My husband’s friends had called me “Butter” for years, and I never questioned it. Then, at a birthday dinner, someone asked what the nickname meant, and every person who knew the answer suddenly stopped laughing.PAY ATTENTION: Find it fast with our new search feature at Legit.ng! “Finish the sentence.” Source: OriginalBen looked at my husband, then back at me.My husband shoved his chair away from the table. “We’re leaving.”I didn’t move.PAY ATTENTION: From breaking news to viral moments.
Follow Legit.ng on Instagram!Whatever “Butter” meant, 11 people at that table suddenly seemed to know something about me that I didn’t.I always assumed it was some dumb nickname with a story behind it.The first time I heard it, my husband and I had only been dating for a few months.We walked into his friend Richard’s backyard for a barbecue, and one of the guys yelled, “Butter made it!”Everyone laughed.I remember looking behind me because I honestly thought they were talking about someone else.My husband put his arm around me.”Ignore them.”Later, when we were driving home, I asked what it meant.He kissed me on the forehead and said, “Nothing. They give everybody stupid nicknames.”That was good enough for me.I was still new to his group then.One friend was Moose.Another was Pastor.Someone could mention a gas station in Ohio, and five grown men would start laughing while their wives rolled their eyes.So, I assumed Butter belonged in the same category.Over the years, I actually got used to it.”Does Butter want another drink?””Ask Butter if she’s coming Saturday.”Even their wives started calling me that because they’d heard it so often.I never loved it.But I didn’t think there was anything cruel behind it.My husband never corrected anyone.”Butter wants the window open.””Butter picked the restaurant.”Once, he had “Butter” written on a paper place card for me at a holiday dinner.I laughed.Why wouldn’t I?I thought I was in on the joke. Source: OriginalThere were about 12 of us around a long table, drinking, telling old stories, and laughing about how everyone had changed since their twenties.At some point, Richard’s wife started asking where all the guys’ ridiculous nicknames came from.Moose got his because he hit a deer in college.Pastor earned his after drunkenly giving everyone relationship advice for three straight hours.Everyone was laughing.”And what about Butter? I’ve always wondered about that one.”The laughter stopped.Not slowly.Immediately.My husband looked down at his plate.Richard took a drink.I laughed because I thought they were messing with me.”Oh, come on.
After all these years, nobody’s going to tell me?”Richard’s wife looked confused.”You seriously don’t know?”Before I could answer, my husband cut in.”It’s not even a story. It’s stupid.”He wasn’t amused.He was nervous.I looked at him.”Then tell me.””Drop it.”Two words.Whatever the nickname meant, my husband didn’t want me to hear it.”Why?”He sighed.”Because we’re having a nice dinner, and this is ridiculous.””Then it should take ten seconds to explain.”He refused.I turned to Richard.”What does it mean?”Richard shook his head.”That’s between you two.”That made me angry.I’d been sitting at holidays, weddings, cookouts, and birthday parties with these people for years while they called me something I apparently wasn’t allowed to understand. Source: Original”If you can call me Butter to my face, you can tell me what it means to my face.”My husband quietly said my name in that warning tone people use when they want you to drop something.I didn’t.Finally, Ben leaned back in his chair.”Man, you should’ve told her a long time ago.”My husband snapped, “Ben.””It started the first night he brought your picture around.”My stomach tightened.”What did he say?”My husband pushed his chair back and stood.”We’re leaving.”I stayed exactly where I was.”He showed us your picture, and one of us asked if you were his girlfriend. And he said…”My husband slammed his hand down on the table.”Don’t.”Every person nearby turned toward us.
Source: OriginalThat was when I realized the nickname hadn’t come from some embarrassing thing I had done.It had come from the way my own husband described me before I ever met any of these people.”Finish the sentence.”My husband stepped closer.”Please.”That stopped me for a second.He hadn’t said it angrily.He sounded scared.”How bad can it be?”He didn’t answer.”Did you make fun of my weight?””No.””My family?””No.”He rubbed his forehead.”It was years ago.”I almost laughed.”That’s not an answer.”Richard finally spoke.”No.”I looked around the table.”You’ve all been saying it for years. We’re talking here.”Richard’s wife looked horrified.”I swear, I didn’t know.”I believed her.Ben looked down at his hands.Then he said quietly, “He showed us your picture, and somebody said you were pretty.”My husband closed his eyes.Ben continued.”And he said, ‘She’s more of a butterface.'””A what?”Nobody answered.Then I remembered hearing the expression years ago.Everything about her is attractive “but her face.”Butterface.I felt heat climb into my cheeks.”You mean…”Ben nodded once.”He was making a joke about your looks.”I looked at my husband.He had spent years telling me the nickname meant nothing.But one question hurt even more than the insult itself.If he regretted saying it, why had he allowed everyone he loved to keep calling me by it? Source: Original”Tell me he’s lying.”My husband looked at me.He couldn’t.Richard’s wife covered her mouth.I looked around the table.”How many of you knew?”Nobody answered immediately.That silence was answer enough.”How many?””I knew where it started.”Ben nodded.Two other men looked down.The wives looked as shocked as I felt.I turned back to my husband.”You called me ugly?”I laughed once.”What part am I misunderstanding?””It was a stupid joke.””Explain the funny part.”He opened his mouth.Nothing came out.He lowered his voice.”I was showing them your picture. They were giving me a hard time because I really liked you.””So you protected yourself by humiliating me?””It wasn’t like that.” Source: Original”Then what was it like?”He sat down.That, at least, sounded true.He told me he’d shown my photograph to the guys shortly after we started dating.They teased him because he wouldn’t stop talking about me.Someone said I was beautiful.Instead of agreeing, my future husband made the butterface comment.Then, when I arrived at Richard’s barbecue a few months later, someone called me Butter.I stared at him.”And you let them.””I didn’t think it would stick.””But it did.””I know.”He looked down.”You could have stopped it the 20th time.”Nothing.”You could have stopped it before our wedding.”His face tightened.”I know.””I know.”That was the part that broke something in me.The original comment had been cruel, but it had lasted seconds.His silence had lasted years.I thought about every barbecue where someone had shouted, “Butter’s here!”Every dinner where someone had saved Butter a seat.Every birthday text addressed to Butter.Sometimes, I’d even signed cards that way as a j
