All we are saying is give war a chance

   Mother was nervous in the living room.
  “Two angels came by today,” she said.
  Father, relaxing after work, was ruffled.  “Angels?!  What did
they want?”
  “They had a List,” ventured Mother.  “A List of Things I Truly
Wanted.”
  “Good God!  Did you look at it?”
  “No!  No!  I don’t know why they came.  I told them they must be
mistaken.”
  Father eyed her suspiciously.  “Have you been praying again?”
  “Oh no, only in church,” quickly pooh-poohed Mother.  “I have
everything that I want.”
  The cover up was on. To compare the life she had with the life
she truly wanted could be disastrous. In fact, it was a perpetual
war within her between pushing the List away and craving It.  Father
could press her on this point. Break her down, make her admit
she was a fraud, a liar. All would be lost then. Not only would she
not have what she Truly Wanted but also lose all that she did have.
What would Father do?
  “Good!  Good!” approved Father, his demeanor much more jovial.
“I want you to have everything that you want.”
  “I know,” Mother cooed.  “I know you do, dear.”
  They sealed the deal with a kiss. The contract was intact, the
holy institution of marriage was preserved. And to preserve that
which is holy made you holy too. Mother thought to herself: “Thank
God he’s a fraud too. Someday we will make this all right, though.”
  A tenuous contentment filled the air. Mother and Father placed
their sunglasses on as they resumed their activities. They felt so
smart and adult. How clever they were! Both felt so safe in the
confines of their agreement.
  The door slammed shut as Junior came home, bursting the bubble of
contentment.
  “Damn it, son!” perturbed Father.  “Why do you have to slam the
damn door!”
  “Hi, Mom!  Hi, Dad!  Guess what?  We learned something really
cool today at school.”
  Mother was always craving good news.  “Really?  Tell us what it
was.”
  “We learned a cool new truth: War is over if you want It.”
  Frantic eyes darted behind the cleverly placed sunglasses. Mother
and Father first looked to each other, then looked away relieved.
The moment of panic passed, they came to a silent agreement, their
front united.
  “Oh, no,” opposed Mother.  “War goes on forever.  You can’t have
peace just because you want It.  Trust me.”
  “Yes,” comfortably confirmed Father. “There is no other way. It’s
the only way to keep what we have.” Father was confident. “Someday
you will understand that.”
  Junior, backing away, mumbled to himself, “I hope not.”