An unemployed man with a successful wife spends all his time lazing around and refuses to do housework unless he is paid — until the day she falls seriously ill.
Richard Franklin was angry at the world. He’d been a successful travel agent, but when the COVID pandemic hit, his business went bankrupt. Now Richard lay on his couch all day playing video games, drinking beer, and eating crisps.
Fortunately for Richard, his wife Sharon, a software developer, had more work than ever. It was thanks to her that they still had their home and could live comfortably. Unfortunately for Sharon, she was overworked — and Richard offered no help at all.
She asked Richard for help, and in return got a blank stare.
“Help? How?” Richard asked. “I don’t know the first thing about software!”
“I don’t mean software, Richard!” Sharon exclaimed. “I mean help around the house! Take out the trash, vacuum, dust…”
Richard puffed his chest. “So now that I’m unemployed, you want me to become the cleaning lady? Well, you have to pay me!”
“Pay you?” Sharon gasped. “For things I do for YOU for free?”
“Yes. Fifteen dollars an hour is fair.”
Sharon looked at him with tears in her eyes, shook her head, and went back into her home office.
Richard lay back, smug. In his mind, Sharon wanting help meant she wanted to control him. His mother had warned him about “women like her.” It never occurred to him that Sharon was working herself to exhaustion to support them both.
One day, Richard’s best friend announced he was getting married, and the bachelor party was in Las Vegas.
When Sharon came home that evening, Richard actually got up to greet her.
“David is getting married,” he said. “The guys are going to Vegas next week. I need two thousand dollars for the trip.”
Sharon gave him a long, sad look.
“I’m sorry, Richard, but that’s not possible. Since you refuse to help me, I hired a cleaning service. I need the extra money.”
Richard exploded, calling her stingy and ungrateful. Through the rant, Sharon just looked at him.
“Are you finished?” she asked quietly. “I’m going to bed. Make your own dinner.”
Richard fumed. She was “getting too uppity,” he thought. But he’d still go to Vegas.
His eyes landed on Sharon’s prized possession: a beautiful Art Deco Lalique vase she inherited from her grandmother. Online, Richard found out it was worth at least three thousand dollars — more than enough for Vegas.
The next day, when Sharon came home, she noticed something immediately.
“The vase!” she cried. “What happened? Did you break it?”
“No,” Richard said coldly. “I sold it so I can go to Las Vegas.”
Sharon gasped, rubbing her shoulder, her voice breaking. “How could you? You know it was all I had from my gran…”
Richard turned up the TV. He wasn’t interested in her “drama.” Everything in the house belonged to the man, he believed. A king in his castle.
Then he heard a soft thump. Sharon was lying on the floor.
“Damn you, Sharon! I don’t need your drama!” he shouted. “Get up and get me a beer!”
But Sharon didn’t move.
At half-time, Richard went to the kitchen, got himself a beer, and returned. She was still on the floor, breathing shallowly. He nudged her with his foot. Nothing.
He drank another beer before finally dialing 911.
When the paramedics arrived, they rushed to Sharon.
“She’s in cardiac arrest!”
They performed CPR, shocked her, and rushed her to the hospital.
Richard suddenly realized that Sharon wasn’t faking — she was truly fighting for her life. This was the woman who supported him, comforted him, and carried their entire life on her back while he did nothing. He burst into tears.
The next morning, as soon as he could, he went to the ICU. He brought with him a stunning replacement vase — sea-green and clear crystal — filled with lilies-of-the-valley.
He sat by her bed and held her hand.
When Sharon opened her eyes, he whispered, “I’m so sorry, Sharon. Please forgive me. I got your vase back, and I’m not going to Las Vegas. I can’t stand the thought of losing you. I guess it took nearly losing you to understand how much I love you.”
It took a long time, but Richard eventually won back Sharon’s trust — and became a better, happier man.
