Just a moment while I repress my feminism....

I just got a phone call from the Pennsylvania Ballet with regard to our subscription. I guess Brian didn't renew our subscription yet, so they were calling to follow up. The phone call went thusly:

PB: "Hi, is Mr. Brian Hirsch there?"

Me: "I'm sorry, no, he's not available."

PB: "Is this Mrs. Hirsch?"

Me: "Yes, this is she."

PB: "I'm calling on behalf of the Pennsylvania ballet to talk about your subscription tickets for, uh, Brian, and I guess what I'm wondering....um, is if you, is this something you're um, allowed to uh.....handle?"

Me: [long pause while I contemplate the horrifying implications of that statement]

PB: "...because often we find that it's actually the wife who likes ballet and the husband isn't really the person who, um, does this kind of thing."

Me: [another pause while I try to work through that one, too]

PB: "This is coming out wrong."

Me: "It is, yes."

PB: "Do you want to renew your tickets?"

Me: "Maybe. Can I ask my husband first?"