Decisions Part 2
***Chris and David's apartment***
Chris and David had just arrived home from Jamaica. The snow was really blowing. As they came into their apartment, and put their stuff down, David turned on the weather channel.
"Manhattan is predicted to get 2-3 inches overnight and 4-6 inches later this week.".
"Wow, babe. We might get some more days off".
"Yeah, too bad we had to come home to get them".
Chris headed to take a bubble bath, and David unpacked and watched the weather some.
They went to bed right after that, and sure enough, when they woke up in the morning, the city was covered in snow. Feldberg sent a text saying that the day was up to each person-work at home, or come in, and either way, he would count it the same. Chris decided to go in and get some files and her computer and work from home the rest of the day. David's office was pretty much doing the work from home thing as well. All court cases had been canceled.
"Babe, why don't I drive you to your office, so you can get your things? Then we can go to my office, so I can get my things, and we can make a grocery run on the way home?"
"Sounds like our first snow day together". She looked up and kissed him.
She quickly showered, and threw on some skinny destructed jeans, with a heavy green sweater and her UGG boots. David showered after her and threw on his heavy winter clothes as well.
They bundled up, and went to the parking garage. David was a much better snow driver than Chris was. He was thankful she had a heavy duty car like an Explorer, as driving in the snow in his Mercedes wouldn't be fun.
They went to Chris' office first. Mary Beth had taken the day as a work from home day. Chris quickly grabbed the case files that had come in while she was gone, and her laptop, and headed back to the car.
Next they went to David's office. He was in and out in several minutes, and then they went and made a grocery run. They needed to stock up for several days, because of the next storm coming in. They grabbed steaks, chicken, shrimp, salad stuff, fresh cheeses, and lots of fresh veggies. Chris picked up the stuff to make David's favorite soup in the crockpot, and David picked up the stuff to make chicken marsala with lots of mushrooms for Chris. He also grabbed some extra fire starter logs, and Chris grabbed a few magazines. They were all set, for at least a few days.
After they checked out, they loaded up the car and then David told Chris he wanted to make one more stop. He told her to stay in the car, because it was a surprise. He ran inside Target, and came back with a bag that wasn't too big, but Chris was wondering what all was in there.
He pulled the surprise out, and she squealed. He had gotten them Chromecast- one for each TV. Now, they could watch Netflix from anywhere- the den, the bedroom, or the in the tub. Chris was so excited!
"Thank you honey! You are so good to me!".
She kissed him. They headed back to the apartment.
Chris and David unloaded the groceries and put them away. Then Chris changed into her yoga pants, slippers, and a long sleeved raglan tee. She set up her laptop in the den, and David set up the Chromecast.
Chris started making David's favorite soup for the crockpot, and then got to work on her case files. She and Mary Beth had been assigned a few new cases while she was gone. She started looking at them, and David made a fire in the fireplace. She snuggled up under a blanket with her laptop and started researching some cases.
She and David stopped to eat dinner, and he went outside to make sure the hot tub cover was in place.
Chris worked some more after dinner, and then went to take a bubble bath. After her bubble bath, she climbed into bed to watch the news.
David joined her about 20 minutes later, and brought her a glass of water. He had set the alarm and locked the door.
"In tonight's weather forecast, New York City has already gotten 5 inches of snow today, and that's not all. There is more on the way over the next two days".
Chris and David grabbed their phones and 'un-set' their alarms.
"Want to use the heated blanket tonight?"
"Sure babe". David got the controls, and they turned it on and set it to 4.
They finished the news and Chris texted Bridgit and Lisa and told them they were welcome to come there if they needed anything. She texted Mary Beth and told her to enjoy her second day off, since it was likely that the courts were going to be closed again the next day.
"At this point, they should just close for the week".
"They probably will. Most judges don't like to work on Fridays, so they usually dismiss early anyways."
Chris put extra pillows on the bed, and they climbed under all the blankets, and he found them a movie to watch on Chromecast. She snuggled up to him as they watched the movie. He fell asleep pretty soon, and she enjoyed laying there with him with her head on his chest.
***The next morning***
Chris woke up around 8, and found another message from Feldberg confirming that they had the day off. She decided to enjoy it. She started another fire in the fireplace, and went to make them breakfast. David woke up about 15 minutes later, and found her making eggs, bacon, and pancakes.
After breakfast, they sat down to plan their trips that they got each other for Christmas. They decided to do Maui at the end of April, and Mexico in September. They looked up the resort and it was beautiful. It had a lazy river, and lots of adventure amenities. Chris wanted to drive up the volcano on the island and she wanted to find a waterfall on a hike. David just wanted to be with his wife.
"April 22, we can take an overnight flight, and check in the next morning. Or we can fly to LA that morning, and we can stay in a hotel, and then fly to Maui in the morning. Whichever you want is fine, babe".
"the LA flight sounds good to me. That way we will be refreshed when we get to Maui, and we won't have missed a whole day".
"That's a good point". David booked their flights and booked their rooms at the resort. They booked a morning flight to LA, which would get them there by early afternoon. They had a room at the Four Seasons, and David booked them for a couples massage at the spa. The next night, they would be flying out early in the morning to go to Maui. It would only be a 4-hour flight.
They decided to book the Punta Cana one later. Chris was going to officially put in for her vacation in April as soon as she returned to work.
David decided to clean out and organize his closet, and Chris settled onto the couch with a new book.
After several hours, she got up and made them a late lunch of grilled cheese and tomato basil soup. After lunch, he settled onto the couch with her and they watched a movie. When the movie was over, David switched it to the news.
