A woman discovered her husband’s notebook detailing spending on medicines and other expenses—so much for true love.

A friend of mine recently ended up in hospital with an illness thats made headlines these days. It was a nasty caseboth lungs were involved. During her hospital stay, her employers decided it was the perfect time to make her redundant. When she finally made it home, nobody expected her to leap straight into job-hunting. Besides, the situation in the country was bleak, and everyone was clinging to their jobs with the determination of a Jack Russell to a tennis ball. Landing a decent position was about as likely as finding a unicorn in Tesco, and trying to work as a checkout assistant was out of the question given her health. So, she quietly started browsing for work related to her field while recuperating in the comfort of her living room.

Seeing as she was spending so much time at home, she resolved to finally tackle a deep cleanwhile she still had the time and stamina. She started with the chaos on her computer desk and stumbled upon a notebook. This oddity caught her off guard, as she couldnt recall ever owning it. Who knows what secrets it heldmaybe old phone numbers and addresses of questionable dates past. She opened it, and a cascade of receipts flopped out. But what was most intriguing: on every page, in her husbands oh-so-familiar handwriting, each purchase was meticulously logged: face cream, vitamin D, injections (two sessions), the works.

Her hands started to tremble. It dawned on herall the shopping her husband had done for her during her illness had been fastidiously tallied up and totalled, right in that notebook. At regular intervals, hed added them, penning new totals, untilaccording to her husband’s own calculationsshe owed him the grand sum of nearly eighty-five thousand pounds. Every single medical expense, even part of the weekly groceries, took pride of place in his little ledger.

Now, I have to say, I was rather impressed by my friends composure. She didnt immediately call her beloved and give him a blast down the line; she didnt spike his roast dinner with laxatives or throw his favourite slippers out the window. Instead, she waited calmly for him to return from work. She served dinner, listened to the rundown of his day, and only then, oh so politely, brought up the little matter. She managed it brilliantlynot a single word that would have frightened the family parrot.

And her husbands reply? Whats wrong with that, darling? Before we got married, we kept our finances separate, didnt we? Ive been fronting all the costs while youve been off. So, once youre back on your feet and working, youll reinvest a bit more, until it all balances out. Then I can finally get myself a new laptop with the cash Ive managed to save, since the old ones given up trying to play the latest football game.

I suppose thats one way to ensure everyone keeps receipts in this day and age.