was just struggling with it all.
By the time I arrived at the diner, the sign had been replaced with:
It’s Always A Good Time For Milkshakes, Now With Extra Apology Sprinkles!
Look, it was a decent attempt, but…
“You’re here,” Kate said, her face lighting up as I walked in. “Fried chicken?”
I nodded and sat down at my favorite booth.
That night, we sat down together and talked it all out. The embarrassment, the hurt, and the fact that Kate had been ready to throw our whole marriage away because of a misunderstanding.
Kate apologized many times, and while I accepted, I made sure she understood how much her lack of trust stung.