It was an ongoing issue for him.
She was forever coming to his rescue whenever they were socialising. Of course, she meant well, being protective and all that, but she did it so often. Too often! It had been going on so long. Finally, after an evening out with their friends, they returned home with him thinking he would have to broach the subject once and for all. He knew he had to speak up. He had no way of knowing how she would take it. After all, she was probably not aware that she was doing it. They had been home awhile and he considered they were sufficiently relaxed for him to bring the subject up.
“Honey,” he started, “I don’t know how aware of it you are, but you are forever saving me.”
She looked confused. “Saving?”
“Yes, you know, coming to my rescue when in fact I don’t really need it.”
Her eyebrows raised.
He took a deep breath and went on. “You really don’t have to protect me all the time.”
Going back to a frown, she said, “Do I do that?”
He smiled. “Yes, my love, you do. I mean, you’re like an umbrella.”
She went to speak, but he went on, “It’s wonderful to have an umbrella when you need it, but your umbrella…”
Her head wiggled. “My umbrella?”
“Yes, your umbrella. It’s, well… it’s like one of those that has a button you can press that makes it open immediately. With just a quick press of the button it automatically pops up. It’s really handy for emergencies.”
She sat listening, with a look of uncertainty.
He continued. “The fact is… well, your umbrella has a faulty button and it pops up unexpectedly. When you don’t really need it. If you see what I mean.”
She sat thinking.
He smiled lovingly at her. “However, I should point out that apart from the faulty button, it’s a really beautiful umbrella…”
