Just this one more time!

First time.

- What did you think of the singer Nồng Nàn last night?

The wife whispered.

"What else could it be? She sings the folk songs of our homeland so well, how could she not?" the husband replied, trying to brush off the question.

- I mean that outfit.

- That outfit is so revealing, it looks a bit uncomfortable.

- You don't understand anything about fashion. It's scorching hot like this, people should be dressed like they're going to Cua Lo beach! I wish I had an outfit like that.

The husband silently pondered the price he had to pay for the revealing but expensive outfit.

- Just this one more time, sir.

Unable to refuse any longer, the husband reluctantly nodded.

The second time.

When she came home, the wife sighed deeply:

- That's what a real car should be like!

The husband cautiously asked, "Whose car are you talking about?"

"That car belongs to my friend Toan the Fat. His husband just gave it to him as a birthday gift. It's brand new. Gold color. He's so smug about it. And rightly so. It's nothing like our car, which makes a terrible, sputtering noise like someone with asthma. We should sell it and buy a new, trendy one. Otherwise, I won't dare show my face on the street again. Just this once more," the wife said, her voice tinged with tears.

The husband broke out in a sweat thinking about the large sum of money. But he didn't dare object because he had previously sworn an oath, "Even if I have to drain the East Sea," he wouldn't go against his wife's wishes.

Shortly afterwards, the wife planted a series of kisses on her husband's stubbly cheeks and made a third request:

"We're practically indistinguishable from other women now. They have fashionable clothes, and we have trendy dresses too. They have the latest model cars, and we have the newest ones. The only thing I'm missing is a 5-tael gold chain to hang around my neck! During the tourist season, without some glittering gold, my neck looks worthless. Please indulge me this one more time." The husband muttered a grunt but quickly swallowed his refusal.

One morning, the wife affectionately stroked her husband's graying hair:

"Good heavens, when did your hair turn completely white? How pathetic!" – Suddenly changing tone – "I can't stand that bald-headed Hai, that arrogant jerk. Look, the shadow of his newly added three-story house is falling all over ours, blocking out the cool breeze. We have to go upstairs, please. I beg you. Just this one more time."

The man with the gray hair suddenly shouted:

- Not again. Either you give up this extravagant lifestyle immediately, or we'll... separate!

Quynh Tho