I woke up to the smell of brewing coffee. A smile already stretched across my face as I leaned over the bedside table and checked the alarm. 5.45 am. Max would bring the steaming cups of coffee in exactly fifteen minutes from now. I should know. It was our routine for the last ten years. Ten years of thanking God every day for gifting me such an amazing man.
Bumped into clumsy Max on a bright summer morning twelve years ago. He was coming out of the café I frequented and as we collided, spilling his paper cup of coffee on the floor, he lamented playfully that I’d just denied him of his only means of surviving a dreary day. It should have been bad that I immediately fell for someone so dependent on coffee but as I stared into those hazel eyes that seemed to pull me into some vortex by the second, I was utterly gone.
Believe it or not, two years later, on the very day we graduated from college, we got married and even after ten years, I’d never regretted it for a second. I checked the alarm again. Ten minutes more. A sudden thought occurred to me. Why not do something spontaneous and surprise him instead? I giggled at the thought even as I donned my bathrobe over my nightgown. Max would freak out.
I tiptoed downstairs to the kitchen where I knew he would be and when I was just behind him, I took a minute to admire the broad expanse of his shirtless back. Mine, I sighed. But I must have sighed too loud because Max jolted like he had been scalded by fire and whatever was in his hand crashed to the ground, its dark contents spilling to the floor and splashing on my beige bathrobe.
Max looked at me with wide eyes but I stilled, my eyes not at him but behind him. At the tray of coffee mugs with coffee and hot water?
“M…max?” I stammered. “What’s going on?”
“Tess honey, you need to listen to me.” He started. But I wasn’t listening. I picked up the little plastic bottle that fell on the floor and smelled it. It was edible dye. I smirked. This had to be a joke.
“Was April Fool’s day changed for some reason, babe?”
“Not to my knowledge, no,” he muttered, with his head bent.
“Then why, pray tell am I holding edible black dye which looks like it was about to get into your cup moments ago?”
“I’m so sorry Tess. I’ll explain everything to you. But you need to sit down first.”
He didn’t need to tell me twice. I was already dazedly slipping into one of the breakfast chairs. Anticipating and dreading what my husband of ten years was about to tell me. The truth tumbled out in a flourish and my expression kept changing with each line. From shock to anger to sadness and finally, disappointment.
Maximilian had never liked coffee. He said he was even allergic to its smell and had to take shots weekly to reduce the effects of sniffing it regularly. But he saw me one morning of our sophomore year and immediately fell in love. He’d asked about me and heard that I didn’t go out with people unless they shared in my adoration for coffee. And so he decided to try his luck. Coming into the café I frequented an hour before and watching out for me.
And by the time he saw me, ambling across the street towards the café, he knew what to do and the perfect lines as well.
“I can’t believe this. My whole life is a lie. You’re a lie.” I said, my face buried in my palms.
“I’m so sorry I lied Tess. I just couldn’t bear not to have you and many times I’d have told you but you kept talking about how blessed you are to have a husband who shared your hobbies and interests so wonderfully. Your face was always so lit up with joy, I couldn’t afford to take that from you.”
“So you’re blaming this on me?” I asked incredulously.
“No, I’m just saying that it made you so happy sharing coffee. Can you forgive me?” he asked, clutching my hand.
“You don’t understand. We’ve been together ten years Max. And nothing has been true about our beginning. How do you think that makes me feel? Or the impact your deception would have on us as a family?” The heartbreak tore at me.
We spent the whole morning talking. It was hard to believe that he’d been drinking edible dye all along. It warmed and broke my heart at the same time, seeing the lengths he went so that I’d be happy and have something to smile about. I couldn't believe anyone would do that.
It wasn’t going to be easy to just forget and believe something else but I was willing to try. In turn, I told him to get rid of the distasteful dye and drink something else in the mornings. He laughed in response and said he'd even grown to love its taste. We laughed about it and hugged. Max was still a blessing to me regardless and I wouldn’t change him for anyone.
