freaking out

i nearly lost it this morning. there i was - drinking my coffee, reviewing my charts, my lists, my site plan and my seating arrangements (have i mentioned we are up to FIFTY THREE?) - when my Beloved said, very casually, quickly and with something of a slur:

"likeitoldyoualanwillbehereonthursday."

i think i laughed. my beloved has an imagination, too, but sometimes he forgets that some things one imagines, one must manifest in the physical world, like conversations with your wife about clients who expect to invade your house for two days before a shower for FIFTY THREE people.

in the interests of brevity, i will condense our argument into two sentences:

"YOU NEVER EVER MENTIONED THIS."

"OH, YES, I DID."

i am happy to report the argument was (almost) as brief as that, that we quickly reached a compromise (alan will stay thursday night, Beloved accepted his list of chores with a humble and contrite heart - well, maybe that last is a bit over the top. but he was certainly amenable to doing all the things on the list i handed him, like calling the rental place and renting EXTRA CHAIRS AND TABLES FOR THE FIFTY THREE PEOPLE WHO ARE COMING ON SUNDAY.