The Paper Was Mine, The Glory Was His

Synopsis

My husband, Charles Landon, had been trying to get promoted to full professor for years, but his papers kept getting rejected. So, I, the former top student in my department, ended up ghostwriting for him. He said, "Honey, we're in this together. My honor is yours, too." At first, he'd bring me a cup of hot milk every night. But later, all he did was keep urging me, "The deadline's next week." Seeing his exhausted face, I kept telling myself that his success was our family's success. From then on, whether it was applications for national-level projects or just his lecture PowerPoints, they were all my work. Finally, he took home the Aurora Prize with a paper I'd written for him. I asked Charles, "Honey, did you forget to mention me in the acknowledgments?" With a slight flush from the drinks, Charles looked impatient. "We're family. It's no big deal, isn't it?" His female student giggled, her voice playful. "Mrs. Landon, don't give Mr. Landon a hard time. "Honestly, your biggest contribution is making sure the family runs smoothly so he doesn't have to worry about anything else. After all, it's not like you could help with writing papers anyway." I watched as Charles let her speak for him, looking pleased, while the people around us suddenly had that look of realization in their eyes. In that instant, it all clicked. Everything I'd poured into him over the years was just paving the way for his success. I turned on my laptop and gathered up every draft, note, and email I'd ever written for him. If my so-called help was useless, well, I'd send all the scrap paper to the academic committee and let them judge who actually earned this honor.