My husband brought me a gorgeous dress from a business trip. The next day, while he was at work, his sister came over to visit us. When she saw the dress, her eyes lit up.
“Could I try it on, please?
I can only dream of having a dress like that,” she laughed.
I nodded.
But when she put the dress on and walked up to the mirror, she suddenly started screaming loudly.
“Take it off. Take it off me!”
Eleanor Mitchell stood by the living room window, gazing at the empty street.
The evening was quiet, almost windless—one of those rare autumn evenings when the city seems to freeze in anticipation of something.
She was 37, and for the past five years, she had been running the family business: a small chain of pharmacies that her late mother had founded.
Three locations in different parts of the city brought in steady income, and Eleanor was proud that she had managed not only to preserve the business, but to expand it.
Nathan, her husband, returned from his business trip late on Friday evening.
Eleanor heard the front door close, then familiar footsteps on the stairs. The elevator in their building worked intermittently.
When he entered, a strange smile played on his face—almost triumphant.
“Hi, honey.”
He set his suitcase down in the hallway and pulled out a large box tied with a satin ribbon.
“I have a surprise for you.”
Eleanor raised her eyebrows in surprise.
Nathan had never been known for his generosity, and gifts from him were rare.
In eleven years of marriage, she had grown accustomed to his practicality bordering on stinginess.
He always said that money needed to be saved, that it shouldn’t be spent on trifles.
“What is this?”
She took the box, feeling its pleasant weight.
“Open it.”
Nathan took off his jacket and went into the kitchen, where he poured himself water from a pitcher.
Eleanor carefully untied the ribbon and opened the lid.
Inside, neatly laid in thin white paper, was a dress.
Emerald green with a deep neckline and an elegant cut.
It was clearly expensive. The tag from a well-known brand confirmed this.
The price made Eleanor’s jaw drop.
“Nathan, this is…”
She couldn’t find the words.
“Where did you get this?”
“I was walking past a boutique downtown. Went in,” he shrugged, as if he were talking about buying bread.
The story doesn’t end here –
it continues on the next page.
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