“Honey, time for lunch!” 

“I can’t come to lunch!” Justin’s voice called from his private study. “Just bag it for later, will you, Jess? Thanks!”

With a sigh, Jessica set down her knife, still white and yellow from the mayonnaise and mustard, and headed briskly down the hall. 

As she expected, her husband was perched in front of his laptop, holding his blue ballpoint in one hand and a little spiral notebook in the other. He would write something on the pad, tap a few keys on the keyboard, mutter something under his breath while gently rapping the pen against his chin, and then jot down something else on the paper. It wasn’t until Jessica strode up to him, grabbed his shoulder, and said his name—rather loudly—that he became aware of her presence.

He gave quite a start, making a long, stray mark on his current paper. 

When he recovered himself, he narrowed his eyes at his wife and said, none too kindly, “Jess—don’t do that! You just about gave me a heart attack!”

“Justin,” she said in a similar tone, withdrawing her hand but maintaining her stance by his chair, “I told you, it’s lunchtime.” 

“And I told you, I can’t. I’m very busy at the moment, can’t you see that?”

Folding her arms in front of her, she countered, “Isn’t there ever a moment when you’re not busy? Even around the holidays?”

“Don’t start with me,” said Justin, who rarely spoke this way to anyone, least of all her. “I’ve got a lot of stuff to get done and not a lot of time to get it done in. I’m already stretched thin enough as it is. Surely you, of all people, can understand that.”

“Sure, I can,” she rejoined, “but geez, Justin, at the rate you’re going, you’ll have major ulcers before you hit forty. Besides, you’ve been home almost two weeks; this is our first free time together since Lord knows when, and I’m lucky to see your face at the dinner table. And,” she added when he opened his mouth to protest, “it’s Christmas, in case it’s slipped your mind. As in, a time for home. For family. For me.”

For a minute or two, Justin just sat there, regarding his wife with an expression that did not go well with his otherwise handsome features. Then, tossing his notebook and pen aside and propping his elbows against the edge of his desk, he covered his face with his hands and groaned softly. He ran his hands up and down a fair number of times before taking them away.

When he spoke again, his voice was much quieter and calmer, though it still held a bit of an edge. “I know you mean well, hon. I can see where you’re coming from, and I’m as frustrated that we don’t have as much personal time as you are. If it will make you feel better, I should be done with this before dinner, and we can do something together then.”

Jessica sighed, but as there was no further use in arguing, she just said, “Okay, fine.” It was only with substantial effort that she refrained from adding snarkily, “Have it your way.”

“Thanks, Jess,” said Justin, and then he picked up his things and resumed his work once more. Jessica doubted he even noticed her leaving the room.

As she walked away, she couldn’t help thinking, What am I going to do with him?

They hadn’t even been married two years, and already he was like a stranger to her.

Wistfully, Jessica recalled the good old days, when she and Justin did just about everything possible around Christmastime—snowball fights in the backyard, hot chocolate and marshmallow feasts in front of the fireplace, even skating at the local ice rink despite how terrible they both were at it.

Jessica had meant it when she said she could understand how swamped Justin was these days, but that didn’t mean she had to be happy about it. She knew Justin was doing his best to provide a comfortable living, but she wouldn’t have minded a one-room apartment and a limited budget if it meant they could have better quality time together.

Just as Jessica made it back to the kitchen, an idea struck, freezing her on the spot.

She remembered her friend Karly telling her at last year’s get-together how she had convinced her own husband, Chris, to pay a little more attention to her when his workload got to be a bit much. The idea was so brilliant that Jessica wondered why she hadn’t thought of it sooner, and she found herself saying aloud, then and there, “You’re a genius, Karly!” 

She only hoped they still had it in stock, with Christmas just around the corner.

As a matter of fact, by the time she made it to the store that afternoon, there was only one set left, and it cost a solid forty bucks, too. But she forked over the money willingly, thinking as she did so, It’s worth every penny.

“You look tired, sweetheart. Why don’t you take a break?”

It was only 7:25, but Justin felt ready to drop dead at his desk. “I guess you’re right,” he said, leaning back in his chair and massaging his throbbing lids. “Whoo, man…what a day. I feel like a college kid cramming for finals.”

“Well, you’re definitely making progress,” Jessica said, sliding her arms gently around his shoulders from behind and kissing the top of his head.

“Yeah, but there’s still so much to do.” He sighed. “I don’t know how I’ll ever meet this deadline.”

“All you need is a breather, J. Relax. Take twenty minutes away from your computer. You can afford that much, can’t you?”

Justin made no resistance when his wife took his arm and hauled him to his feet.

She led him to the next room, their bedroom. The ceiling light was on, but kept just bright enough for them to see where they were going. Soft Christmas music drifted from the radio on their nightstand, and a string of colored lights glowed comfortingly outside their window. The bed did appear inviting to Justin’s eyes, the more so because Jessica had just changed the sheets and put on a new coverlet. So he stretched out on his side of the bed with no complaints.

“Just twenty minutes,” he murmured as he closed his eyes, “at the most…”

When Jessica was sure he was asleep, or at least good and relaxed and completely unawares, she crept to the closet and pulled out the goods—a fine pair of fuzzy red handcuffs.

Karly had assured her they caused no discomfort whatsoever, but Chris certainly wasn’t going anywhere while they were set.

And neither are you, my dear, Jessica thought as she regarded her husband with an impish smile.

In this way, she would have Justin all to herself, at least for a while.

She wondered for just a moment whether he might be angry when he woke up and discovered her little trick. She recalled asking Karly about Chris’s initial reaction, and heard Karly’s answer as clearly as if she were telling it to her now.

“He was pretty annoyed at first, especially when I pocketed the key right in front of him and told him he would have to wrestle me if he wanted it. But then I just turned on the old feminine charms, and within minutes, he was putty in my hands.”

As Jessica carefully secured one fluffy cuff to Justin and the other to herself, she whispered, “I owe you for this, Karly. I owe you big-time.”