When he told me he wanted to play Pretend, I thought it was something to do with sex.

And the funny thing is, if he'd whipped out a Wonder Woman costume, I would have gone along with it.

Things had been cold between us for years.

One word replies and tense conversations had become the norm.

I was prepared to do what was necessary to try and patch things up.

When he clarified he wanted to pretend to be young, I felt a lot more hesitation.

If this was a sex thing, I thought, it could get pretty weird.

Even as he explained it all, I just kept waiting for it to turn in that direction.

I figured that's what it had to be, right? But he said it wasn't like that at all.

He just wanted some time now and again when he could behave like a child. Nothing too weird, just sort of therapeutic role play.

I'll admit it wasn't what I thought. He wanted me to pack his lunches and kiss his cheek

before going to work, he said.

He wanted me to give him the kind of things you'd give a kid.

So I packed him a yogurt, a ham sandwich, and an apple.

There was also a small carton of juice all tucked neatly into a brown paper bag.

His whole face lit up with joy when he saw it. I came up with the brown bag myself and he told me it was a nice touch. I remember thinking

it was the first sincere compliment he paid me in years. I felt a rare paying of pride at that.

After that I got the gist pretty quickly. He wanted me to run in baths and sit

there beside him while he played with toys. He wanted to ask me for permission before going out to play

in the yard. He wanted spaghetti and hot dogs

for dinner and jelly and ice cream for dessert. I did it all with a smile. He

never really looked at me all that much as a wife. But as a caregiver, it was like every little

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