Should I Be Worried About The Woman Who Brings Happiness Into My Husband’s Life?

For nearly ten years, my husband and I have been the perfect picture from a distance. The kind of couple people look at and say, “Goals!”And yes, we’ve had good years. We’ve built something solid. Reliable. Think plain rice with stew: nothing flashy, but it fills you up and keeps you going.

FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP CHANNEL TO RECEIVE ALL STORIES IN YOUR INBOX

But recently, I noticed something different. He was glowing. Not the fresh-out-of-a-prayer-meeting type of glow, no. This was a sparkle. A bounce. The man who used to grumble his way through Monday mornings was suddenly humming Highlife tunes and asking where I put his “nice shirt.” The one who always said, “I don’t do long talks,” was suddenly full of stories. Laughing loudly. Smiling easily. And the name that kept popping up in all those stories?

A woman.

A new friend, as he called her. Now, depending on your temperament, this is the point where you’d either pray fire or call your cousin who knows someone who knows someone. But I didn’t do that. I listened. I watched. I squinted hard enough to make sure I wasn’t imagining things. He was genuinely happy.

I had tried for years to bring out that version of him. The lighthearted, free, joyful man. I had cooked, prayed, cuddled, argued, sacrificed, even tried surprise date nights that ended with both of us sleeping in front of the TV. Nothing brought the sparkle back. But this woman shows up, and suddenly he’s beaming like a rechargeable lantern after a full night’s charge.

At first, I was jealous. Not of her, but of the him she’d uncovered. The version I hadn’t seen in so long, I almost forgot it existed. Then something unexpected happened. I started to enjoy this new version of him too. His happiness began to lift the air around the house. He laughed with me again. He teased. He kissed my forehead in the kitchen. We weren’t perfect, we’re still not, but for the first time in a long while, we felt alive again.

Should I be worried? Maybe.

Marriage Through the Eyes of Millennials and Gen-Z

I still lie awake sometimes and wonder if he’s drifting, if the name of that woman will one day become the headline of a heartbreak. But strangely, I’m not angry. Because for the first time in a long time, I feel like we’re both in the same room again and not just passing by.

And if she helped bring him back to that, then maybe I owe her a thank-you. Or at least a polite smile from a safe emotional distance.

—Juliana

This story you just read was sent to us by someone just like you. We know you have a story too. Email it to us at submissions@silentbeads.com. You can also drop your number and we will call you so you tell us your story.

*****