The "Dear" story

Roger and I always called each other "dear."
We did that cute name instead of things like "babe" or "honey" or what have you.
And I guess a lot of people noticed it.

It started when we first started dating. Roger would say "yes dear" to things.
Of course, his argument was it was positive since he was saying "yes" and "dear" was a nice term of endearment.
And he would use various tones of voice to make "yes dear" mean many different things.

Well, I started making fun of him for saying this.
And Roger said "You better be careful. I bet you start saying it within two months"
Then...
Fast forward about 2 weeks (yes weeks not months) and it was stuck.

We would both say it to each other and for everything.
Then of course, it got shortened to just "dear"
And then of course, it was used even more.
It got to the point, where I rarely called him "Roger" when talking to him. It was always "dear" this and "dear" that.
We would be in a store and instead of yelling for "Roger", I called for "dear."
We used it at home even.
In birthday cards, in front of family, in front of friends, on the phone, everywhere.
The word had no limits.

Its a very useful term though I have to admit. Roger was right (like usual). It could be used in many settings and with a flip of the tone of voice it could go from "I love you" to "I'm annoyed with you."

I love you dear.
I miss you dear.