Jack scratched his head and sat back from the computer monitor with a sigh.
‘What’s got you so contemplative?’ his wife asked with a smirk, flicking the light on in the study as she walked in. She handed Jack a mug of coffee, as he blinked to get his eyes to adjust to the harsh bulb.
‘I’m trying to decide between these two,’ he said, pointing at an online ad for a pool table for sale and a different tab with a treadmill. ‘I should probably buy the treadmill, shouldn’t I?’
‘Well…’ his wife said, glancing around the room for a chance to change the subject. ‘Oh, is that, uh… wall new?’
‘Fine,’ he sighed, moving the mouse over to the fitness side of the screen. ‘But I still think we should get a pool table.’
‘Why?’ she asked, clasping her own warm mug. ‘I’m not sure I’ve ever seen you play pool.’
‘Really?’ Jack said, turning around, surprised. ‘Oh, yeah, I used to love playing pool. My dad had a table when we were growing up. He used to make us play for hours every Sunday – his version of church, he used to say.’
Jack laughed at the memory. His wife sighed.
‘Oh, get the pool table then,’ she relented. ‘If it’ll make you happy, why not?’
‘Really?’ he asked again.
‘You gonna keep saying that?’
‘I thought you’d want me to get fit, and healthy and… all that,’ Jack frowned. ‘But now you just want me to be happy?’
‘You don’t have to sound so suspicious,’ she laughed, standing up and kissing him on the forehead. ‘We’ll find some cheap fitness equipment for sale in Australia soon enough – after New Year’s, when people realise they actually can’t be bothered sticking to their resolutions.’
‘And until then…’
‘Until then,’ she nodded. ‘You can start going back to church.’
He looked up at her with a smile – and very quickly spun around to hit buy on the pool table.