A Mission to the Mustard Museum (Young at Heart, #3) by Beth Mathison

Description:

Frannie and David Young have been married over twenty years, have two kids, busy jobs, a house in the suburbs and a dog named Max. To keep the romance alive in their relationship, they plan a “date” twice a month. Their block of time together includes very few rules—no kids or dogs, but requires an open mind. Frannie and David take turns planning dates, depending on the NFL’s schedule and how the planets are aligned that particular month.

In the third short story of the series, Frannie and David visit the Mustard Museum where they encounter life-sized bottles of condiments, Louisiana hot sauce, and crowds of elderly tourists. Fearing their relationship has lost its “zing” as they head towards being Empty Nesters, they reaffirm their passion for each other, Mustard Museum style.

Excerpt:

“Before this conversation gets any deeper, I’d like to say something that’s been on my mind,” Frannie said. “I think we should have a mission statement for our dates.”

“A mission statement?” David asked, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. “Like a business mission statement?”

“Kind of. Something to verbalize what we want to accomplish during our dates.”

“Is this a lawyer thing?” David asked. “I know you’re a paralegal, but I think that lawyer-eze leaks into your brain when you’re at the office.”

“No, this is not a lawyer thing. This is a clarification thing. I thought it might help us have more…focus on our dates.”

“It was the paintball date, wasn’t it?” David asked. “Is that what prompted this mission thing? I swear to God, I didn’t mean to hit you in the chest with that paintball.”

“No,” Frannie admitted. “It wasn’t the paintball date. You’ve apologized enough for that one. I just was thinking about our dates, and where we’re headed with them.”

“Well, I always vote for sex,” David said. “Sex has got to be in any kind of date mission statement.”

“Well, I think that’s a given,” Frannie said, a touch of sarcasm in her voice.

“Hey, I have testosterone you know,” David said. “You need a mission statement and I need sex. It’s part of our deep natures.”

“Deep natures?” Frannie asked.

“Yeah, I read that in a magazine. They had an article about the deep natures of men and woman in Good Housekeeping. How women like to deepen a relationship by non-physical means, and men can deepen their relationships by physical touch. I read it while I was waiting for Brittany to get out of her orthodontist appointment on Tuesday.”

“They didn’t have any sports magazines?” Frannie asked.

“No, for crying out loud. We pay them a fortune for Brittany’s braces, and all they have is Good Housekeeping and Woman’s Day. It’s a horror.”