"This just in, the National weather Service has declared this winter storm to in fact be a blizzard".
The weather was the top news story. Mass Transit was closed for the weekend. Broadway was closed for the weekend. Schools were closed for Friday all ready, as were tons of businesses.
"Babe….we should have a movies in bed day tomorrow…..all day".
"I agree". She kissed him, and grabbed her phone.
She texted Mary Beth. "Looks like I won't see you till next week".
"That's what I was thinking. Still coming down at our house….Alice is loving it. Harvey and I, not so much".
"David and I are enjoying the extra together time".
She got up, and started making preps to make tacos. She browned the meat and chopped the veggies, and then put everything in individual bowls.
After they had dinner, she cleaned up the kitchen and started the dishwasher. She went and took a hot shower, and then put on some pajamas. David was watching TV in the bedroom when she got done. She climbed up on the bed and joined him. They enjoyed a nice lazy evening, watching TV and watching the snow fall.
After they watched TV, they fell asleep watching a movie.
***Friday***
Cagney woke up first, and found another text from Feldberg. "Hopefully today is our last snow day. Please treat this day as a work from home day so we won't be too far behind. See all of you Monday".
The snow had slowed down, but was still falling. David bundled up and went outside and brushed off the top of the hot tub, just to keep it from tearing up. He brushed off the grill, but it was too cold for him to grill anything.
Chris marinated some shrimp, and the lobster that David got in Olive oil with rosemary, garlic, and lemon. She got out the indoor grill, and took it to the coffee table to put it together.
David came in and found her putting it together, and offered to help her. They did it together, and she made a space for it under the cabinet.
Chris cleaned out the fridge, and then took out the trash. David sliced a whole quart of mushrooms and made them some mushroom asiago soup for lunch. Chris took one spoonful and moaned in delight, like she had died and gone to heaven.
She made his favorite peach flavored tea, and tossed in a few orange slices. She put it back into the refrigerator, as it always tasted better after you let it mix together and sit together for a bit before you drink it.
Chris worked on case files and logged into the system. She read each case file cover to cover, and made lists of directions to take the case. The first case was about a housekeeper who was being accused of stealing diamond jewelry from a house she worked in. Chris wanted to examine pawn shops, and her bank statements, to see if she had come into big sums of cash lately. Short of getting a search warrant, that was the best she and Mary Beth would be able to do right off.
The second case was about a stepdad that was accused of molesting his stepdaughter. The accusation was a formality; they had him on video, his stepdaughter testified, and his behavior surrounding the phone the video was on all but confirmed it. She wanted to speak to the daughter, if possible, and of course, watch the video.
The third case was about a secretary who vanished the same day money was discovered missing from the medical office she worked at. The scene where her car was found indicated a struggle, but it had not yet been determined if that had been staged or not. Chris had a feeling it had, and that she was hiding out with the money.
The final case they had been given involved a lady who wanted to file charges against her ex-husband. She claimed that he opened a credit card in her name, one of those pre-approved offers that came to the house. He still lived in the house they had lived in while they were married. She claimed that he ran the credit card bill up, and then defaulted, and the company came after her.
Chris wrote Fraud in big huge letters, and bank statements, credit card company subpoena, and lien on his bank account. She also wanted to put him on the no travel list, which was a list of names that the NYPD gave to the airlines, the train stations, the bus stations and car rental companies, to try and keep them from leaving town.
She updated the files in the computer with her notes, and emailed Feldberg her ideas on leads. She closed her computer, and put it away, and put the files back in her bag.
She snuggled up under the blanket as David came and sat with her.
"I have made up my mind. I am not going to retire. I don't want to. I want to keep working, I love my work, I love my job. I don't want to give it up yet. I'm not ready."
He kissed her head. "I am glad you still enjoy it babe".
"Do you want to give up being a lawyer?"
"Not entirely. But now that I am partner, I am able to be more intentional about the cases I take and who I represent".
"That's where I want to get to. I want to be able to work on my cases but also take a day off every now and then if I want to. I want to not feel guilty about it".
"I am glad that you decided on staying. I would totally support you if you ever wanted to stay home, you know that".
"I do".
David turned the news on, and Chris went to start dinner. She started a pot of water boiling, so that she could steam the lobster. She sautéed the shrimp and then put them into a baking dish with parmesan cheese and butter, with some diced onions. Parmesan baked shrimp was one of David's favorites, that she hardly had time to make for him.
They decided to eat dinner in bed, on bed trays. She poured them each a glass of tea, and she plated their dinners. They each got some of the parmesan baked shrimp, and then a lobster tail. Since their normal glasses were still in the dishwasher, she decided to use their fancy glasses. She carried his tray into him and then went back to get hers. After they were settled, he lifted his glass to her.
"To my beautiful wife. To staying with the job you love for as long as you love it, and for always coming home to me".
"To my always supportive husband, who I will always want to come home to, and I will always want to spend time with, and to snow days".
Cheers. They clinked glasses, and then kissed.
He turned on a movie and they watched it while they ate, and then he went and did the dishes for her while she took a bath. When he finished, he joined her in the tub, and they soaked for a long time.
She turned around and sat on his lap, and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I love nights like this with you, and nothing on our schedules…"
He kissed her. "Me too".
They made out for a few minutes, and then he looked at her.
"there is one thing on our schedule…"
"Pencil me in…"
He picked her up, and carried her to bed, where they stayed all night and most of the next day, making love.
***the end****