Late one evening, a husband sent a text to his wife:

“Hi, I’ll be late. Please try and wash all my dirty clothes and make sure you prepare my favorite dish before I return.”

He waited.
No reply.

Maybe she was busy. Maybe she didn’t see it.

A few minutes later, he decided to send a follow-up message:

“And I forgot to tell you—I got a raise! End of the month, I’m getting you a new car.”

Within seconds, his phone lit up.

“OMG! Really? That’s amazing! I’ll start dinner now and the laundry’s already in!”

He smiled to himself.

Then he sent a final message:

“I was just checking if you were reading my texts.”

Her reply?

“And I was just checking if I married a fool.”

Moral of the story?
Words matter. But timing, tone… and maybe a little incentive? That makes all the difference.