good evening (and good night)

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"I want to have a date tonight. Do you want to have a date tonight?" Maybe I should have passed her a note that said "check yes or no" but after fifteen years together, I often think of these cute and clever things hours after the fact.

Anne looked up from her magazine. "I like having dates with my husband," she said.

"Yeah, I was talking to him online earlier today, and he said that he likes having dates with you."

She closed her magazine and tossed it onto the coffee table. "Where do you want to go?"

"Someplace we haven't gone before. That'll be an adventure."

Yeah, I've been suburbanized so long, going to a restaurant I haven't been to before now qualifies as an adventure. Twenty-two year-old Wil just put down his copy of Naked Lunch long enough to shake his head in either sadness, or disgust, depending on what angle you're looking at him from.

"Let's try that cafe on Raymond," she said.

So we did, and it was amazing, and we'll be going back frequently in the weeks and months to come. 

(Parenthetical highlight: during our meal, a woman in her late 40s, wearing a fur leopard-print bucket hat and a shiny patent leather overcoat sat down next to us. It was such a stunning display of wrongness that I involuntarily stopped talking in mid word, and just stared at Anne. She looked back at me and very calmly said, "I have … comments." I laughed so hard, it must have looked like I was having a seizure.)

After dinner, we went to BevMo to get a present for one of our friends. While we were there, I picked up a Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale and a Rogue Chipotle Ale. 

"I thought we were just here to get [REDACTED BECAUSE OUR FRIEND READS MY BLOG]," Anne said.

"It's so weird when you talk in all caps like that," I said. She looked back at me, patiently.

"Well, we are … but if I don't buy these beers, the terrorists have won."

"What is this, 2003?"

"NEVER FORGET, ANNE."

She gave me a look that said Tired of Your Shenanigans, Next Exit.

I got the message and quietly took my place in line.

(Incidentally, our time in BevMo may not have transpired in precisely that manner, but as I found the creation/retelling of this experience entertaining, I hope you will indulge me this bit of creative memory.)

When we got home, the night was still young, so I suggested we watch a movie together.

"What did you have in mind?" Anne asked.

I turned on our Roku and went to my Netflix queue. "How about … Thank God It's Friday?"

"The Disney movie?"

"What?"

"… oh. That's Freaky Friday. Never mind."

We laughed together. "This is a disco movie that was made in 1978, and features Donna Summer and The Commodores, plus career performances from Debra Winger, Terri Nunn and Jeff Goldblum."

"You had me at 'disco movie,'" she said.

I was delighted to see that it was streaming in HD, thanks to my ISP temporarily forgetting to serve up about a quarter of the bandwidth I'm paying for, which is their custom.

The movie was just spectacular, and a ridiculous amount of fun. If you have 90 minutes and the means to view it, I highly recommend it.

About twenty minutes into the film, Anne paused it and looked at me. "You know what would make this movie even better?"

"Something I wouldn't want to recount on my blog?" I didn't actually say, but you must admit just made you giggle. 

"Scotchy scotch scotch."

"It goes down … down into my belly!"

I went to our liquor cabinet, and pulled out a bottle of Laphroaig. I poured two small glasses and gave her one of them.

"To cheesy 70s disco movies and dates together," I said.

Clink!

"I just love my husband," she said.

"I love you the most," I said.

Twenty-two year-old me turned up Chet Baker on the CD player, and sighed wistfully. He didn't have any idea that in less than a year, he would meet the girl of his dreams.

46 thoughts on “good evening (and good night)”

  2. I <3 reading love stories with you and your wifey. It gives me such a warm fuzzy feeling, because it really reminds me of my relationship with my husband and how you just cannot take anything for granted, especially those moments of normality like watching a movie and going out to dinner together (and also writing longwinded run-on sentences.)

  3. Loved the BevMo trip – I can sooo see my hubby siding w/ Anne since I’m the beer snob. Glad you could relate most of this in your blog *sighs whistfully*

  4. Ha! Wonderful story, Wil. Funny and sweet (and ridiculous) without going over the top. I am happy for you and Anne that you have each other! Lovely!

  6. You and Anna are so wonderful to read about. Your stories about the time you spend together never cease to make me smile. After I stopped laughing hysterically at “I have … comments” I just need to know what said comments were!

  7. Reading something this well-written makes me wonder when we’ll next get the chance to buy a selection of your stories. Weekend Wil FTW! I guess your creative midichlorians are back to full power?

  9. Xanadu. You must see Xanadu. It is disco on roller skates, with Olivia Newton-John. Don’t sit down to watch it if you think you’ll be needing that brain back for a while, either.
    YouTube has the title track with video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m1UWSD-FaA
    It’s a frequent winner when we all sit down at the computer to play a round of “WTF did I just watch there?”, the game that replaced “WTF did I just read there?” when we agreed that no piece of fanfiction could ever, ever, EVER be more wrong than the LOTR Merry x Pippin x Ent “treesome”.

