The Red Hat Society's Domestic Goddess by Regina Hale Sutherland

instead of bringing the car. She fell into
     step beside her husband. He was much taller than she was, his strides longer, but he walked slower than she did so they managed
     to keep perfect rhythm.
    Walking.
    Life was another matter. Or it was now that he’d retired.
    He lifted a hand to his mouth, smothering a yawn. She couldn’t fathom why he was tired. He slept all day. Every day.
    “I didn’t want you walking home in the dark, alone,” he said gruffly.
    With the street lamps and the lights from the city below them sparkling in the night, it was hardly dark.But still his concern was sweet, reminiscent of the chivalrous man she used to know. Her heart softened at his thoughtfulness,
     which alleviated some of her irritation at the mess he’d left in their bathroom earlier in the day: toothpaste smeared over
     the mirror, his socks on the floor, as well as other unmentionables. And the basement family room, where she’d banished the
     easy chair he seldom left, was an even bigger mess with newspapers and DVD sleeves spread all around the floor, covering the
     carpet.
    “You didn’t need to worry about me,” Theresa assured him, although she was pleased he’d left that chair even if just for a
     short walk. “Kim and I would have walked home together. Nobody messes with Kim and Harry.”
    Wally laughed. “She’s something else.”
    Most men said that about Kim. Most women called Kim
something else,
with jealousy not admiration. But Theresa loved her and Millie. She’d been fortunate to find such wonderful friends.
    She wished Wally would do the same, find some people that were just
his.
Find a life, like Theresa had since they’d moved to Hilltop.
    “You really should come to Kim’s aerobics class in the morning,” Theresa urged. She’d been trying to get him to join the class
     since it started, hoping that the exercise would give him more energy and that he might make friends there.
    “A lot of men come, too,” she added. To watch Kim, probably. Even Mr. Lindstrom stayed awake for the sight of her in her leopard
     print leotard.
    “Men can’t bend like that, Theresa.”
    “We’re starting up some more classes,” Theresa said, as they followed the sidewalk uphill toward their condo. Thanks to Kim’s
     class, she wasn’t even winded, but she could hear Wally breathing. Maybe now was the time to manipulate him, when his brain
     was oxygen-deprived. Any other time she wasn’t likely to fool the man. He was too brilliant a businessman to be manipulated.
     Or at least, he had been…
    “More exercise ones?”
    She shook her head. “No. No bending required. We’re going out on a limb with this one. Mrs. Ryers was already mocking us after
     we put the sign up on the bulletin board.”
    “Old busybody.”
    Theresa laughed. “That’s a lot nicer than what Kim calls her.”
    “Don’t let her get to you.” It wasn’t a flip comment. His tone was too serious. By nature men were problem solvers, and Wally
     had taken this penchant to the extreme when he’d built his consulting business.
    She just might be able to manipulate him yet. Theresa forced out a shaky sigh. “Well, she could be right this time.” She worked
     on adding a little catch to her voice when she continued, “I’d hate to fail. She’d never let us forget it.”
    Wally’s fingers brushed over her hand. “You won’t,” he assured her. “You always pull off whatever you try, Theresa.”
    “I don’t know. We came up with the idea to help Millie. A Bachelor’s Survival Course.” She filled him in onthe situation between Millie’s son and his wife. “This might be the only thing to save their marriage. But we have to have
     more than one student sign up, or he’ll figure out what Millie’s up to…”
    “And his pride will get the best of him, probably like it did when he left his wife.” He sighed. “You’re doing a good thing.
     All of you, trying to save a marriage.”
    Wally was still upset over their daughter