'My husband seems to assume that I'm at his beck and call': Fast-food manager husband requests meatloaf after a long shift, wife responds with thumb up emoji and then serves pork chops instead

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Apr 5, 2025 10:00 PM EDT

When you're craving a certain thing, there's not much that can make that feeling go away. If the cravings are strong enough, they will yell at you until they're satisfied. You might not be anywhere near a meatball sub, but you can't stop thinking about it. You picture what it would be like to bite into that bread, your mouth meeting the saucy, savory filling, so completely you can almost taste it. 

So if someone promised you a meatball sub at the end of the day, you're going to be looking forward to it all day. You're going to orient all your desires in that direction. The anticipation is almost as good as the thing itself. You know that soon, your wish will be fulfilled-- and that's a gift of its own. So if the meatball sub never arrived, you might get a little bit upset. Heck, you might be more than upset. You might be devastated.

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    Cheezburger Image 10489839104
    via Unsplash+ (Yunus Tuğ)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • That's what one man faced when his wife promised a certain meal after a long day of work, and then didn't follow through. But when he tried to express his frustration, she wasn't receptive to his criticism. Read on for the story and see what you would have done in that situation.

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    AITA for not making the dinner that my husband requested?

    My (28f) husband (31m) and I have been married for a little over two years. I'm currently about 2 months pregnant with our first child.
    via u/Technical-Honey-7394
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    My husband works as the general manager of a local fast food franchise. I'm not under employment anywhere, but I do a lot of freelance technical writing work from home.
    via u/Technical-Honey-7394
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    My husband's position pays surprisingly well with good benefits, but he's been having to put in a ton of hours lately, as staffing has been a major problem.
    via u/Technical-Honey-7394
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    The other day, he texted me to let me know that he would be working late; AGAIN, for the fourth time this week. A little later, I texted him that I was going grocery shopping and asked if there was anything special he'd like me to pick up while I was there. He responded: "Get me a couple packs of peach sparkling water, please. Also, I could really use some comfort food. You think I could get some meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and corn?"
    via u/Technical-Honey-7394
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    I responded with thumbs up and winking, kissing face emojis. I bought him everything he asked for. However, I had already thawed pork chops for dinner that night, and, honestly, they were on the verge of going bad so I had to use them up.
    via u/Technical-Honey-7394
  • 07
    When my husband got home, he asked where his meatloaf was. I told him that I'd bought the ingredients but that I wasn't serving meatloaf that night. He then said that this was the one thing he'd been looking forward to for the past couple of hours, and that I'd made it seem as if I was going to make it for him. I told
    via u/Technical-Honey-7394
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    him that I'd never said any such thing, and that I'm not his domestic servant, taking dinner orders. He shot back that if I didn't want to make what he asked for that I should have just said so, but I said that all I'd indicated was that I'd pick up the food, not that I'd make his requested meal that evening.
    via u/Technical-Honey-7394
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    This whole thing could probably be written off as a miscommunication, but, honestly, I'm angry that my husband seems to assume that I'm at his beck and call to make whatever meal he wants. And he's angry that I apparently "can't do one nice thing for him when he asks." Who's the AH?
    via u/Technical-Honey-7394
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    Cheezburger Image 10489842432
    via Emeil Roye

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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    Commenters weighed in with their opinions.

    BuilderWide1961 23h ago • YTA Tbh this text made it seem like you were making that You thumbed up the message and did a kissy face about it...
    via u/BuilderWide1961
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    I'm a women, yeah if someone texted me that I would think they would be making it for dinner that night The confusing is pretty understandable on his part and his disappointment makes sense
    via u/BuilderWide1961
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    • HugelnTheShire 23h ago YTA The way I would have read that from his perspective was that he'd be coming home to meatloaf, seeing as you said you'd make it. Your message response is 100% the response you'd send if you're planning on making what he asked for, seriously you gave him a thumbs up.
    via u/HugelnTheShire
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    Now you're saying sh about him assuming you're at his beck and call, when it was clearly you that agreed to make it and then didn't. You could have saved yourself a lot of headaches by simply saying that you'd already take pork chops out but maybe you could make meatloaf tomorrow.
    via u/HugelnTheShire
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    InesMM78 23h ago . YTA. You misled him into thinking that dinner would be what he asked for (even though you knew you would be cooking something else). He returned home, salivating in anticipation of these dishes.
    via u/InesMM78
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    Wor... • . 23h ago Edited 20h ago YTA....you may not be at your husband's beck and call, but you knew exactly what he was implying when he asked for his comfort food. You know he is stressed and working hard for his family and the staffing issues are not going to get better anytime soon.
    via u/Worth-Season3645
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    You sent cute emojis to his request. You never stated it could not happen. You gave the impression it was going to happen. All you had to do was shot him a text, "hey babe, I forgot about these pork chops. I need to make them instead". Instead, you let him think all day that he was coming home to his favorite meal.
    via u/Worth-Season3645
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    I have done this many a time as well, had meat out, or had in fridge and then never got to use it. I have cooked a few things in one night so as not to let the meat go to waste. Pork chops and the meat loaf could have been baked together at the same time. Pork chops could have been used the next night or for lunches.
    via u/Worth-Season3645
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    | say this as one who has a hard working husband as well and my Brown sugar meat loaf is one of his favorite meals.
    via u/Worth-Season3645
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    • IAmTAAlways 23h ago There was no miscommunication. You agreed to something and you backtracked. He's not treating you as a servant. He's treating you as his wife who agreed to make a certain dinner after you specifically requested that he
    via u/IAmTAAlways
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    choose dinner and then you backed out. If you didn't want to make the meatloaf, you shouldn't have asked him what he wanted and you shouldn't agreed to it. YTA
    via u/IAmTAAlways
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    Duin-do-ghob 22h ago • Clearly YTA. You thawed out pork chops. They were FROZEN so they weren't close to going bad. You could have wrapped them up, stuck them in the fridge and cooked them the next day. They would have survived one more day. This, and this, would certainly make me believe you were going to make me meatloaf.
    via u/Duin-do-ghob
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    wayward_painter • 23h ago YTA He asked you do to something, you told him you would and then didn't communicate plans changed. So of course he's disappointed. The pork chops would have kept for tonight's dinner. Sounds like you did this to punish him for working late AGAIN!!! Communication is important in a marriage.
    via u/wayward_painter
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    • terraformingearth 22h ago Everyone else already made most of the comments I would, but also, why the griping about him working late AGAIN? That is what managing a restaurant involves, and you're not complaining about the $ it brings in.
    via u/terraformingearth
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    He logically expected you were agreeing to is polite request and that helped get him through the extra hours. That is NOT expecting you to be at his "beck and call". Honestly, you sound exhausting. YTA.
    via u/terraformingearth
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    ElGato6666 22h ago • YTA. This is Reddit, where all husbands are lazy and entitled and don't do anything around the house...and you're STILL getting almost exclusively negative reactions from men and women. Your husband is not entitled to Meat Loaf, but when you tell him that you are going to make it, and that is what he is expecting, he has every right to be upset.
    via u/ElGato6666

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