A System of Tokens

The look that Marshal gave Heather said it all, the expression on his face clearly communicated that he did not understand what she was proposing, or that he wasn’t grasping all of the details. His eyes were staring at her in disbelief, as if she had just asked him to go and jump into the pool naked, in the middle of a blizzard, in the middle of the winter. Her expression conveyed the fact that she didn’t understand the complications to what she was proposing, and with Marshal being a very intelligent man, this seemed way harder than it should be.

Finally, he broke the silence. “Explain to me, again, how this will work?”

He sat in the arm chair, that always sat next to the couch with an end table between them, and she leaned over the arm of the couch, to look him in his big, brown, puppy dog eyes. Behind them, she could clearly see that he was thinking and trying to process everything that had been said so far, and how things were going to work under this token system she was proposing. She leaned over the arm of the couch, and reaching for his hand, he reached back to let them meet over the top of the end table.

“Let’s start with the easy part to understand.” She took a deep breath allowing for a longer pause than she had anticipated. “I think we need to reward ourselves every year, you know, kind of as a gift to ourselves for keeping each other happy. On our anniversary, we should sit down, decide if we have done the best that we can to make each other happy, and as part of that, reward ourselves with a token. Does the awarding of the token make sense?”

Marshal nodded his head. “Yes, that part makes sense. How do we decide if we have met each other’s expectations? Other than that, getting a token seems easy enough to accumulate.”

“On our anniversary, we will have a state of the marriage review. You honestly tell me if I have lived up to everything you expect me to be as your wife, and I’ll tell you what I think of how you are doing as a husband. Then we decide if we have earned our tokens for the previous year. For me, the criteria would come down to simple things like feeling respected and loved throughout the year. You’ll have to decide what your criteria will be for a successful year. And if we both have met the expectations of the other, then we both get a token, otherwise, no token and no reward.”

“OK, so we both get a token or neither of us get tokens. Is that, right?”

Heather nodded.

“Where in the hell do you come up with this stuff?” Marshal puzzled.

“I read it on the internet, you know, like all good ideas.”

Marshal shook his head at the thought of good ideas on the internet.

Heather grinned, “Now, to discuss how we can use our tokens, since there are two of them between us. What I read, the couple would use them to have their spouse do something that they wouldn’t normally do.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know that there have to be any limits to what we do. In my mind, it’s anything, I mean anything, that involves the two of us. If there is something that you want me to do, and you want to use your token, there is no question, I will just do it.”

“Is there a physical token that I need to give you?”

“No. You just tell me that you are cashing in your yearly token.”

“How do I know you won’t take advantage of my poor memory and try to cash in multiple tokens?”

“Hopefully, it’s an extra special treat that you don’t mind me cashing in twice if that is what happens.”

“So, if I ask you to do the dishes naked, you just do it?”

“Yes.”

Marshal sat and thought for a moment. Suddenly he got a puzzled look, and the twisted look on his face made him blurt out. “So, what is the first thing that you have in mind? I figure you’ve been thinking about this for a while.”

“I have, but before I am willing to tell you, I want to know that you are in, and that you are going to give it a real effort. The minute that a token is being used, there are no further questions, it just needs to be done. If you don’t like it, then I guess next year no tokens will be handed out.” Her grin got bigger knowing that she was going to use these to live out her fantasies with the man she loves.

“Bloody hell, I know that I have to see this to believe it. Since today is our anniversary, I assume you want to start this now. That being said, I have definitely been happy all year, and I was thinking about keeping you for at least another year, so I believe you have met all of my expectations.”

Heather jumped off the couch and sat on Marshal’s lap. “I’m glad you feel that way. Should I tell you what I want now?”

“We both know that if it’s something you want, we are going to do it. I love how your mind works, so I’m looking forward to seeing how you use your token.” Marshal said. There was a twinkle in his eye that told Heather that he was game for the things that might be going through her mind.

“Great then, I will let you know when I am ready to use my token, and yes, I know exactly what I want. No, I will not tell you what it is yet, I have something to line up first.” With that, she got up, walked into their bedroom, and closed the door behind her.

Prompt from Dirty Writing Prompts on Reddit