The Code Word
To outsmart their endlessly curious five-year-old daughter, a husband and wife devised a secret code for initiating intimacy. One evening, amid the familiar clutter of their living room, they brainstormed.
"How about typewriter?" the wife suggested, nodding toward the vintage Royal gathering dust in the corner.
"It’s old-fashioned, specific, and she’d never guess.""Perfect," the husband agreed.
A few nights later, feeling a spark, the husband found his daughter building a block tower near the stairs.
"Sweetie," he said, "can you be a messenger? Go tell Mommy that Daddy needs to type a letter."
She scampered off. In the kitchen, the wife—tired from her day—stifled a laugh. Leaning down, she whispered:
"Go tell Daddy he can’t type right now. The typewriter has a red ribbon in it."
The message was delivered. The husband sighed in resignation.
Several days later, the mood struck the wife. She found her daughter playing with dolls in the hallway.
"Honey," she murmured, "go tell Daddy the typewriter is free now. He can type that letter whenever he’s ready."
The little girl ran to the living room and returned a moment later, her face puzzled.
"Well?" the mother asked.
The girl shrugged. "Daddy said, ‘Never mind the typewriter. Tell Mommy I already wrote the letter by hand.’"