While flying to D.C., a man hears the woman behind him on the phone.”So, did you send your husband off?””Yep,” she replies. “He’ll be in pieces by tomorrow.”His heart skips.She adds, “He won’t be back until the day after tomorrow, right?”

That’s his schedule. Same city. Same return date. And the woman’s voice? Eerily familiar.Panic sets in.He changes his flight, rushes home early, convinced his wife Ellen is cheating—or plotting something worse.

But what he walks into isn’t scandal. It’s chaos: glitter, construction paper, kids from the neighborhood, and Ellen yelling, “No peeking!” from the dining room.She turns, stunned. “You’re early!”He blurts, “I heard the call—*‘he’ll be in pieces’? Are you… leaving me?!”She stares—then bursts into laughter.The call was about a scavenger hunt she was secretly planning for their anniversary. “He’ll be in pieces” referred to puzzle pieces she designed as clues, each one leading to a memory they shared.Relieved and embarrassed, he lets her lead him to the first clue.That night, they laugh over dinner at the restaurant where they had their first date—grateful, surprised, and closer than ever.Next year? Maybe just a card.