My wife has a part-time job. I don't know where she works or what she does, and I'm not sure I want to.

My wife, Venessa, and I became a couple during our senior year at college. We had both gone to high school in the same city, but went to different institutions; she went to a private school, while I went to a public school a district over. <br><br>My high school was not great. We had a lot of problems with the school becoming a battleground for gang recruitment and violence. Kids were made to disappear because of what their brothers or uncles did. I grew up knowing that I had to get out as soon as I could. I worked my ass off getting scholarships and applying to schools. I was accepted into a few places that I couldn’t afford, even with a scholarship covering most of the tuition. In the end, I didn’t even come close to being able to afford the tuition for a state school. <br><br>Venessa’s school was much better. Her school was the best in the region until the district got redistricted in a way that ensured the private school was in its own district until halfway through our senior year. Extrapolating, I’d say that around 80% of the kids at her school went to a university, either in or out of state. <br><br>I got a job at a restaurant and became friendly enough with my coworkers to be able to get good references from them to get a good job out of state. Extrapolating again, I think well over half of my coworkers from that restaurant either left the state or ended up back in our hometown. <br><br>My point is, when I met Venessa, I knew almost nothing about her. We joined a bacterial genetics class together around the middle of our senior year (yeah, we were choosing classes that our friends were in so we could sit together). After class, she followed me out and asked me if I wanted to go get coffee with her. I said yes.<br><br>That was that. I mean, we’ve argued a few times over the years, but she’s never actually done anything wrong. Literally, it’s always my fault. I feel like a lot of guys say that about their wives, but in this case, I’m serious. Why else would you marry someone?<br><br>We got special permission to have a coffee maker in our dorm room. It was the most efficient way for us to wake up in the morning for our 7am lectures. We were both trying to finish our degrees in three years and go straight into a professional school. I was going into medicine, and she was going into law. <br><br>We were both taking night classes to get extra credit. By the end of our senior year, she had graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in sociology and I was finishing up my pre-med courses. She accepted a job offer while I accepted a residency hundreds of miles away. <br><br>That was about 10 years ago, and we’re still living happily ever after in my speciality hospital in Vermont. I know that Venessa is happy with her life. She hasn’t expressed a desire to be a stay-at-home mom since our kids were born, and she seems to be fulfilled every time she comes home from work. I have no reason to be worried, until I start thinking about what she actually does at work.<br><br>She works as a specialist, although she doesn’t specify what. I’m a doctor, so I have to be careful about what I say and how I get to the bottom of things. I don’t want her to get fired because her husband accidentally stole a secret. <br><br>We met for coffee like she invited me to the first time we met. We were in the lobby of the University Hospital. I had a meeting with the University itself to see if I’d be a good fit for their residency program. Venessa was working at the hospital, although in what capacity, I had no idea. <br><br>“You look good,” she said. “But you always do.” <br><br>I smiled and laughed. “Thanks. So do you. What made you get a job here?”<br><br>Venessa looked at me with a mixture of confusion and amusement. “You know I work here.”<br><br>“Doing what?”<br><br>“Research and Development.” <br><br>“There’s a department for that here?”<br><br>“Yes. Don’t you know that?”<br><br>I nodded. “You just threw me off. I would have guessed you were in business operations somewhere.”<br><br>“Research and Development,” she repeated, “for the university.”<br><br>“They don’t subcontract that stuff?”<br><br>Venessa raised an eyebrow. “No, we don’t. But you’d know that.”<br><br>“Apparently not.”<br><br>“Well, now you do.” She picked up her bag and tossed some bills on the table. “I have to go.”<br><br>“Okay,” I said, “I’ll walk you to whatever department you’re in and then head out myself. My interview isn’t for another hour.”<br><br>“Alright,” she said, “let’s go.”<br><br>She took me on a made-me-forget-I-was-in-a-hospital goose chase. Venessa led me through doors that became secret corridors that connected entire hospital wings. She walked so quickly that I got lost halfway through the route. We stopped at security checkpoints four times. Eventually, we ended up at a set of doors that were behind a mantrap. <br><br>At this point, I realized that I knew more about Venessa’s workplace than I ever had. She gave me a hard look.<br><br>“I have to go to work,” she said, “and you have an interview soon. Don’t think about this.”<br><br>I shrugged. “I won’t. Thanks for letting me come with you. See you later.”<br><br>“Bye.”<br><br>I watched her walk through the security checkpoint and into the doors, then turned around and tried to find my way back. I had no idea how we had gotten there. I wandered until I found a map of the hospital system. There was no Research and Development department. At least, none that was listed. There was a row of rooms on the map that had no name. Where the department name should have been, there was a random set of letters. I recognized some of them as being from dead languages. I’m sure they were random, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was a code somewhere.<br><br>I made it to my interview. It was hard to focus on it. I was still trying to figure out the meaning of those letters. I made it through the interview. A week later, I got the letter of acceptance. I was moving to Vermont. A few days later, Venessa got a job offer from the University Hospital. I was thrilled when she told me about it.<br><br>We moved up to Vermont and got settled in before I started classes. Venessa is so smart. She helped me get through school. We would spend hours in our living room, studying and rewriting notes and outlining lessons for the next day. Venessa would review my lessons and ask me questions to see if I understood. She’s a quick learner and smarter than I am. She understands things much more quickly than I do. <br><br>Looking back, I know that she had a job at the hospital. But she was always home. She always had time to help me. I’m not sure what she did at work until I got home from classes, because I remember her being home when I got back around 5pm.<br><br>A few years after we moved up to Vermont, I graduated medical school. I matched into a residency at the same hospital where she worked. <br><br>This is the part around which everything centers. Every day for the past decade or so, I have walked into the hospital, dropped off my bag in my locker, and gone to work. I have made life-or-death decisions. I have saved countless lives, until I couldn’t. I have given dozens of bad patients news that will change their lives. I have given good news to hundreds of patients, promising them that they’ll be able to go home. <br><br>“Looking back” is actually a lie. I do this job every single day. Ten years of my life and I don’t know what my wife does at work. <br><br>I mean, I know that she goes into work. She always had a hard job. She works long hours. While I was a medical student, and a resident, and a fellow, and now a full-blown doctor, she became a manager. <br><br>She works on the projects that she works on, and she makes decisions for the projects she’s in charge of. She travels a lot to other departments. <br><br>Venessa always at least makes it home in time for dinner, around 8 or 9. Sometimes until 10 or 11. She always tries to spend quality time with our kids before bed. She never misses family events. We go on vacations, trips to national landmarks and foreign nations, and to the beach and the mountains and the forest. <br><br>She’s the most interesting, fascinating person you’ve ever met. She’s a great mom, and a great wife, and an even better friend. <br><br>She is the love of my life. She always will be. We’ll grow old together. We’ll live a long life together. We’ll grow up until our dying days. Ten years may seem long to some people, but you grow up so much in that short span of time. <br><br>I don’t know what she does at work. But she’s the love of my life, and I love her more every day. I want to be around her for every part of my life. Ten years may seem long to some people, but you grow up so much at that age. And you learn more than you ever thought you could. <br><br>Ten years may seem long to you, but it is short for us. <br><br>We love each other. And we will never let that change. 百度流量assistant<br><br>So i've been lurking r/nosleep for a while now. And i have to admit. This was the