I said there were two comforters that needed to go to the laundromat, as well as a horse blanket. “A horse blanket?” he asked. “You want me to take a horse blanket to the laundromat?”

I gulped, because I knew it was a request that was way out of his comfort zone. But I also knew the comforters needed washing now, and doing the blanket later meant a waste of time. Years ago, we had rented a house without a washer and we’d occasionally gone to the laundromat together, so I knew that it wouldn’t be a totally foreign experience for him. But he was sure that the laundromat police were going to arrest him if he showed up with a horse blanket. And in some towns, they might, but we horse people here are careful to leave the machines spotless when we’re done, so we can still wash our own blankets.

We headed over to the barn, and I hung the blanket inside out over a smooth metal gate, so I could brush it without it picking up any splinters. Starting from the center seam, I worked my down the sides systematically, using a soft brush so I wouldn’t damage the fabric. I turned it over and did the same on the outside. Then I used a wet, stiffer brush to scrub the binding where it had gotten encrusted — if you know what I mean. The objective was to get as much hair and “foreign material” off the fabric as possible before actually washing it. I didn’t want anything extra floating in the wash or rinse water and landing back on the blanket.

My husband dutifully headed out to do the washing, along with my instructions to go easy on the detergent. After a quick scout around to be sure there weren’t any “No Horse Blankets” signs posted, he did the deed. Sheepishly pulling the blanket out of the washer (despite that there was no one there), he felt around inside the washer. To his surprise, it was clean — no hair or debris. Two quarters later, the blanket was dry enough to allow him to escape the premises. He came home feeling quite proud of himself, having helped his wife by slaying the dragon of the laundromat.

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather the gift of a good deed over flowers, chocolate, or a fancy dinner any day.