Gary found himself sprawled out on the sofa after work, flicking through the infomercials you only find when reasonable people are tucked up in bed. He was beginning to wonder if he did need a new blender when he heard a key turn in the front door.
"Evening to you good sir," Miranda called out as she bounded into the living room with windswept hair and a spring in her step. She flopped down next to him and planted a kiss on his cheek. "I did tell you not to wait up."
He stretched involuntarily before hastily adjusting his posture. "I wasn't tired," he said, smiling as her fingertips grazed his face. "How was your karaoke night?"
"Brilliant because it was my theme, naughty songs of the noughties." She launched into a recap of the evening's events, which had included Penny dropping by and giving an impromptu performance of 'My Humps'. Inappropriate songs aside, Penny and Miranda had enjoyed a much healthier relationship since Penny had returned from Bhutan. Yak-trekking had a mellowing effect, apparently.
"Actually, I'm glad you're still up," she said, rummaging around her bag. "Stevie gave me something before I left." She pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper and carefully smoothed out the creases. "It's my bucket list," she explained. "We made them ages ago and I nearly chucked mine out when— well, it doesn't matter," she said quickly, avoiding his gaze. "Anyway, I realised I had a few things to cross off."
He caught a glimpse of his name in Miranda's loopy scrawl.
"Marry Gary," she read out loud. "Well, I would've preferred Barlow, but you'll do," she teased. "Tick!"
He chuckled as she leaned in to kiss him. "Glad I made the cut."
"Walk barefoot through Paris – did that." She flashed him a knowing smile.
Their honeymoon had been a ludicrously romantic Parisian affair. It had been a lovely change of pace after their whirlwind wedding, and in a strange way, it felt like they were making up for all the dates they'd never had. His memories had all blended into a haze of summer afternoons that turned into inky nights, with fingers laced together and stolen kisses beneath starry skies. And in the mornings, when he pressed his lips to her forehead and she sighed his name, he'd wondered what he'd done to be so lucky.
"What's left?" he asked, peering over her shoulder.
She ran her finger down the page. "Go travelling with Gary - I think we can call that a work in progress. Go to a music festival, shower under a waterfall ..." She hesitated for a moment, and when she spoke her voice was wistful. "Have Gary's children."
He'd felt a flutter with every mention of his name. "Well, we could work on that one now," he suggested, raising his eyebrows.
"Cheeky," she said, nudging him playfully. "Can you imagine us with a child? We can barely keep the herb garden alive." She gave the wilting greenery on the windowsill a guilty glance.
He felt his cheeks warm. "Actually... I can."
Miranda's eyes widened with surprise. "Really?"
"Yeah," he said, suddenly feeling shy. "It's kind of silly… like this one time, I was leaving the shop when I saw this teddy bear…" It wasn't unusual to find soft toys scattered around the shop, but this one had stopped him in his tracks.
Miranda nodded, willing him on.
"It was almost exactly like the one I had when I was a kid, and I suddenly thought, wow, I can't wait to see my kids playing with one of these someday. Our kids. Having a little combination of us that we can raise in our own weird way and watch grow up... It would be pretty amazing."
He's worried he's said too much, but when he looks up, her eyes are bright and she's positively beaming. "Kids, eh?" she says softly. "So we're having more than one then?"
"Of course," he said, a grin spreading across his face. "Two boys, Cliff and Richard. I'll make sure they don't freeze to death like your other kids."
He ducked as Miranda flung a cushion at his head.
"Serious moment here!" she cried, in between giggles. "What else have you thought about?"
He relaxes, relieved by her reaction. "Oh, just stuff like what our kids would be like... You'll probably have them playing with fruit friends and galloping all over the place." Her head is on his shoulder and he can feel her smile. "Stevie and Clive could be godparents," he added.
"Our kids would probably outgrow Stevie at an early age," she said with a smirk. "We do have an abundance of height genes."
"Well, it'd be a shame not to pass those on..." He paused and bumped her shoulder affectionately. "You know, any kids would be lucky to have you as a mum."
"I know," she said with a contented smile. "Because they'll have you as a dad."