After 12 years of marriage, I know my husband Kyle inside and out — including his sneaky ways of dodging dish duty. His latest trick? Leaving just one bite of food in every dish so he could claim it wasn’t “finished” — and therefore not dirty. One spoon of stew. Two peas in a pan. Half a nugget. Always “saving it for later,” though he never did. And every time I complained, he just grinned and shrugged: “It’s not empty!”

Tired of arguing, I decided to fight pettiness with pettiness — and a whole lot of creativity. I started collecting his sad little scraps in a container labeled Kyle’s Gourmet Remnants. After a week, I had a fridge full of the weirdest “tasting menu” imaginable.

Then came his special lunch. I plated each leftover like fine dining: one green bean, a spoonful of soup, a lone dumpling. I lit candles, set the table, and smiled sweetly as he stared at the tray in horror. “It’s everything you’ve been saving,” I said innocently. He laughed — nervously. But I wasn’t done. The next week, I delivered a “complete experience”:

One sip of water in a bottle, A shirt he swore was still clean, A nearly dead TV remote, A box with just a receipt, And 30 seconds of his favorite movie, Kyle was doubled over laughing. “Okay, okay — I get it!” he said. That night, for the first time ever, he washed all the dishes — even the one with one lonely mushroom. Two months later, he still does the dishes. Every. Single. Time. Turns out, a little creativity goes a long way in marriage. And sometimes, revenge is best served with a side of cold mac and cheese.

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