My husband and I have never kept secrets from each other. Until now. Imagine how I felt when the Carpenter lied to me. To my face. He was convincing even, which just makes it all the more suspect.
And I can’t even be angry because, in hindsight, I’m rather impressed by his cunning swagger. He got away with it too. You knew he would.
I am still in shock, to be honest. How could this happen to us? We talk about everything. No subject is taboo. Everything is out in the open. Straight up honest.
And then this happened; he saw the Riverfest Elora line-up of musical acts two days before it was made public and he said nothing to me. Not a word. Nadda. Not even a hint. He could have at least engaged me in a good game of word play, charades or “guess that tune” to indicate the headline acts of my absolute favourite event of the summer. I could have guessed and he’d still have kept his word to the Riverfest Elora guys. I see where his loyalty lies now. Hmph.
The Carpenter has been a volunteer with Riverfest Elora since it was a small event in the backyard of the Elora Centre for the Arts, organized by Marilyn Koop. He respected Marilyn for her integrity and musical vision.
As the event grew, he made the concert his annual community volunteer contribution. When Marilyn passed away, he decided to keep volunteering to help build the festival that now spans three days. I asked him recently why he keeps putting in the time. His answer? “I still do it for Marilyn.” Good answer.
That doesn’t let him off the hook, though. You see, he saw the official list of more than 40 bands at a volunteer meeting on the Wednesday before the Friday media announcement. He told me he never got near it. Too many people were vying to see it, he said.
He told me everyone in attendance was sworn to secrecy. Lips sealed. No leaks. No problem. He didn’t care to know. The bands didn’t matter so long as he was doing his part. But, he didn’t make eye contact with me. I should have known he wasn’t being honest. Yet, I believed him. I was duped.
In all fairness, when your wife is in the media, it is a slippery slope to give her a good lead. I realize that. But I wouldn’t have said a word to anyone. Really, I wouldn’t. On my honour. Pinky swear. Stamped it, no erasies.
It could have been our little secret. He knows I can be trusted. I know our bank passwords, after all (fact: he doesn’t know our bank codes or any passwords for anything we do).
It wasn’t until the media release was made public last Friday morning that I knew all the bands coming to Riverfest Elora this August. It was a good moment. Worth the wait. So many great bands. So much musical diversity. Awesome.
The news wasn’t out more than five minutes when I got a text from the Carpenter: “What do you think of the line-up?” I swear I could see the smile on his face through the tone of the message, as I realized he knew all along.
He knew I’d flip out over some of these bands. It would have been painful for me to keep that secret from my friends. Fair enough.
It’s no secret: he’s forgiven. You knew he would be.
