Sweet Nothings

The Red Dress prompt this week was to pull out an item from your pantry and incorporate the ingredients in a story. Hey, I may have pulled the easiest thing (organic honey), but I just couldn't make my brain hurt too much this Friday!


“You never call me a pet name. You ever notice that?” He asked.

“What are you talking about?” I said, puzzled.

“Well, most boyfriends and girlfriends call each other things like ‘Baby’ or ‘Sweety,’” he explained.

Eww. I thought. “So, what are you trying to say?”

“It would just be nice to hear you call me something, you know, affectionate. It would show that you loved me,” he said.

“I don’t see why I need to call you some kind of ridiculous name like ‘Honey’ or ‘Sugar’ in order to show that I love you,” I said hotly, starting to feel irritated.

It just didn’t feel right. Nothing about this relationship felt right.

“Can you just give it a try?” he pushed.

I was incredulous. “You want me to say something, even though I find it silly, just because you think it shows that I love you?”

“If you really loved me, you wouldn’t find it silly, honey.” His voice was tight. He enunciated each word carefully. Like I was stupid.

“Oh, come on, you know I love you!” I said in a bright voice, trying to lighten the mood.

He stared at me.

I considered my next move.

“Well, which, uh, name do you like best?” I asked.

“Baby. I’d like you to call me ‘baby’ sometimes,” he said. “Like, you could say, ‘How was your day, baby.’ It sounds so loving.”

He was completely serious.

“Um, ok. I’ll try,” I said. I knew I wouldn't be able to do it.

Nothing about this relationship felt right.