Exclusive on Weekends

Chris and May had a modern relationship.

They were exclusive from Friday evening until Monday morning.

The rule had developed naturally. Weekends belonged to each other. The rest of the week remained deliberately undefined.

It worked beautifully.

Every Friday, Chris rode to her condo with takeaway food. They spent Saturday at the beach and Sunday behaving like people who had no interest in anyone else.

On Monday, they kissed goodbye and regained their independence.

Neither asked questions.

The arrangement failed on a Wednesday.

Chris was having dinner in Kata with another woman when he saw May across the restaurant with another man.

Both couples went quiet.

Chris looked betrayed.

May looked offended that he looked betrayed.

Later, they exchanged messages.

“I thought we were exclusive,” Chris wrote.

“It’s Wednesday.”

“That’s not the point.”

“It is exactly the point.”

Chris began typing, stopped, and checked their original conversation.

May was correct.

The weekend arrangement resumed on Friday.

Neither mentioned the restaurant.

They ordered food, watched a film and placed both phones face-down on the table.

Their relationship remained exclusive.

The calendar simply had very clear opening hours.