They Told Me To Find A Husband, I Bought A Wife Instead

Synopsis

I envied my male coworker, Henry Smith, who was in his thirties and married, with a stay‑at‑home wife. His wife handled all his daily chores, leaving him free to focus only on his job. He was waited on hand and foot every day. Hot meals were ready when he got home, and his bath was drawn for him. His kid would coo "Daddy" in that sweet little voice. He'd play with him for a few minutes and call it fatherhood. He did no housework, no childcare; he lived like a college kid fresh out of school. And me? Every day after work, I came home to nothing but an empty 3,200‑square‑foot apartment. I had always loved the idea of kids. Physically, that was the easy part. It was carving out a year for my body and career that kept me from doing it. But I was at a critical point in my career. I was scared of the physical toll pregnancy would take and how it could set back my work, so I never dared to take that step. Henry and I were competitors. In a fair fight, I would have taken him down without breaking a sweat. But he had a full-time wife running his life, so it stopped being a fair fight. Now it was two against one. We both had a hard day at work, yet he came home to far more comfort than I did. That made me sick with envy. I needed to get myself a wife, too. I couldn't even imagine how good life would be if I had one.