A Wife For Christmas

He sat at the table working on some papers. She approached him without any real enthusiasm. "What do you want for Christmas," She asked.

"What I want no one can give, so there's nothing I really want for Christmas.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "What is there that can't be given?"

"Doesn't really matter anymore, so there's no reason to even really ask the question." He tried to let the matter go, but she wouldn't let him, pressing him for an answer.

"What is it that you want?" she asked.

He looked up at her with a sadness in his eyes and thought about it for a minute. Then he pushed the papers he was working on aside a bit and leaned back in the chair with a sigh as he resigned himself to give an answer to the question that he knew she would hate to hear.

"What do I want?" he said repeating the question. "I want my wife back.

"The one that likes to have me around instead of just tolerating me.

"The one that is glad to see me when I come home and hugs me tight while giving me a kiss instead of being glad to give me a kiss bye when I'm leaving for work so we can have enough money to pay the bills.

"The one that is interested in what I have to say instead of letting me know that everything I think, say, and do is wrong, wrong, and wrong.

"The one who enjoys my company instead of making me feel like I need to find a corner to crawl into so that I'll be out of the way while she does whatever it is that she wants to get done.

"The one that is happy to hear my voice when I call instead of being angry because I've interrupted whatever it was that she had going on, then gets angry again when I don't call because I don't want to interrupt whatever it is that she has going on.

"The one that shows me in hundreds of ways that she loves and cares for me instead of showing me that I am just a burden.

"The one that is as interested in my needs and desires as she is her own instead of letting me know that mine are of no consequence.

"The one that when I ask what's for dinner gives ideas or has it waiting for me instead of yelling at me 'whatever you get off your duff and effing make yourself, there's stuff in the fridge,' when she knows I have no idea how to cook or prepare a meal.

"The one that goes in to a store and buys something because she thinks I might like it instead of thinking I better get something for him so he won't be upset that I bought something for myself.

"The one that I can talk with and share with instead of knowing I better not open my mouth because she doesn't want to hear it and it will just cause strife making me wish I hadn't said anything.

"The one that when a movie comes out, wants to see it with me instead of going with our daughter and son-in-law without telling me she's going, leaving me to find out from the grandchildren that I'm now supposed to be watching an hour later when I realize that she's nowhere around.

"The one that tries to please me because I've done everything I could to try to please her instead of not being able to do anything to please her at all.

"But she left years ago and loneliness and sorrow were kind enough to be my friends and let me know that she wasn't coming back. So, since there was no hope of her return, I finally gave up trying to get her back. When someone asks if you are depressed, the right answer is 'life is depressing, deal with it,' And I do. Successfully. That's just the way life is so it doesn't really matter anymore. So since no one can give me what I want, there really isn't anything that I want for Christmas, so there isn't any need to really even ask the question."

He leaned forward again and resumed his work as he pulled the papers back in front of him. She let the words sink in as she watched him for a few seconds, then with damp eyes she walked away and back into the living room where she sat down with a sadness overcoming her, because she realized that for once he was right and there was nothing she could get him for Christmas.