"So, how's the husband doin'?" Laurey asked, joining Anima at the office's coffee machine. Laurey was a former student of Anima's, but now she was a colleague of sorts. She had dyed blackish red hair and brown eyes. "Or was he still asleep when ye left?"
Anima shook her head with a smile. "No, he was up. He's usually up before me most days. He likes to jog during the Satanic hours. He's doing good, but he's getting antsy since there really isn't much for him to do at the moment. He's sort of in-between projects," she said as she took a drink of the swill this office considered coffee and added milk. "He's been cleaning the apartment to keep himself busy. It's actually been nice coming home to a warm dinner waiting for me."
"S'he doin' anythin' else 'sides cleaning the place?" Laurey asked as she sat down at her tidy little desk in the corner. Anima's was a bit bigger, but it was cluttered with files, papers and data she had to process. Somewhere in there, there was a laptop…maybe.
"I'm not really sure, but as long as he stays out of trouble, my mind is at ease," she said as she headed to her desk to crunch some numbers on the krill population off the south coast.
The day would likely go by without much of a change. At least, that's what Anima was counting on. God seemed to have the oddest sense of humor in that he found it necessary to make her life more…complicated. It seemed that today was going to be one of those special days. Several hours into her shift, she heard a ping next to her right wrist. It was her phone. On it, there was a picture of her and Tom in Thailand where they spent a brief vacation. It was Tom texting her.
Want lunch? I'm hungry and want to spend some time with my girl. -TH
Chuckling to herself, Anima replied with a restaurant and waited patiently for him to reply. Two minutes later, he replied, saying he would stop by and pick her up before taking her to lunch. Anima smiled to herself and went back to her krill counts until he arrived. Fifteen minutes later, Tom walked into the room wearing a faded blue tshirt. It was about time he retired the old thing. She could practically see his aureoles through the thing. He wanted to keep it though, so she didn't complain.
"Tom! What brings ye here?" Laurey called from where she was sitting, one headphone hanging from her ear in amongst all her hair.
"Taking Annie to lunch, but I'll wait until she's done with the work. How are you?"
"Still lookin' fer a replacement for Liam," she huffed. "There aren't many who 'ave the qualifications fer this job."
Before he could comment, Anima walked over with a pen tucked behind her ear. "Hey, you."
Tom kissed her temple. "You were nose-deep in work and I didn't want to bother you until you were ready to go."
"I'm more than ready now."
They stopped at a local deli and ordered sandwiches; a turkey on toasted pretzel bun for Anima and a roast beef on rye for Tom. While waiting for their meals to arrive, Tom leisurely took a sip of his tea when a girl walked up. She looked to be about 16 and was dressed in an overly bright and springy getup with the makeup to match. Her makeup was caked in certain spots where acne was popping up too. Oh, the joys of youth. She was probably a fan of Tom's. Anywhere they went, someone knew Tom.
"H-Hi, Tom. C-Can I get a picture and autograph."
"Uhm, sure, if it's okay with you, Annie?" Tom asked, an apology evident in his eyes.
"It's okay with me. I'll go get our food," she said, standing and going to the counter.
When she picked up the food, she noticed a massive cinnamon roll. Its glaze shined under the lights, and it looked so gooey and fresh. She needed it. Now. Quickly, Anima ordered the cinnamon roll and went back to the table with three plates in tow. Tom had a small swarm of men, women and girls around him while he was talking. Anima had to practically shove to get to her seat beside him. Thankfully no one was in it this time. She sat out Tom's food and silverware first and then her own just like she always did at home.
When she cleared her throat, Tom looked at her and nodded. "I'm terribly sorry, everyone, but I promised to have a nice, romantic lunch with my wife. If you'll excuse us, I'd really appreciate it. I'm sorry again; thank you all. You're wonderful," he said as the crowd drifted off.
"You're too nice, Tom," Anima said, as she always did, once the crowd had died down. "They'll take advantage of you one of these days."
"I don't want to hurt anyone Anima. I never want to do that again. I still haven't earned the forgiveness-"
"Tom, don't start that again," Anima said, putting her hand over his. "Let's just enjoy the food, okay? I got us a cinnamon roll."
"I saw that, you cheeky minx," Tom smirked. "I'm starving, that's for sure," he said as he picked up the first half of his sandwich. He pointed to her stomach with his forefinger. "How are you feeling, by the way?"
Over the past few days, Anima had been dealing with what she thought was a bit of a morning flu she got from stress. Work had been piling up like nobody's business since Liam left for a job in Japan. Anima took her knife and cut one half of her sandwich in half and took a small bite. "It's actually settled to the point I'm able to drink coffee."
For the next few minutes, they didn't speak until half of their sandwiches were gone. Requesting a refill of his tea, Tom reached out and tucked a dark strand of hair behind her ear and she smiled. "Are you sure your nausea is stress? How's the sandwich holding out?"
"Good. In fact, I might eat this cinnamon roll before you."
"You're on."
Amongst all the laughing, they managed to finish up their food and shared dessert. About that time, Anima's phone went off. She had to go which left Tom with the car and the people who wanted photos and autographs. She apologized profusely and promised to pay him back later in the evening.