  10. Hi. This is a lovely entry that makes me smile. Will you BOTH be on the jococruisecrazy? I hope so and look forward to seeing the two of you smiling at each other.

  11. Very sweet. After 11 years together our favorite part of the day is me laying my head on his belly (it wasn’t as soft and comfortable 11 years ago…) and watching whatever TiVo flavor of the day is saved.
    Recently we started having “adventures” on Sunday drives. My favorite was off-roading in the Concorde, finding a yak farm of all things, a huge metal grasshopper in the middle of nowhere in a gorgeous private garden, and discovering a local horse ranch where we stopped to do some riding.
    All in all we were shocked at just how non-boring a random day together can still be after a decade of normalcy and habitual evenings.

  13. Rogue Chipotle Ale? Smoky I get in an ale but chilli? Please do tell.
    Laphroaig, eh? I have a taste for Islay Malts, too, although I prefer Bowmore.

  14. I love reading about you and Anne with your adorable-y gross cuteness. And I’m totally stealing “I have. . .comments.” Classic.

  15. Laphroaig!
    Reason # 5,253 why you RAWK!
    It’s my FAVORITE Scotch, yet it scares most of my other Scotch-loving friends away…
    Was it the 10 year old, or the 15? The difference is HUGE (although both are yummy).
    Laphroaig is one of THOSE Scotches – It’s a little like drinking a smokey peat bog (albeit a yummy smokey peat bog, IMHO).
    Nice to hear of another fan!

  16. It's amazing. It's basically their Hazlenut Brown Ale with chipotle peppers in it. It's smoky and malty, but it has this *very* spicy finish that just sneaks up on you. I'm a huge fan.

  19. I love this sort of geeky, everyday romance. The hubby and I may, on occasion, dance like morons in the middle of public places when we suspect no one is watching. Then we abruptly stop, and wander off in different directions. It’s awesome.

  20. Scotchy scotch makes me happy. Exspecially when I have the beginning of a nasty cold. Medicinal of course. Glenfiddich 12 year old. I really enjoy your marriage musings Wil. Thanks for sharing.

  22. See, shit like this almost makes me reconsider my bitter 37 year old alone b/c I was burned in the worst way stance!
    You guys are lovely. Best wishes to your continued happiness.

  26. Do you think you might have time to make the podcast about how you and the lovely Mrs. Wheaton met sometime this year? You’ve been promising it for ages. :D

  28. There is nothing better than “date night”. After nearly 16 years of marriage, my wife and I cherish those nights (or days, in some cases). We have no kids, but seem to have little time due to work and other obligations. So, these times let us rediscover ourselves and why we are who we are and just how much we love each other.

  33. Being married to a cool woman is definitely a cool thing, the fact that she’s a gaming geek is also bonus. I was found by an astrophysicist who runs a 3.5 meter telescope and has been on Mythbusters, so I am very happy!

  34. Aaaah, Laphroaig! I’m visiting my parents, and my dad just poured me a glass of Laphroaig. We’re celebrating the fact that he was released from hospital after an operation that luckily went good. Family is the most important thing in the world, and Scotch is also great – life can be so good! Glad to hear you’re also enjoying the combination of family time and Islay Single Malt. Cheers!

  36. Wil, what a great telling of a great story! :-) The way you & Anne are together is very much the same as the way my hubby & I are together (even after 12.5 years). So warm & fuzzy & comfortable & fun… And I, too, am stealing, “I have… comments.” That is made of win, right there…
    -Alicia
    http://www.thewagband.com

  38. I love Rogue Chipotle. If you can get it in your neck of the woods, check out their John John ales. They do a single batch each year with a different flavor theme. They make the beer and then age it in used oak spirits barrels. Last year was juniper-flavored beer aged in gin barrels. This year it’s Hazlenut Brown Nectar aged in spiced rum barrels.

  39. OMG I had the juniper when I was in Vancouver, and loved it. I wondered why I couldn't find it anywhere here in LA.

  44. Hrmm, I now live 50 miles from the rogue brewery and I haven’t seen the chipotle ale! Although Calapooia has an awesome Jalapeno beer.

  45. Hi Wil,
    I just tried to add Thank God It’s Friday to my netflix queue and it had the temerity to tell me I can only view it on dvd and would I like to upgrade. Has netflix regionalized it’s streaming content?

  46. Recently my sweetie asked me what was my heart’s desire was for our first Christmas together. I forwarded him this post (which he had, of course, already read) and said that my heart desired a future like your relationship with Anne. Fortunately for me he thought it was a great idea :)
    I love reading all your posts but the things you write about your family are the ones that touch me the most deeply. You are a lucky man to have that familial love and one of the most endearing things about you is that you clearly don’t take it for granted. It is truly something to admire.

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