Six-thirty in the morning was an unnatural time to wake up (especially when it was the time of the year that the sun would not even begin to rise). Marianne fully understood the fact that such a time was meant for sleeping and not starting one's day, but her husband had yet to learn and his alarm clock would blast waking the two of them up. She would mutter and moan under her breath about the hour being "ungodly", usually in French, and he would swear as he stumbled around the room, complaining about her lack of English in the early hours. Curiosity had lead Marianne to wake up and see what it was exactly her husband did that early in the morning in the early years of their marriage. It had consisted of showering, drinking a cup of tea and reading the newspaper until seven when he would get their sons up. It was boring and a half hour under the duvet was just so much more her style.
At seven she would rise sleepily from bed still in whatever it was she had fallen asleep in (even if it was nothing) slip on her robe and make her way down to the kitchen to cook a simple breakfast for her husband and three sons. She used to not worry about the robe, but Arthur's shouting of "Good-God woman there are children present!" lead her to start covering herself up. Marianne had an amazing body, and when one factored in that she had given birth to three boys (one set of twins and the second pregnancy had been just a little over a year ago) she was a work of art that should be admired and not covered up because her husband thought that she should. Arthur would be distracted by the news catching up on all of the events that had happened while he had slept, Alfred would be reading the comics from the newspaper while jabbering on about something no one but him cared about, his twin brother Matthew would sit quietly holding his stuffed bear and watching the news with his father (because it made him more "mature"), and little Peter would sit in his high chair loudly hitting the tray looking to his brothers and father to be amazed at the noises he could make.
Breakfast would be served and no thanks would be given for her meal that she'd dragged herself out of bed to make. Marianne would feed Peter cooing to him and helping him out when it came to the sounds that he made, trying to teach him how to make those sounds into words both French and English. It was a great source of pride for her and Arthur that the twins were bilingual. When the meal had been eaten the two older boys would be rounded up by Arthur and the twins would receive kisses before heading out, the boys to their private elementary school and her husband to his job editing a national gardening magazine. Marianne would clear the table; wipe Peter down, before heading back to bed. She would sleep again until ten or ten thirty, Peter nuzzling close to her.
It had been ten years since Marianne had met Arthur. He was a botany student and she was in her last semester of studying business and design, deciding to leave behind her beautiful Paris to study for a few months in the United States. Arthur and his family had been living in the states for years by then and the two had met through mutual friends. It wasn't exactly love at first site, but rather hates a first site. He had been drunk and slurred out an insult calling her a "French whore", offended she replied with an insult to his eye brows, and something along the lines of "Clearly you are a true English gentleman" the sarcasm had gone over his head in his state of intoxication and he thanked her for the decency to recognize that. The two had shouted insults at one another before they ended up leaving together and having rough, angry, hateful sex. Some how from that night of insults, fornication, and what-not the two began dating and decided that they loved one another enough to become engaged. Marianne moved to the United States soon after finishing her degree and the two had an over the top ceremony, complete with a ridiculously long train on her gown and the releasing of white doves (all her ideas after all she had been planning her wedding since the age of three).
Their life as a married couple had been a lot like their life as a dating couple, only with less alcohol. The two would insult one another have wild and rough sex before falling asleep in each other's arms only to repeat the same process over again over the course of the next twenty four hours. In a few months Marianne had become pregnant with the twins, and the two began to prepare for having two new baby boys in their life. They'd moved from their apartment in the city out to a single family home in the suburbs, and began to pay a mortgage so that they would own their own home one day. The two had been born in early July, due to complications with the birthing process however Matthew had been born on the first of the month and Alfred the fourth, making them identical twins with two days between them. Life with two baby boys in the house made Arthur and Marianne settle into a more domestic life style less wild then their earlier relationship had been.
Once the boys were in kindergarten Arthur and Marianne had begun to go more into what they had been before. Though their fights were always behind closed doors, and always end in angry rough sex. Lots of biting, yelling, swearing and scratching. During the period between the twins' birth and Peter's conception, she had gone into the business of owning her own restaurant. A house band would perform while the patrons sat in candle light at little circular tables, the menu was French (of course), there was a small bar with specialty cocktails and in the basement was a little pastry shop that turned out fresh baked goods during the day and turned into the desert kitchen at night. It was a nice little set up and made the Kirkland's good money so that Marianne could buy fancier designer dresses for herself, and expensive gifts for her boys and her husband.
When she had become pregnant with Peter, Marianne began to spend less time at the restaurant and more time at home. There was only so much time she could spend on her feet, plus the heat of the kitchen, and her mood swings did not mix, at all. Once Peter had been born she stayed home for the standard three months making sure the baby was well and caring for her family, only going to her business once or twice a week. After the few months were over she began spending more time there to make sure everything was going as well as she liked.
That was about the time that she and Arthur began to have sex less frequently then before and argue more often as well.
After waking up for the second time Marianne would dress Peter in a little outfit that was not only stylish but also appropriate for the weather. She would set him in his playpen before taking a shower and getting herself ready for the day. Once the two were fully dressed they'd get into the minivan and take a trip out shopping. If there were particular ingredients or things that were needed at the restaurant she would pick them up from the supplier before dropping them off at the restaurant. If not then the two would go to the grocery store or buy clothes. The elderly women at the super market would go on and on about how cute Peter was and how pretty she was. When Alfred and Mattie had been little the same thing would happen (along with the bilingual ability of the boys their high level of cuteness was another source of pride for Marianne).
Once the errands had been done the two would head home. Marianne would make a lunch for herself and Peter before laying him down for a nap. While the baby napped she would clean up the house and do the dishes from breakfast and lunch. The floors would be swept and mopped, the carpets vacuumed, and Alfred and Matthew's bedrooms would be picked up and their beds would be made. By the time everything would good and clean Peter would be awake. By that time she would head out to get the twins for school. While the boys played and did their homework she would start up dinner; helping them and playing as was needed. It took work but she firmly believed that she was a talented enough woman to be able to balance the life of a mother, wife, and professional minded business woman.
Arthur would get home around five or so and they would have dinner all together sharing the news of their day. Alfred always told stories of bravery, Matthew was quiet, and Peter would babble his baby words and the occasion actual word trying to join in on the conversation as best as he could. When dinner was over, the kitchen would be cleaned up and she would get ready for the night in one of her expensive cocktail dresses, kiss her husband and sons goodbye before heading to work.
Her life at work was busy. She was on her feet the whole time, sampling the drinks (no more than a sip per each, check the dishes, talk to the staff and regulars. All while making sure everything was perfect. She would then check the profits made during the day, place orders for what was running low, and help with the clean up after the last of the patrons had left. On a busy warm night she would often not get home until after two or even sometimes three. She would strip out of her dress and climb into bed careful not to wake Arthur.