How Do You Spell Character?

On Wednesday nights we help serve dinner at our church. We enjoy the opportunity to serve people and say hello to everyone who passes through the line, not to mention the free meal afterwards. Generally I serve the kids’ meal and the salads (rocking Ella in her carseat underfoot) while Michael tends to the desserts, wearing Jane in the backpack.

Last Wednesday, as we were waiting for the rush to begin, I glanced down at Michael and caught his eye. He smiled back, so I wandered down and proffered my cheek for a kiss. ‘Hey, Little Miss Haughty,’ he whispered in my ear.

I was perplexed. I had indeed pointed my nose in the air to give him the best angle, but I couldn’t imagine that he would cast it up to me under such circumstances. ‘Well, I’m trying to be humble,’ I told him, thinking of some way to work it into a compliment, like adding, ‘Which is hard with such a handsome husband as you,’ thus heaping coals of fire upon his head.

Michael began to laugh. ‘Your Institute training is bleeding through! Who else would think I meant H-A-U-G-H-T-Y instead of H-O-T-T-I-E?’

Oh. Yes, that sounds much better.