This past shark week showed me a little more about the Machiavellian in my wife.

I have been tracking her cycle for the last few months on an app, not that I need to because I can just as easily tell as soon as the avoiding game starts. It begins with an abnormally early or late bedtime and then she will switch from early to late, or vice versa. Whatever it takes to make sure there is plausible deniability for her if we go a few extra days without hiding the bologna.

So, she starts in with some ramped up shit tests during PMS. No biggie, but this month there is a consistent theme. "You need to be nicer to me". I'm mostly ignoring them, some amused mastery. Each time I fail to take the bait she is pouting a little longer. Meanwhile it's been 3 or four days with no sex.

Finally get a "normal" bedtime after kids get put to bed on schedule and things are looking like maybe it's blow job night when I notice she is shedding clothes before climbing into bed, and she is in just underwear. According to the app, it's smack in the middle of shark season. I am still struggling to get the bj to completion without a real effort and was hoping this would be the night.

I start the escalation and she starts with the "you need to be nicer" shit testing. I just laughed off the first one. Then she says "If you were nicer to me maybe things would go your way". I say " I seriously doubt that, but just in case, your looking mighty fine, now come give me some sugar" She goes back to the "need to be nicer" theme. At this point I am laughing for real, because I finally see this for what it is. Turned over and went to sleep.

She planned this! The timing, the naked top half as bait. Her attempt to control me to be "nicer" whatever that might mean to her, I'll never know.

She is still not willing to do what it takes to please me when it is an inconvenience for her. That irritates me, but I'm not being butt-hurt about it. If anything it deepens acceptance of my situation.