I called Sam and told him I would be leaving tonight and back in a couple of days. We had planned to meet that evening so I was disappointed that I h...d to travel. He was working at a construction site that was on my way to the airport so I asked him if I could stop by around 5 pm to say hi. It was a hectic day and I was a little stressed when I left the office, but was looking forward to seeing Sam. When I arrived, he was measuring and assessing the work that the crew had completed that day.. “Well, I mean, you’re not obligated to attend, but how often does the drive-in have good classics?” I replied in my most persuasive tone and body language.“I guess,” she said plopping her chin down in a defeated manner.“I’ll pick you up at seven then,” I lingered with my response.“It’s a date,” she perkily answered, using the counter to prop herself up.I couldn’t believe it, she said it, not me. A date, finally, a date with Meredith. We had been good friends, as long as I could remember. I had. . not much, anyway. I was attracted to her, but she was strictly "hands off" from my point of view, and I got the same impression from her. All the same, whatever we had as a team of two, we had it in spades.As the spring and summer season approached, I could see we were going to be as busy as we wanted to be. We would sit down regularly and decide which charters to take and which to refuse. There was a strategy to these meetings and as we discussed the options, I could see that we both thought. Was she changing or was it only that I was becoming more aware of her idiosyncrasies? Why was my psyche being rubbed raw by these initially seemingly benign behaviors. I remembered my dad telling me again and again as a kid that I could never change anyone. The only person I could change was myself. I guess by that he meant I had to accommodate in some way. My wife seemed to be messaging me the same. She was not going to change and it was my duty as husband to accommodate her. Let me give you.