Hornet's Nest Redux

I now have two sisters in-law mad at me. One poked my hornets nest (see blog of March 16) and the other one usually ignores my buzzing but now seems to be highly allergic to my sting (op cit).
I am not making light of this as I am truly distressed at my situation. Well not so much my situation as my spouse's. You see, I hate to disappoint her.

I was asked by a good friend the other day "what does one spouse owe the other?" I am quite sure there are many three hundred page books on this topic in the Barnes and Noble self help section right now but I can mention a few things here. I thought I should skip the obvious things like fidelity and unconditional love so when we originally discussed this question I said that when we die, there should be no surprises (we had just come back from a memorial gathering for my uncle). For example, a heretofore unknown love child showing up at the funeral demanding a cut of the inheritance. Or a man named Vinnie asking for his ten G's. Or the fact that unbeknownst to you, your deceased spouse had let the life insurance policy lapse. All very bad outcomes for the grieving widow. Yes, for some reason it is always the man with a skeleton in the closet.

Or in my case, a liver in the pantry. I don't know what that means but it sounds funny.

Back to the story. The most important thing a spouse owes their partner is protection. To know your wife has your back and you have hers. Even when there is strife in the family, it means you will at least have a lawyer to argue your case in the court room even though you may get censured in private chambers. There is no thinner tight rope than the one we walk when mediating between family members. And knowing I at least have my spouse as counsel gives me some hope that I won't get The Chair at Thanksgiving.