A week later, the husband returned home looking slightly sunburned, a bit tired, but unusually cheerful.
Before he could even set his suitcase down, his wife began asking questions.
“So, how was the trip?”
“It was great!” he said enthusiastically.
“Did you catch anything?”
“Oh yes,” he replied confidently. “Plenty of fish. Salmon, bluegill… even a few swordfish!”
She raised an eyebrow. “Swordfish?”
“Yep,” he nodded quickly. “Big ones.”
Then he frowned slightly. “But I don’t understand something. Why didn’t you pack my blue silk pajamas? I specifically asked for them.”
The wife folded her arms and gave him a calm smile.
“I did pack them,” she said sweetly. “They’re in your tackle box.”
The room went very quiet.
His smile faded. “In my… tackle box?”
“Yes,” she replied. “Right next to the fishing lures. I figured if you were really fishing, you’d have opened it at least once.”
He stood there, blinking.
She added, “Oh, and by the way… I hope your ‘boss’ enjoyed the silk pajamas.”
The husband cleared his throat. “You know, now that I think about it… we didn’t actually use the tackle box.”
“Of course you didn’t,” she said, patting his shoulder as she walked toward the kitchen. “You don’t even like fishing.”
From that day on, whenever he mentioned a “business trip,” she would simply smile and say, “Should I check the tackle box first?”
And somehow… the fishing invitations stopped coming.