Do whatever you want,\u201d said Buchin. \u201cCook them, don\u2019t cook them. I\u2019m leaving. I\u2019m going to another woman.\u201d<\/p>\n
Most wives would go after their husbands with a frying pan after hearing something like that. Or start a furious argument. But Vera was not like most wives.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh please, what a big deal,\u201d she said. \u201cDid you pick up my boots from the cobbler?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Buchin said, flustered. \u201cIf it\u2019s that important, I\u2019ll go get them right now!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course\u2026\u201d Vera muttered. \u201cThat\u2019s you all over, Buchin. Send you for new boots, and you\u2019ll bring back the old ones.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buchin felt offended. The break-up wasn\u2019t going the way he imagined. No drama, no passion, no angry accusations. But what could he expect from a wife nicknamed \u201cVera Coldheart\u201d?<\/p>\n
\u201cVera, I don\u2019t think you\u2019re hearing me!\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m officially telling you I\u2019m leaving you for another woman. I\u2019m leaving this house\u2014and you\u2019re talking about boots!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly,\u201d Vera said. \u201cUnlike me, your boots aren\u2019t at the cobbler. You\u2019re free to go wherever you want.\u201d<\/p>\n
They\u2019d lived together for years, yet Buchin still couldn\u2019t tell when his wife was being sarcastic and when she was serious. He had originally fallen for Vera because of her calm, conflict-free nature\u2014and, admittedly, her figure and practicality.<\/p>\n
Vera was reliable, faithful, and cool-headed\u2014like a thirty-ton ship anchor. But now Buchin loved someone else. Deeply, sinfully, sweetly. He had to dot the i\u2019s and get moving toward his new life.<\/p>\n