© Sadie King | October 2024
Carrie
Six years later…
I carefully close the door behind me and toe off my sensible nurse’s shoes. My lower back aches after a long shift on my feet, and I rub it as I pad down the hall and into the living room.
Cole sits on the couch with Olivia tucked into one side and Kyra on the other. They’re watching a baking show, the girls not too old yet to snuggle up to their dad.
Olivia glances around. “Hey Mom.”
“Hey.”
Cole gets up when he sees me, leaving the girls in front of the TV. He gives me a kiss on the lips, and the warmth of his kiss eases the aches from the long day.
“Did the boys go down all right?”
I follow Cole to the kitchen, and he press some buttons on the microwave. “No problems at all.”
Our sons Noah and Hudson were born two years apart. We decided to stop there. A family of six is just perfect.
The microwave dings, and Cole sets the plate of home-cooked lasagna on the table and adds a helping of green salad. I sit and eat, and even though he ate his dinner with the kids a few hours ago, he joins me at the table and we talk about our days.
We both work day shifts, and sometimes we still rely on Joyce to help with the kids. But we make it work.
I finish up the dinner Cole made for me and stand to take my plate to the dishwasher, but Cole takes it off me. “I’ll finish up the dishes if you go upstairs.”
He’s got a sparkle in his eye and a secret smile on his face. “What are you up to?”
He grins at me. “Go upstairs and find out.”
It’s tempting. But I’ve had a long shift, and there must be something he needs help with around the house.
I look around the kitchen and it’s completely clear, just the dishes from my meal which he slides into the dishwasher before turning it on.
“Do the girls have homework?” I ask.
“Already done.”
“I need to get Kyra booked into soccer camp.”
“Already done it.”
“The girls need to get to bed. It’s almost nine.”
“I’m on it.”
Cole turns me around and faces me down the hall.
“Wife, I’ve taken care of everything. You’ve had a long shift. Go upstairs and relax.”
I open my mouth to say something, and he taps me on the bottom. “I’ve left a surprise for you in the bathroom.”
I turn to him, and he gives me a stern look. “Go.”
I head down the hall and poke my head into the boys’ room. They’re in the bunk beds that used to belong to the girls. We extended the cabin so the girls have their own room and renovated the upstairs so it’s a private place for me and Cole, with our own bathroom and a walk-in wardrobe and a balcony that looks out over the mountain.
I head up the wooden stairs, wondering what my husband has planned.
The scent of lavender reaches me and flickering light comes from the bathroom. When I round the corner to the bathroom, I find the spa bath is full of bubbly water. A glass of wine sits on the small table by the bath alongside the paperback I’m reading and a single chocolate cookie. Cole relaxed his no sugar in the house rule, but he still tries to keep it minimal. I learned to vary my baking with low sugar recipes alongside the ones of pure indulgence.
I smile at the gesture.
I spend my days looking after other people, but at home, my man looks after me. I slip out of my clothes and sink into the warm water. The tension from the day melts away along with the ache in my back.
I take a sip of wine and pick up the paperback.
Twenty minutes later, I hear Cole coming up the stairs. He closes the door behind him and comes into the bathroom.
“The girls have gone to bed and I checked on the boys. They’re sound asleep.”
He pulls his t-shirt over his head and I tilt mine back, admiring the tight muscles of his torso dancing in the candlelight. “Mind if I join you?”
I slide forward, making room for him. Cole steps into the bath and sits behind me, causing the water level to rise dangerously high.
He takes up a washcloth, dips it in water, and runs it over my back.
I close my eyes and enjoy the moment, the pure joy of being looked after.