My husband was always too busy to fix our sink—until our neighbor needed help with hers. That was when he transformed into Mr. Fix-It, ready with tools in hand and all the time in the world. Instead of confronting him, I decided to teach him a lesson he wouldn’t forget.
Marriage is built on trust and respect, but nothing prepared me for the moment I saw Mark, my husband, in our neighbor Lily’s kitchen, fully engaged in fixing her sink—a task he had conveniently dismissed when I had asked for help just days before. That moment made me realize something had to change.
A couple of weeks ago, our kitchen sink started leaking. At first, it was just a small drip, but by the next day, water was pooling under the cabinet. I approached Mark, who was lounging on the couch, scrolling through his phone.
“Mark, the kitchen sink is getting worse. There’s water everywhere now.”
He barely looked up. “Call a plumber,” he muttered.
I was taken aback. “But you know how to fix it. You did it last year.”
With a sigh, he finally looked at me. “Claire, I’m swamped. Just call a professional.”
Frustrated, I hired a plumber who charged $180 and fixed it in under 15 minutes. I let it go—until a few days later when I ran into our neighbor, Lily.
“Your husband is amazing!” she gushed. “Not every man would drop everything to help a neighbor.”
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