“We can still get on the reservation waiting list for the Balloon Festival, if you want to.”

Sensing the subtle deception in her words, Joshua did not immediately respond to Amy’s statement. He wanted to say something, but the prospect of entering into another contest of power with this woman, his wife, suddenly filled Joshua with apathy.

Looking at Amy across the dinner table Joshua realized how little he still loved her. Why was he still trying to make this marriage work? If she had not been the perfect Texas socialite, born and bred, he supposed he would have divorced her by now. However, to her credit, Amy’s entertaining skills had served him well during the years. In fact, Joshua had the suspicion that her faultless hostess skills were part of the reason he had made partner at the firm in such a relatively short period.

The silence grew. It filled the space like a hand in a well-worn velvet glove.

Joshua waited, knowing that eventually Amy would break the calm, which would quickly become a storm.

“You don’t have to ignore me. How long are you going to punish me for a simple mistake?”

In response to this question, Joshua’s banked anger flared up. However, when he spoke his voice was calm and controlled. The storm would come even quicker if he showed any emotion other than resigned acceptance.

“It wasn’t a mistake, Amy, and you know it.” Joshua surprised himself by uttering these words. Although weary of these fights, he instinctively responded to the challenge of battle.

“You think that I deliberately-?”

“No, Amy. I don't think, I know. You do not want to go the Balloon Festival, and therefore we are not going. God forbid I should go by myself with all the partners present with their wives. We wouldn’t want them to get the wrong idea, now would we?”

“I suppose you would be ecstatic to see me braid flowers and ribbons in my hair and risk my life by joyfully boarding and riding miles in the air in a vehicle that has never been used as a common means of transportation, just so that you can make points with the bigwigs at work?”

This was as close as Amy would come to confessing that she, in fact, did not want to go to El Paso’s 17th Annual International Balloon Festival; she was admittedly afraid of heights. More importantly, Amy was terrified of appearing weak or foolish before anybody, especially so in front of the other company wives.

Nevertheless, Joshua decided he was going to this event.

As always, Joshua was the thunder that preceded Amy’s lightning. The storm broke, and the war raged on.