Big Talker

Today is our 10th wedding anniversary, and we have been almost as bad at celebrating it as usual. I am in the middle of Christmas cleaning and the husband has spent all his evening in the supermarket, hunting for the perfect ham and salmon and such indispensables. Our meal came from the new deli at the large Coop. Well, at least we didn´t forget.

We married in Paris, it was a private affair at the embassy, just the two of us. We exchanged our vows in a library, actually, as they were renovating the proper wedding room. I am particularly pleased about that. I don´t exactly remember when I told my relatives, but I suppose I did when I got home - not that it was a big thing, we had lived together for more than thirteen years. However, we did make an attempt to call the mum-in-law from a street corner in Paris. She was in Spain at the time, with her partner Ove.

My mum-in-law is a good talker, imagine a big tank running over you. She is also of the generation who had to pay much for phone calls, particularly international calls. Well, the husband called her, said hi, listened and was then hung up on.
"You didn´t tell her," I said.
"Damn," said he. "I´ll tell her when we get home."
"You better, or I will accidentaly give it away when I talk to her." I did think it should come from him.

Well, we got home and everything was as it always had been, except that I had a name change, which hardly anybody noticed (no, we don´t have rings). I reminded him, he forgot, and in May, I happened to let the cat out of the bag, as the mum-in-law and I were discussing my sister´s wedding plans.
"They are thinking of eloping abroad, like we did," I said. She was silent, and I realized.

It never seemed like she minded awfully, she has never been one to keep track of birthdays and such, and she had an un-announced war wedding herself with only two friends for witnesses. A few weeks later, when we had them over for dinner, they gave us a wedding present from that whole side of the family. It has been very useful, every day, and still works. It reminds me of Ove (who I´m sure came up with the idea), who passed on almost eight years ago now.

Yesterday, the mum-in-law called me to tell me she had to go to the hospital just for the day to get some more blood (they are so good at treating her now, we hardly have to do anything), bla bla, and then she said: "But I´m just going on and on, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?"
"Öh," I said, "it was you who called me."
"Oh? Well, bye then."