It’s early morning on Black Friday. My boyfriend’s scrolling on his phone, reading off store ads while I’m brushing my teeth, still feeling tired from Thanksgiving the day before. We’re discussing which stores we’re going to hit up for some deals.

Boyfriend: “TVs, laptops, air fryers, toasters… fifty percent off everything and everyone’s already in line.”

Me: “Remember last year? You worked at [Electronics Store], and I was over at [Department Store].”

Boyfriend: “Yeah, we had to leave Thanksgiving dinner early to get to work at 9 PM to start setting up for the midnight opening.”

Me: “I had a woman threaten to ‘manifest a manager’ if we didn’t price match a toaster.”

We both stare at the half-eaten pumpkin pie between us.

Me: “Why don’t we just… not go?”

Boyfriend: *Pauses, mid-scroll.* “Wait… we can do that?”

Me: “Yeah. Like… no stores. No lines. No people fighting over towels. Just… stay in?”

He looks at me like I’ve just cured everything.

Boyfriend: “So you’re saying… stay in, eat leftovers, watch anime?”

Me: “Exactly.”

He tosses his phone aside, grinning.

Boyfriend: “That’s it. That’s our Black Friday deal. A hundred percent off stress.”

Me: “And unlimited mac and cheese refills.”

We clink our forks together like champagne glasses and hit play on the next anime episode.