“Ted, Alice, we’re very glad you are here tonight. We’ve been trying to arrange our schedules for months, so that we could make this happen.” said Jack in his formal tone.

“Well, not all of us.” injected his wife with a sigh.

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?” said Jack.

“Oh nothing.” she sighed.

“Fine,” Jack said, “as I was saying, we’re all so much busier than we’ve been before.”

“Some of us.” she commented.

Jack was wearing his favorite tweed sports coat. This was his idea of high fashion. He sipped his wine as his wife looked off in the distance, as if the walls were translucent and she saw shadows moving outside. The other couple tried to appear relaxed, making their stiffness more pronounced.

“You’re obviously upset. So, what’s on your mind?”

“I’ve said my peace. There’s no need for discussion.”

“Well, you keep making side comments, so naturally I assume you have something to say, right?”

“You should never assume; you only get disappointed.”

“What is with you? Can’t we just have a peaceful dinner with friends?”

“Yes, that’s not the problem!” she replied.

So what was the problem then, thought Jack. The mood shifted to the kind of silence that frequently evokes terror. The four around the table tried to find anything interesting to look at, to avoid looking at each other.

Finally, Jack tried to proceed diplomatically and he calmly said, “Can we finish enjoying the dinner with Ted and Alice and then we can talk later. I mean let’s put it on the back burner for later. How about it?”

“I think I’m not feeling very well. I might call it a night now.” said his wife.

“Now I know something’s wrong. How about you just tell me?”

“I thought this evening was gonna be special.” she said.

He interrupted with, “Yeah, so did I. But you’re the one who’s ruining it.”

She regained an eerie calmness and asked, “Why did you think tonight would be special?”

He didn’t expect this question, so he thought for a second about what answer would most likely calm her down.

Finally, he said, “I thought a relaxing night with friends is always special. How about you?”

She stood up suddenly and cried, “Today’s my birthday!” and she ran off.

Jack sat still. Alice gasped, and Ted mumbled, “Dammit.”

 

*

The other couple had gone home, and Jack sat on the front porch with a cigar, giving her time to descend from her anger. The front door crept open, and his wife sidled out with tears flowing.

“I was upstairs and angry.” she said.

“Oh yeah?” he sighed.

“I happened to notice my little calendar. And I was caught off guard by the date. My birthday is actually tomorrow,” she said.

“No kidding?” he said.

“You didn’t forget. You knew I was wrong the whole time. Why didn’t you stop me? Oh, you allowed yourself to appear aloof, rather than publicly reveal my foolishness.”