Member-only story
The Housewife’s Secret
Oh, love, you know nothing.
Annalise was a prize — or that’s how her husband Fernand had always viewed her. While all his friends’ wives stayed at home to build microcosmic families, Annalise was out there in the world as an up-and-coming fashion designer. His friends were all impressed with her at parties too: she somehow always managed to be the center of everyone else’s orbit. And he could tell she liked the attention from the way her eyes sparkled as she sipped glasses of champagne.
Even when his own work caused him to be in and out of the country, Annalise would just smile with understanding. “You go out there and be a rock star, sweetheart,” she told him once. He then pressed a kiss to her forehead before their mouths met in a lingering exchange that left them both breathless. Only the necessity of going out for his morning commute to work derailed any chance of that kiss turning into something more.
Fernand didn’t think much of other things his friends were concerned about, such as the number of children they had or the amount of vacation time available through their jobs. He was happy enough to go in and out of the condo he and Annalise called their home base. What more did they need? Life seemed picture perfect in a way that he was sure others would have envied.
