Physiological Aversion

After ten years of marriage, my husband entered a “sensitive period for order.” I picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks, and he saw it, rising to get a new pair from the kitchen. His discarded pajamas were off-limits to me; they could only go to a specific dry cleaner. Our bed was divided in half—pillows, blankets, even the direction of my breath couldn’t cross the boundary. Today, he didn’t touch the breakfast I’d prepared again. The toast was golden-brown, the fried egg perfectly runny, just how he liked it, and the milk was warmed to fifty degrees. But he didn’t even glance at it before leaving for work. I noticed he’d forgotten a contract and hurried after him, only to find his new secretary waiting for him in the basement. She brazenly popped a half-eaten bun into his mouth, and he, indulgent, ate it. A sudden realization struck me. Only children aged two or three have a “sensitive period for order.” For adults, this is called physiological aversion.