When Spouses Surprise Us

It was an amazing message to receive from my husband, with almost historic significance. I looked at my phone in shock. Was this a mistake? But no, it had come from Randy. I stared a few more moments, at a missive I’d never received in over forty years of marriage.

“I’ll make dinner tomorrow night.”

I’ve learned a funny thing about Randy over the past several years. Sometimes he’ll crave a certain meal, usually a fancy one. Like for Christmas, he enjoys a prime rib roasted with root vegetables and a special blue cheese salad on the side. In summer he loves soft shell crabs sauteed in butter and white wine with lemon and capers. Other times, he needs scallops cooked a certain way over rice.

Unfortunately, although I’m competent in the kitchen, I’m also basic and limited. Creativity with food is not my forte. So Randy, out of necessity, has learned to make these meals himself. And I must admit, he does a good job.

What made this recent text so exciting was that it was about Randy cooking the next day. Usually, I know weeks in advance he has a hankering for the kitchen. But this text was a total, wonderful surprise. 

Randy decided to make Salad Niçoise for Valentine’s Day, a classic French dish, perfect for female consumption (vs. meat and potatoes). That morning he bought the ingredients from Whole Foods—butter lettuce, quality tuna, olives, hearts of palm, fresh mozzarella, hard-boiled eggs, and artichoke hearts. He even found the perfect French Nicoise dressing which in itself was so good, we almost drank it from the bottle.

The tinkering in the kitchen started late afternoon. Randy has trouble standing for long periods, so he pulled a stool to the counter to do his prep. I peeked in once to find him methodically arranging ingredients on a bed of soft, butter lettuce.

Dinner time came. My mom lives with us, and we both walked into the kitchen to a beautiful sight. A bountiful Salad Niçoise awaited us next to a cold bottle of champagne. For dessert, sat a box of chocolates. Happy Valentine’s indeed! I forgot to mention, Randy also had roses delivered that day, which he’s done every year of our 42-year marriage. (Yes, I know I’m lucky).

After the meal, Mom and I raised our glasses. “To the chef!” we proclaimed. Randy smiled proudly.

It goes to show, even in long unions, spouses can surprise us. Randy has gone from “I only use the grill” and not knowing how to turn on the stove pre-retirement, to throwing  together a surprisingly good meal. And these days, to my delight, that urge seems to be hitting more and more.

Meanwhile, I enjoy the wonderful delights my husband whips up, not to mention frequently checking my texts! 

 

Has your significant other surprised you with culinary prowess or other such talents? Comments are always welcome and if you’d like to receive posts by email, just press here.

Thank you!