My Mother-In-Law Wants To Be My Hall PassWife offers a hall pass, her mother cashes it in

The story

It started as a joke. Kate tells her mom, Margot, that she trusts her husband so completely that she would gladly lend him a free pass, because he would never redeem it. Everyone at the table laughs. Margot does not. Ten minutes later she has Dan cornered by the coffee maker with a plan of her own. He answers no, instantly. She admits no man has ever turned her down that quickly. Meanwhile Kate asks sweetly for coffee from the next room. Episode 1 is a masterclass in whispering over a kettle, with a book club alibi tomorrow night.

The twist

Episode 2 finds Dan offering Margot water and getting something else. He holds the line out loud, three times if needed, and she says she enjoys hearing it. Then Kate phones, nobody sounds suspicious, and the hall pass stays very much in play.

Developing story

Dan keeps saying no, Kate keeps trusting him, and the paid episodes test how long a saint can hold his halo.