Nicole -- Nikki -- Callington might not have had it<em>all</em>, but she had it made.  At 31, the marketing manager at a prominent software startup company was poised for success whether the rumors of a pending acquisition by an industry behemoth were true or not.  Any ambitious professional could aspire to little more than to be a part of something with so much energy, promise, and potential -- And a near six-figure income didn't hurt either.  Sure, the role dictated long hours, consistent travel, and no shortage of odd-hour meetings, but that was the price of success.  Besides, she and Chris had plenty of aspirations in life -- and most all of them required more money than they had.<br/><br/>The decision to pour more of herself into work than the marriage hadn't been a conscious one for Nikki, but it had come at roughly the same time as her husband's own resignation to the stagnation that seemed boilerplate for any marriage beyond its fifth year.  Encroaching upon ten, the young woman had resigned herself to the simple fact that this was the way life was.  Was that really so bad?  The walls of their home were overflowing with love.  Passion, on the other hand, was in short supply.<br/><br/>Still, today was a special day.  That aforementioned affection drove Nikki to take the half-day, and with that extra time she'd set about preparing an extra-interesting evening for her husband.  Maybe somewhere deep down she was even hoping to evoke an impassioned response from Chris.  This was his day, and she had learned by now not to set herself up for disappointment with expectations of anything beyond their typical dinner-and-drinks followed closely by bed.  Sex might happen, but even if it did, it'd be the<em>same old</em>.<br/><br/>She heard Chris emerge into the house and wasted no time in shimmying back out of the dress she was wearing.  It'd been a gift from her husband years ago, and a mild fluctuation in weight dictated that she hadn't worn it in a little while.  It fit like a<em>dream</em>now -- even better than it had before -- and so she was plenty giddy to roll it into their evening adventure.  Moments later, Nikki was aglow as bare feet thumped quietly into the hardwood floor of their ground level.  Dressed down in shorts and a tangerine tee, she 'rounded the stairs' railing and approached her husband from the side.<br/><br/><em>"Hey,"</em>she greeted, soft brown eyes aglow whilst tendrils of chestnut, waist length, were a messy shroud about her shoulders.  Moments later, and she latched arms 'round her husband's shoulders, giving him a quick hug so as not to obscure his view of the game.  On any other day, she might've found something to complain about, but today was his to do with as he pleased, and some part of her found relief in simply making it about him.<br/><br/>Rather than draw out the surprise, she opted to withdraw her phone, thumbing and swiping before gently leveling its screen in front of him so as to display the selfie she'd snapped not five minutes ago in their bedroom.<br/><br/><div align="center">(https://i.imgur.com/WCzHpfm.jpg)</div><br/><em>"Thinkin' I might wear this tonight.  What'cha think?  And have you decided where you wanna go yet?"</em>