MY HUSBAND HAD TO ATTEND AN OFFICE HALLOWEEN PARTY, SO I JOKINGLY WROTE ON HIS CHEST, “PROPERTY OF [Wife’S NAME] – DO NOT REMOVE!”. HE RETURNED HOME IN THE MORNING AND WAS SLIGHTLY INTOXICATED. WHEN I HELPED HIM UNDRESS AND PUT HIM TO BED, I SAW A REPLY ON HIS BACK: “CHALLENGE ACCEPTED – JESSICA 😉” savina…(continue in comment)👇👇savina was fuming, but also strangely intrigued. Jessica? Who was Jessica? Her mind raced through all the women her husband worked with, trying to place a name to the playful, slightly audacious handwriting on his back. She decided against waking him up immediately, his peaceful (albeit slightly snoring) slumber seemed too fragile to disturb just yet. Instead, she snapped a quick photo of the message – evidence, she thought with a wry smile, in case this turned into a full-blown marital mystery.
The next morning, armed with coffee and a simmering curiosity, Savina waited for her husband to surface. He emerged, blinking in the daylight, a little groggy but noticeably less intoxicated. “Morning, sleepyhead,” Savina said casually, handing him a mug. He took a long sip, then noticed the slightly sharper edge in her voice. “Morning… something wrong?” he asked, cautiously.
Savina decided to play it cool. “Just wondering, how was the party? Did you win the costume contest?”
He chuckled, “Nah, no contest for me. But it was fun, everyone went all out. Yours was definitely the most… original touch to my costume though,” he grinned, winking at her.
Savina raised an eyebrow, “Oh really? Did anyone else appreciate my… creative input?”
He frowned slightly, confused. “Yeah, loads of people commented on the ‘Property Of’ thing, thought it was hilarious.”
“Hilarious, huh? Did Jessica think it was hilarious too?” Savina asked, her voice now laced with a playful challenge.
His brow furrowed even deeper. “Jessica? Who’s Jessica? Honey, you know I only know like two Jessicas at work and neither of them were at the party… wait… what are you talking about?” He was genuinely puzzled.
Savina couldn’t keep up the charade any longer. She pulled out her phone and showed him the photo. His eyes widened as he saw the “CHALLENGE ACCEPTED – JESSICA 😉” on his back. He burst out laughing.
“Oh my god! You are NOT going to believe this!” He wiped tears from his eyes, still chuckling. “Okay, okay, so remember Mark from accounting? He was dressed as a whiteboard. Literally, just a giant whiteboard costume.”
Savina nodded slowly, still not quite understanding.
“Well,” her husband continued, “throughout the night, people were writing funny things on his costume. Someone must have seen your message on my chest, thought it was hilarious, and just continued the joke onto Mark’s back! Jessica must be the one who wrote it, but it was definitely aimed at the general ‘property of’ idea, not at me personally! It’s just Mark’s back! Oh man, I wish I had seen it happening!” He was still laughing, shaking his head.
Savina stared at the photo again, then at her husband’s genuinely amused face. Slowly, the tension in her shoulders eased, replaced by a wave of relief and then, amusement. She started to laugh too, a hearty, genuine laugh.
“Mark the whiteboard, huh?” she chuckled, shaking her head. “Of course. Only at your office.”
“Seriously! I can just imagine him walking around all night with ‘CHALLENGE ACCEPTED – JESSICA 😉’ on his back, completely oblivious!” He was still chuckling, picturing the scene.
Savina leaned against him, still laughing. “Well, Jessica has a sense of humor, I’ll give her that. And Mark owes you both a big thank you for making his whiteboard costume the star of the party.”
Later that day, her husband messaged her from work. “Just checked with Mark,” he wrote. “He confirmed! Jessica from marketing wrote it on his back! He was wondering why everyone kept winking at him this morning! 😂”
Savina smiled at her phone. The mystery of Jessica was solved, and it was even funnier than she could have imagined. She replied to her husband, “Tell Mark from accounting ‘Challenge Accepted – Savina 😉’ and see what happens.” She winked at her reflection, already thinking about next year’s Halloween party and how to outdo Jessica from marketing.